Junior Ranger

The Georgia State Parks have a great program that allows kids to earn Junior Ranger Badges.  Both kids earned level 1 and their "get outside" badges and Cole even earned level 2.  The best part is that we were able to bring his workbook home with us and when he does enough activities for level 3 we can mail in for the 3rd badge.

More Hiking...

Here's a few more pictures from our longest-hike-ever on the first day.  The falls and scenery really were beautiful and the kids loved looking for bugs.

A Hiking We Will Go...

Our first full day in the park we took the kids hiking.  On the brochure in our cabin said the hike was 2 hours at a "leisurely pace" and that it was moderate-strenuous.  Well, with a 5 year old and a 2 year old it took us 4.5 hours and if there was a "moderate" section then we surely missed it.  The kids were troopers though.  Jonathan ended up carrying Kiley up the last set of steps, but Cole walked the whole thing with very little complaining.

Amicalola Falls State Park...

This year we headed up to the mountains after Cole got out of school.  We decided to rent a cabin at a park in Georgia that we had visited many times before, just never with the kids.  The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun exploring the area.

Hiking...

While we were camping over Thanksgiving weekend we all took a hike through the park. Unfortunately, the park maps were not well written and we got a little of course. Our hike ended up being a little longer than planned but everyone had fun and we even saw a few deer on the way.

Fishing...

While camping, all the kids got to take a turn fishing in the lake. Each of them caught several fish. It made me so happy to see Kiley fishing with the purple fishing pole that my dad bought her when I was pregnant. I wish he had lived long enough to see the look on her face when she reeled in her first big one!

Thanksgiving...

We spent Thanksgiving weekend camping (in cabins) at Lake Louisa State Park. It was by far the best Thanksgiving EVER. There were lots of campfires and we even got our whole family of 4 in a canoe.

The Moss Monster...

I have just 2 final pictures from our awesome camping trip. The first is Cole & Will with Papa and the Moss Monster. The second is a self portrait I took of Kiley and I. I bought a backpack to carry her in for our hikes. It was awesome. She loved it and it was much easier to keep track of her when we were out in the woods.

Peek-a-boo!!!

Kiley at the Lake...

Sharing Popcorn with Dad...

The Kids...

A few cute ones of the kids from our trip.

February Family Picture...

I took our February family picture while we were camping. We used the remote and I think it turned out way better than our January picture. When I got up to move the camera off the picnic bench Kiley came running at me. I just love the picture of her with the boys in the background.

Bubbles...

Ali gave each of the kids a goody bag when we checked in on Friday. They included... BUBBLES!!!! With ample space to run around they were a huge hit.

Playing in the Lake...

In addition to fishing, the kids also had fun playing in the lake. I honestly don't know how they got in the water because it was SO cold. Kiley fell in face first while she was running to see if we had caught more fish so I had to strip her down. She could have cared less about the cold water, she was in it the entire time.

Gone Fishing...

On Monday, after most people had returned to work and school, we took the kids fishing. Each of the boys caught a little one and even Kiley had fun with the net. She loved waving and saying "bye, bye, fishy" when we released our catches.

The Boys...

The 3 boys had so much fun playing and hiking and exploring the woods. We took this picture of them sitting on the log. Right after I took it Cole fell in the water. He was not happy about it.

Camo Kids...

We celebrated Will's birthday on Saturday night and all the kids were decked out in their camo. Along with our kids, Ali's best friend Anne and her family was able to join us. I thought this was a great picture of all the kids together.