Our Reward

Shortly after we moved here, I finally discovered what the Big Deal is about Spring. A month or two later, I then realized there is a price to be paid. We call it Summer. But, we've survived the hot 'n sticky - and this year with surprisingly less grousing (although, admittedly, I did not blog much, so really, you'll just have to take me at my word on that), and now, we reap the reward -- Gorgeous Weather from now until next May!

Friday, our wee Den (and ALL the siblings) went hiking at Hurricane Creek. It was a fantastic day, with a fantastic group, and a fantastic outing. We did get into a nest of yellowjackets at the end, which was a bit rough on those of us who got stung, but that was the only downside to the trek. (Side note: in spite of having been stung three times, John carried Jase half a mile uphill, of his own volition. Jase had been stung twice, once in the inner thigh, and walking at all just hurt like all get out. I carried him a bit, but the yellowjackets were still following us, and I needed to help the others move more quickly. John has enjoyed serious Super Hero status for the past few days.)

Jase was a little scared the first 200 yards of the trail (which are pretty much straight down - there are steps, but they're Park Service steps - so plenty of railroad stakes and old rocks). Once he found his balance, though, he kept announcing, "And I'm not scared at all! This is FUN! It's not even a little scary!" I'm glad for that. For a while, there, I was sweating the end result, and having to explain to Zorak just how'd I'd scarred our smallest child so terribly. But, no. All is well.


My favorite spot of the day was the picnic area. The water is *right there*, so the kids sort of inhaled just enough food and water to get their second winds and then they dispersed to play in the creek. Thankfully, this was our last stop before climbing back up the mountain side, so we weren't wet for the whole day.

I hope we get back there again soon. It's just a stunning place to enjoy being out and about. You can hike, mountain bike, rock climb, or curl up on a sunny rock and enjoy the peace.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy