Here's to another year

This year started at 5 this morning when Annie crawled into the bed. She squirmed and wiggled her way between Tina and me and said "Dad, cuddle". How could I resist? She kissed my forehead and wished me a happy birthday. After she drifted back to sleep, I got up and made some coffee, then I went out to the back yard and watched the sun come up over my freshly mowed lawn. Life is good. After that I went to the gym and ran a few errands. When I got home, Tina and the kids were getting ready for my birthday hike. I decided I wanted to walk from Lower Pyramid Point to the top. This short walk is somewhat challenging, even more so with a couple kids in tow. Nonetheless, I was determined to prove to someone that I'm not that damn old yet.
We parked at the end of Lake Michigan Rd (where Lane used to live) and walked probably a mile over a flat trail through the woods to the lake. Jon and Annie frolicked and scampered around for this leg. They were happy to be out. When we got to the edge of the lake, we met a couple guys that were kayacking around Lake Michigan. They were forced to stay out of the water for a few days because they were encountering gale force winds. It was damn cold on the shore, we stayed out of the wind today as much as possible.
The next part of the walk was up and down several dunes. Both the kids showed a lot of stamina and climbed some difficult hills with little complaint. I am so proud of them. This hill that Jon went up is much bigger than the dune climb the tourists visit. We always laugh up our sleeve when they ask us if we have ever climbed the big hill. Rubes
The whole round trip probably took around 4 hours. My birthday feast was turkey sandwiches in the car on the way home. The girls made me a great cake.
I couldn't ask for a better birthday than the one I had today. We spent the day together in the fresh air. We are all a little tired and sore now and I'm sure we'll get a good night's sleep. Life is good.