On Sunday, we headed to Umstead to enjoy a lovely summer afternoon in the woods. Daddy explained the topography map to Aunt Beth. Gavin was just wondering why his horse stopped moving...

Yay! We're moving again! Gavin has issues whenever Daddy stops walking.

The intrepid explorers pause to admire the majestic beauty of the North Carolina wilderness.

We followed this stream for most of the hike.

Eventually, we found an accessible path down to the stream with lots of rocks to walk around on. Gavin enjoyed the opportunity to stretch his legs but wasn't thrilled that his freedom required a constant hand hold.

He attempted to distract Daddy in hopes of being set free. Look, Daddy! There in the woods ... a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a winch and snorkle!

Alas, he settled for getting his sneakers a little wet in the water. Next year when he's ready to explore more on his own, we'll have to outfit him with real hiking boots!

Poor Gavin gets confused time and time again. He'll fall asleep in the familiar environment of his car seat and wake up somewhere completely new with a very quizzical look on his face. Today, that new place was William B. Umstead State Park. He was so tired that all the jostling involved in removing him from the car seat and inserting him into his new baby carrier didn't rouse him one bit.

With Gavin asleep on my back, we headed into the woods with Daddy, Gmummy, and Great Aunt Faye (Gmummy's sister who just moved to North Carolina last week - yay!). He finally woke up about 15 minutes into our walk staring at the back of Mommy's head.

Once he realized what an interesting place he was at, he was wide awake and enjoyed bumping along, watching the trees move by.

Gavin was an excellent hiker and gave his brand new baby carrier two thumbs up. Over the next few months as we start leaving the summer heat behind, expect many more woodsy updates!