Cascade Falls

On Thursday God graced us with a beautiful day, so we rounded up the family and went for a hike in the Jefferson National Forest. The weather was absolutely perfect; honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better day to take a family hike. Round trip, we hiked around 4 miles and it took us about 4 hours. There was a lot of wandering, observing nature, stopping for photos, water breaks, and a nice long snack break at the falls.

Spending time with my family while surrounded by God's creation is one of the most amazing experiences. It gives me a lot of time to reflect and truly appreciate all of my blessings. Here are a few key moments from the hike:

• After taking Jacob's hand to help him over a large rock, he spontaneously said, "Thank you!" 
• After picking Jacob up and over a few large rocks and mud puddle, he encouraged me, "Good job, Mom!"
• While carrying Addie over a couple rocks she hugged me and whispered, "I love you." 
• Having the children grab my hand just because. 
• Watching Bella hold Jacob's hand when he started getting tired, and then giving him piggyback rides on our return trip. 
• Watching the girls eat woodsorrel and violets (under guidance from their Daddy). 
• Watching the kids get excited every time we came across yet another millipede. 
• Watching the kids play along the water. 
• Seeing Will peek back around his carrier to look for me. 
• Seeing the kids choose the hard, higher, and rockier paths instead of staying on the easy paths. 
• Making it through a 4 mile hike with not one complaint or whine from the girls. 
• Hearing Jacob cheer at the end, "I hiked 4 miles all by myself!"

Even though I was quite skeptical that we would make it back to the car without carrying Jacob, it turned out just fine. And the view at the end was spectacular. Here are some highlights:

I told the kids that we found Pixie Hollow (from Tinkerbell). They were looking for fairies:

Checking out the river:

I love this man. This picture makes my heart melt...

Will enjoyed the ride, and actually stayed awake the whole hike:

Cascade Falls:

We even met a Gator alumnus who offered to take a family photo:

It was a great day.