Laurel Falls Hike

The kids have been out of school a lot for teacher development days and flu epidemics. We were all getting tired of being at home together (read - lots of squabbles and fighting). I decided that I would take them on an exploratory hike, to test a trail we have slated for the upcoming Johnson Family Reunion.  It starts out tame enough, as you see here - a little shallow water to throw sticks into.

 Then it gets more exciting, with sheer rock walls to climb between.

 Then there are the rocks to climb on. These slowed us down significantly because Carl couldn't just walk over them, he had to count to three once he climbed on each one and then jump off.

 Things started getting a little hairy here with the bridge 30 feet over the river moving along quickly below. Sorry, no picture of the river, I was trying to keep everyone on the correct side of the bridge.

 Happily we all made it to the other side safely. This was when we were walking along a trail with a 100 foot drop off to the left. Maybe it's not so bad in the summer when all the leaves are covering the fall.

 Here we are at the falls (notice the poses again). Where do they learn this stuff?

 I did forget to mention the 100 foot climb down to the falls and back up again. Carl did much better on the way up since he's been climbing up things since birth really, or maybe even before.

Columbia, South Carolina

A couple weeks ago we took the kids down to Columbia, South Carolina. I took the kids to some of the area parks while Ryan was at the temple. I am not sure where the older girls learned these poses.

 It was so beautiful down there with all the bushes in bloom. I could live in the south forever.

 Please draw your attention to the dried cicada shell on Carl's shirt. It was the "band-aid" we used when he fell down at the park. Worked like a charm.