Brian's 4th of July

I don't know if anyone else is sore from their Independence Day activities, but our first family hike was an adventure. When he doesn't have to work, Brian wants to be out in nature. After almost colliding with a speeding ATV on our curvy drive up the mountain, we parked at our usual fishing spot and and hiked 1.7 miles up to a higher lake. I was winded almost from the start, but luckily the gray clouds that had us worried only stuck around to keep the temperatures cool for our trek up and dissipated once we reached the lake.

Once there, Eli and I just wanted to rest and you'd never know Brian had been the one wearing the 40 pound pack (including Eli) up the mountain because he went right for his fishing pole. Eli and I stuffed ourselves on goldfish and tried to get comfortable on the steep, rocky shore we found. Eli was excited to try out his new Spider Man pole.

It got pretty dramatic on a walk to find a better spot when the path involved crossing a stream and big rocks. With a backpack on his back and Eli in his arms Brian slipped and miraculously managed to twist and land on his back on a rock. The boy was scared but just fine. Brian's elbow was not, although it wasn't too bad to keep him from fishing. I had to tend it first, but had to stop when I started getting light-headed and my hearing stopped working. Moms can't be wimpy.

We passed people along the way who were treating the hike like a nice walk after dinner, for us it was an all-day affair. When we finally made it back down [middle picture, I like how tired Eli looks(which was 10 times easier than going up)] I was actually relieved to hear those loud ATVs and visit the smelly outhouse. It was a beautiful place, good exercise, and made Brian especially happy. It was also good training for our trip to Switzerland at the end of August. I'm sure my dad will have us walking (for him, hiking for us) up and down all kinds of hills and mountains.