hiking lake perris

i took kenzie and ethan out for a hike at lake perris. i was thinking that we could get around part of the lake but that plan was quickly thwarted. the plan was to get over to the damn, we got down to the shoreline, the rock climbing hill, and back to the playground. cherisse dropped us off and i could tell it was going to be a while to get anywhere. in the first 100 feet ethan skinned up his knee. he dragged behind and makenzie was off and running ahead of us. i took the kid carrier backpack because i knew that one of them would want a break. ethan was content playing in the dirt on the trail, picking up rocks and getting behind. makenzie wanting to pull the leaves off of every plant that she could get her hands on, run back and forth, and be the "trail leader." once we got to the rock climbing hill, the kids saw the climbers and wanted to follow. they managed to make it up a more kid friendly part. we then went back toward where mom was going to get us and played on the playground until it was time to leave. at one point i had makenzie in the backpack and ethan on my shoulders. they loved being able to run around where ever they wanted to and explore.