How I Hike in the Heat.

It gets HOT in Oklahoma in the summer!

I feel like if I wait for it to cool down I will not get to hike until November so we keep hiking and walking even in the heat.

Here are a couple things my family does to keep somewhat cool on those hot days.

1. We go out early morning(8am or earlier) or evening (usually 6:30pm or later).

2. We bring an insane amount of water! As much as we can carry. We bring more Gatorade then anything when it is really hot.

3. We try to wear mostly wicking clothing. This is slightly new to this year and I have seen a huge difference in comfort.

Look for labels that say “quick dry” or “wicking”.

4. We try to hike places that are nice an open but shaded. I have found lake trails to be the best for that in my area.

5. Lastly, we do not push it! If someone is getting even a little bit light headed we turn around!

We do get acclimated though and this is not an issue as we get farther into summer.

If you are just starting though I would definitely encourage you to do a nice easy hike and be prepared to turn around.

Getting sick or injured right away can really turn you off to hiking!

What do you do to stay cool in the summer?

Staying in the AC in not an acceptable answer…

My little photographers

I like to let my little men use my camera(sometimes).

This time I had to keep reminding them if they dropped it it would break.

Thankfully it was my backup camera but it still is a costly mistake.

They were giggling a lot over taking pictures of feet…

I usually put the settings where they need to be then hand it over.

This is me tickling for putting feet up in every shot.

I decided to leave these unedited. Uncorrected.

I did a slight sharpen(I do not sharpen too correct, a sharper blurry picture never looks good) for the web, resized, and added my logo.

I love them for all of there crooked imperfection.

Check out more about a movement to get yourself in front of the camera, here.

One day he will not need me to help him conquer his fear of the unknown.

He loves slides but every new one is feared.

Is it too fast?

Too scary?

Knowing he loves them and it is safe, I push him to try.

This is my reward.

Tear soaked smiles.

Excitement over something new that scared him only an instant before.

Seeing the thing that made him shake become the source of so much joy is such an amazing gift.

I helped him conquer a fear.

If I do my job right though he will not need my help forever.

I want him to learn to push himself to try new things that scare him, all by himself.

But for now, I will share in his victories and enjoy this gift of motherhood that I have been given.