dolomites

Last February we took our first family ski trip and I declared it my favorite family vacation we had ever taken. It wasn't the ready meals for breakfast and dinner, the indoor kiddy pool, the all day childcare or the goat mascot, though those things did help (except the goat). It was that we were all doing something outside together and we were all being challenged. It also helped that instead of being on childcare duty, I was actively participating. As we have been looking through our picture books from that week, Oskar is baffled at his disappearance. He looks at our family pictures on ski lifts or drinking hot chocolate and asks, "Where me?" I tell him the truth, at childcare with Pitzi the goat mascot. This yet to placate him. 

Since I knew being outside and being active helped us to enjoy our time together as a family better, I decided to plan a week long hiking trip to the Dolomites. The region between Italy and Austria had been on my list for a long time but it was just far away enough to not make a weekend trip. 

We booked an airbnb that was also an outbuilding of a castle and packed only hiking boots and hiking clothes. Everyday we set off for another hike. We kept them around 10k since Winston was hiking the whole time. Oskar maybe clocked 15 steps in five days. He is still using the ergo carrier I received as a baby gift when pregnant with Eliot. It's clearly ready to be retired but I think we can eek a bit more time out of it. 

 The views were diverse and spectacular. The neat thing about hiking is that it often turns into a one on one activity. We had some great conversations and talked a lot more than we would have in the car or walking around the city.

 That's not to say my kids are willing hikers. The first ten minutes of every hike there is a heavy amount mutiny happening but if we persists we all seemed to settle into a steady gait.

 We are also strong believers in bribery and would stop for a hot lunch most days at a mountain hut, which is something we haven't done in Switzerland were we always picnic or grill.

 The roads throughout the Dolomites are winding and narrow and we had several complaints of car sickness but only one vomit incident. It's possible we left the clothes out to dry during our hike and maybe threw the pants in the trash. 
Winston ended up doing the hike in a hodge-podge of extra clothes we had: Oskar's rain pants, Violet's extra shirt and my coat.

One day Eliot, Violet and Rocky did an airbnb experience and climbed this mountain using via ferrata routes. 

 Of course on our longest and hardest hike, all the mountain huts were closed for the season. We survived on some cured meat, protein bars and the promise of pizza.

 All the kids wanted a turn with the camera. Winston's not a bad photographer and Oskar is so clearly too big to be in the ergo carrier.

 This trip is my new favorite trip we have taken. It was so great to see my kids do something hard and enjoy it. It was also wonderful to have so many quiet, unplugged moments to casually chat. And the stunning, craggy peaks that were around every corner didn't hurt either. I hope we can make hiking trips a regular occurrence. And Oskar will appreciate that he is at least in some pictures.