Mountain Expedition

Well, it's been just plain ol' busy aroud here, and we haven't had opportunity to make our annual trek to the apple orchard, so we decided this last weekend to at least enjoy a trip to the "mountains" Sunday afternoon. We packed our picnic lunch and extra clothing in the van and left immediately after the morning service. Hannah was very excited--"It's like going on vacation, Mommy!"

Peter took opportunity to snooze . . .

We stopped at a lovely park in one of the touristy mountain towns for our lunch. Picnic tables make lunch so much easier! :o)

The men . . .

And the ladies . . .

What do you do when you're ready to play but haven't finished dessert yet? :o)

And here's our pretty girl who's growing every day!

Compliments of Daddy . . .

Oh! The two of us in one picture! Amazing! :o)

Everybody wants to pose with Daddy . . .

But this is what happens after posing with Daddy! :o)

Fun places to explore! :o)

Our little pioneers . . .

What a nice park!

After enjoying our lunch, we headed to the mountains. It was a beautiful day and the colors (while hardly comparing to last year) were still vibrant. :o) However, even as we were enjoying the mountain scenery all around us, Hannah's oft-repeated question was "When are we going to get to the mountains?" or "Are we in the mountains yet?" or "How much longer till we get to the moutains?" Since we were driving right through them, we asked her what a "mountain" was in her opinion. The answer: "Getting out and exploring." Ahh. The car seat view wasn't going to cut it.

Thankfully the Lord provided a trail for exploring! (You would think those would be abundant in the "mountains," but the roads we were on did not have side-trails for whatever reason! We were acually out of the mountains and on our way back before we finally were able to turn off towards a State Park where we found an old deserted road perfect for a Sunday afternoon hike.)

It was an excellent trail for 2 and 4 year old legs!

Hannah was most assuredly our fearless leader! :o)

Peter on the other hand was not overly interested in getting anywhere . . . he liked the sticks.

And here's a leaf to go with it. . .

Oh! And another stick!

Now I'm ready to explore!

Hannah was quite pleased with her walking stick!

Which was also quite handy for writing in the dirt--we mustn't lose an opportunity to write our name on something . . . anything! :o)

Off they go!

Peter wasn't too disappointed to finally have Daddy scoop him up though. :o)

The view is much better from up here, Daddy! Just let me get my sticks adjusted . . .

A nice sized creek flowed in the gorge below the trail . . . we couldn't always see it, but its sound made pretty background music. :o)

And Daddy thoroughly enjoyed landing some rather large rocks in the creek with a big SPLASH!

Good job, Daddy!

Here's Mommy with her munchkins! :o)

And a final glimpse of the beautiful colors . . .

A wonderful afternoon!