Into the woods

The other night Zack rode home from work (yes, he is biking to work these days) and was all hyped up to get back outside. So we got the kids' shoes on, put Ripley in the truck and all headed to Whipple Dam.

It's a great little park/state forest or something and it is only 15 minute drive from our house. We stopped for dinner at a little bbq place, called Doan's Bones.

The kids loved sitting outside on the picnic benches and eating dinner -- especially after the milkshake arrived. It is truly amazing how motivated a kid can be to finish his/her dinner when there is a sweet treat sitting in front of them.

Then we went over to the park/lake. I have taken the kids there about 4 times this year to swim in the lake. They love it. Tonight, though, we had Ripley, so we headed up the side of the hill and took what we assumed would be just a flat circle around the lake.

Much to our surprise, it headed straight up the mountian (fairly steeply) and then cut across the top edge. It was a beautiful walk after stuffing our faces with BBQ.

The best part of this little spontaneous adventure was the fact that the little Diva (aka CJ) actually HIKED the trail. She walked all the way up the moutain by herself. This is a real feat, since usually about 3 yards into the woods she is running in front of you with her arms raised, frantically yelling "UP!UP!UP!"

Needless to say, she was very proud of herself. Zack and I were so excited for her - and for the rest our arms had!