My New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year, everybody! I love this time of year when I feel like I have permission from the universe to reflect on the last twelve months and to hatch a plan (or at least an idea) for the coming year.

As some of you know, I spent this past year writing and talking nonstop about camping, Halloween and playing outside. Was it fun? No. It was SUPER DUPER fun. That's right, there's hardly anything funner than discussing the subtleties of Paper Bag Eggs, Meatloaf Mummies or the ultimate Backyard Snow Luge. Eat your heart out, people with serious jobs.

So yeah, 2011 was pretty great. One thing, though: the more I wrote about family fun, the less time I had to have any. So my new year's resolution is to go camping with my family more in 2012. It's fun, cheap and as far as I can tell the only way to really "get away from it all." Meanwhile, I'll follow some of my own tips for getting outside with the kids this winter. Snow maze! Who's with me?

My sincere thanks to everybody for all the encouragement this year - my super supportive Twitter and Facebook friends and the many journalists and bloggers who have given me kind words and mentions. Thank you.

And I wish everybody a happy and healthy New Year, and lots more fun in 2012. And snow pancakes for all!

XO, Maggie

P.S. It was 60 degrees in New York today and we had an awesome nature walk at Teatown Lake Reservation. Hope you like the pictures. 

Some years this stream is dried up, but this winter it flows all the way down the hill.

We checked out our fort and did some touch-up work. Decorations were added to the back door, which "needed color."

Fort construction detail: branch tucked into vine

Look at this neat red moss we found.

Found the perfect ring box, too.

Dusk in the woods. Good night, 2011.