Mountains with The Molskness'

Last weekend we traveled to Bakersville, NC and stayed with friends in a rental house. Notice Jackson in this picture.

Here's a view of the house. The best part was the top deck with rocking chairs overlooking the creek. So relaxing.

The reason we chose this place was it's close proximity to this gorgeous creek. The kids enjoyed exploring and swimming. These are flower vases made by the girls.

What's everyone looking at?

Yay! It was Norah's 13th brithday so we celebrated with strawberry shortcakes.

We brought along some Matthews wood to make a campfire and make smores.

And both evenings saw this baby deer. The smallest any of us had ever seen.

On our last day, we drove to nearby Roan Mountain State Park in TN for a picnic and hike.

Our souls were refreshed by these mountains, time with friends, and the break from routine.

Lake Jocassee with the Masud Family

Last weekend we had our 1st summer getaway to a magical place.

There were rocks to jump off,

gorgeous blooms of mountain laurel,

and the very best part, WATERFALLS flowing into the lake!

There were sandbar like areas of rock to explore.

The kids even found a hole in the island to crawl through. Scary!

There were bridges with views, hiking trails leading into the mountain forest,

creeks with rapids and skipping rocks,

and some epic evening views.

We are so thankful to our friends Steph and Khan for inviting us on such a fun adventure.

We stayed in Khan's parent's cabin. They are so much fun. Here's Tim and Michelle showing Benny how to skin a fish after the guys caught it our 1st morning there.

Tim also led us on this AMAZING waterfall hike.

This was my favorite part of the trip. We had to carefully slide down these slippery rocks next to some pretty powerful falls.

Then cross the creek trying to get back. There was no trail where we were so it was dicey.

I love this picture of Khan holding Addy's hand. This took some serious teamwork to make it back. The kids did great!

Josh and I posed next to the falls.

We had to hike barefoot because it was so slippery. I loved the flower petal covered mossy rocks.

The most dangerous crossing was our last. Slip here and you're going over. After this hike, we were all bonded.

We enjoyed the rest of the day eating, fishing, rock jumping, swimming and relaxing on the boat.

On our last day, we stopped at this amazing beach with a unique sandstone rock formation.

And beautiful water looked so tropical.

The beach consisted of sand fallen from the hillside which the kids enjoyed climbing.

They could have played here for days.

Tim and Michelle's boat parked on shore. Thank you guys so much for having us!!!

We love you Lake Jocassee.