Our weekend

Last weekend Joyce watched the kids and we went to the mountains near Hendersonville for our small group retreat. Here's the girls that came, two have nursing babies and one is pregnant.

Saturday morning we went out for breakfast then hiked to Pearson Falls. Here's our group minus the two couples who didn't come. It was someone's idea to mix up couples, not sure how Josh and I ended up with the babies.

The boys spent most of the evening messing with the grill. They cooked us a delicious meal. Later we played a hilarious game and had a great time hanging out together.

Monday we celebrated Jackson's 9th birthday early at Crowders Mountain State Park, just 45 minutes from home.

We hiked a mile up to the summit to see some nice views of the piedmont.

We could even see the city of Charlotte off in the distance.

See the skyscrapers?

I asked Jackson what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said climb boulders.

This luna moth was Addy's favorite find of the day.

After our hike we had a picnic complete with lemon bars, Jackson's pick instead of a cake. Then presents.

As part of the jr ranger program, we got to meet with the park ranger. We had to interview him. Then he showed us a snake and taught us about poisonous ones in our area.

The highlight of Jackson's day was the ranger's 2 bins of skulls! He even had a boar and blue heron.

Our 2nd jr. ranger badge. We're starting a collection.

After a hot day outdoors, we cooled off in the evening at the pool with the Molskness family.

Last night we celebrated Josh's 37th birthday. Joyce took us all out for dinner at Moe's BBQ, then we had tres leches cake from Josh's co-workers and opened gifts. (No good pictures)

Hanging Rock State Park

Sunday after church we drove 2 hours to Danbury, NC to explore Hanging Rock State Park. We hiked to several waterfalls but the best was this hidden one Josh and Jackson found off the trail.

They led us up from the waterfall to another less traveled area.

We were able to walk out on this rock cliff above the falls.

And see this beautiful view.

After some hiking we sat up camp and had dinner.

Then we went on another short waterfall hike.

The kids ended up getting very wet and we had to stop Benny from swimming underwater.

The next morning we got up and went on a longer 2.6 mile roundtrip hike to the main feature of the park, hanging rock.

The trail was pretty strenuous toward the top so we stopped often to rest. Addy's working on her Jr. Ranger activity book.

We made it to the top and were rewarded with this view.

Josh was brave enough go onto hanging rock. I was scared just watching him.

I made the kids SIT with me on the safer side.

On the way back down I got this guy to pose for a picture!

The kids were excited to get Jr. Ranger badges for completing some workbook activities and picking up trash on our hike.

Camping in Boone, NC

Last weekend we went camping with the Molskness family at Blue Bear Campground. This is the kids eating breakfast on Saturday morning.

We were very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here's an overlook along the parkway.

Just off the parkway we stopped at E.B.Jeffress Park to take a hike.

Sweetest baby ever. This girl never cries and was a great camper.

We hiked to Lower Cascade Falls.

After our hike we drove into downtown Boone and went to the famous Mast General Store.

Then we went to the Living History Museum at Horn in the West. It's the location of the outdoor drama about Daniel Boone and the history of the area. Our visit just made me want to go to the show. I think the kids are ready for it now.

Back at the campground we roasted hotdogs and smores.

The kids LOVED playing together. The girls made this cute teepee for their caterpillar.

Sunday morning we hiked at the campground then went to visit our neighbors, John & Nancy. They led us in their Mule up a steep gravel road to their beautiful rustic cabin. It was just a short drive from our campground. (Excuse the smudge on our windshield.)

Here's Nancy showing the boys their bear skin rug. We got a tour of the cabin then ate some snacks while relaxing on the porch. John built most of the cabin himself. Very impressive.

Then they took us to their relative's Christmas tree farm not far from the cabin. What a view! The mountain on the right is Elk Knob where our friends went to hike while we visited.

Gotta love the high country!