"Free Range" kids

We headed up to a meadow up near the ski area at Mt Charleston today to get out of the heat and let the kids free (the car temperature went from 112 to 74 degrees from the valley to the mountain). I know there are theories about having a nature deficiency in our society, and I think it's true to an extent. My dream is to have a mountain cabin someday, so that our family can get out of the city. But in the meantime, we will try to give our kids nature experiences. And as you can see from the pictures, we all enjoyed being out. Forget the chickens, why aren't people fighting for free range kids?

Ah, freedom and the open range.

Michael was very interested in looking for bugs. Unfortunately, once he found an ant he started stomping on it. Apparently he and his dad had a lesson on killing spiders recently, that generalized to all bugs.

Mmm...at least there are no questions as to who the father is.

Me and my climber. The kid amazed me at how well he could climb even steep hillsides.

I love the boys' hats, and could Jacob be any more handsome?! My little adventurer.

For those of you in Vegas that don't know where this is, you take the Lee Canyon exit and it's off the the right before you get to the ski area. It has a great meadow and doesn't require any serious hiking and is easy exploring for the little ones. For the more adventurous there are steeper hillsides you can hike around in. Plus the air smells wonderful up there!