Last weekend was a doozy of an active weekend compared to our normal ones. We were barely home. We took a trip to the mall on Saturday for some Christmas shopping and on Sunday, we took a family trip to the Horicon Marsh.

We took a walk on what was left of the trails. They’re doing some trail renovations over the marsh, so our hike was a bit disjointed, but we weren’t ruffled in the least.

Oh the things you can see there.

Like birds of all kinds, including wild swans and many different species of ducks.

And of course your standard woolly bears, squirrels, bunnies and chipmunks. Along with a little possum that was much too fast for pictures. (There is a chipmunk somewhere in this picture, I swear!)

If there’s one thing in this entire world that I can teach my children, it’s to love, protect and take in all the blessings of nature.

I always find myself saying, “Kayne, do you smell that? That’s what fall smells like” or “Whoa, look at that cool-looking fungus!” I’m teaching them to observe, to appreciate, to really take it all in. I don’t know the names of everything (yet!), but we can still appreciate them.

And this girl, my little fairy nymph. Stopping to touch, point out, collect (and sometimes taste) everything. She loves looking at all the pretties that her momma points out.

Afterward, we stopped at the McDonald’s nearby because it has toys inside. As though the trails weren’t enough to absorb all their energy, McD’s Playland did! Next door is an adorable little candy shop that we finally visited and got a little box of all.the.dark.chocolates. It was kinda symbolic of the sweet sweet day we had together, out in nature.

It’s still warm in November here in WI. We’re happily hanging onto every minute of warmth offered.

How are you getting up and out into nature this week?