Trip to South Mountain Park

Sunday after church we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to South Mountain Park. Arent those last min trips the best? Where you just go, and end up having a great time? Well anyway, we had been talking about maybe going to the mtns yesterday anyway, but up to Boone and shopping, which we really didnt need to be tempted with anyway, so Arnold suggested this instead. The ride there seemed a lot longer than it really was because the kids kept asking when we were going to get there, and Caleb kept insisting on seeing the actual MOUNTAIN (he is very literal at his age!) We got there and headed off down the trails. We took the flat and easy ones of course, because of the kids. Not to mention that we went straight from church so the kids were actually dressed halfway decent, and Brooke was in sandals, and I was in flip flops. Not the greatest when you are out hiking, thats for sure, but we made it work! It was a great opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the kids, which everyone knows I LOVE doing, hehe ;) I got a lot of great shots that I was happy with. Caleb and Brooke were so excited, always running ahead of us on the trails. We couldnt have asked for better weather. The rain held out, and the temp was a lot cooler than it had been lately. The humidity was still there, though, so by the end I was still pretty sweaty, with my hair sticking to me.. yuck! Anyway, we stopped down at the creek and let the kids explore, sit on some rocks, and throw some in the water. Even Rachel loved this part. She was really getting in the mud and ended up getting her hands filthy, which she hated (she is just like her dad!) Then we walked down the trails some more. We passed a lot of people walking their dogs, and Rachel had to point out every one we saw yelling "PUPPY!!" She is a dog lover like the rest of us :) We wanted to hike to the falls, but the paths started getting trickier and there were lots of stairs to get to certain parts, and since Rachel was in her stroller, this was almost impossible for us. So we gave up on that dream and just spent some more time enjoying walking around, and just enjoying nature. The kids would stay outside 24/7 if we let them! It was a nice afternoon of some quality family time, just in time before school starts next week!