Hatten Family Day at the Cradle of Forestry

Yesterday was our 3rd annual Hatten Family Day! Jay and I pick a special activity each year and totally set aside the day just for our family to do something fun together. For weeks, we build up the anticipation with the kids and they get so excited about our family day. (They're going to think we're big dorks for this in about 10 more years, but who cares?)

We went up to Hendersonville to the Cradle of Forestry. A friend had recommended this as a great place to go hiking and enjoy being outdoors with little ones. It was a lot of fun!

They have a small indoor museum that you can do a scavenger hunt throughout. Catherine thought that was great--just like a hidden picture challenge, only in real life! And Will's favorite part was the helicopter. It's an old helicopter that served in Vietnam and was then used to put out forest fires. It is now retired and you can sit in it while it simulates putting out forest fires. Will was a little nervous at first, but then he found this rafting helmet and he was suddenly no longer scared. I guess he thought it protected him!

We spent probably 3 or 4 hours outside on their trails. It was a beautiful fall day and the kids had so much fun just picking up colorful leaves and "walking" sticks. One of the trails has kid activities spaced throughout it, so every little bit we'd stop to do an activity: ride a tractor, pretend to ride a horse, climb on tree stumps, investigate with the magnifying glasses, etc.
The favorite activity on the trail was the train! You could climb on it and ring the bell, and Will thought that the 3 on the front was just for him since he's 3 now. We spent a good bit of time playing on the train.
Anna was very excited about her first Hatten Family Day. She rode along in the stroller and took a little nap when she was tired. She really loves being outside and is happy to watch Catherine and Will run around.
The second trail is more historical-based, with old buildings and houses that were used when the forestry service began on this land in the 1800's. The kids favorite was the old school building. They also liked the houses, general store, and how they washed their clothes outside in a pot of boiling water.

Each trail was 1 mile long, so by the end of the day the kids were tired, especially considering that we did most of our hiking during nap time. By the very end, little Will was lagging way behind the rest of us and Catherine was worried that we were going to leave him in the forest! Sweet big sister always watching out for the rest of them. We finally did convince her that we would not lose Will in the forest and that if we kept walking he would catch up with us. I think Will was asleep in the car within 2 minutes of leaving the parking lot.

We had a great day and I loved spending it with my family! The kids already want to do know what we're doing next year for Hatten Family Day.