Lost Maples- memorial day

We’ve spent too many weekends working on projects so after spending most of Saturday working on the yard we were sure grateful for a holiday on Monday.  We packed up the kids and the camelback and headed for Lost Maples State Park.  It’s my favorite state park.  I love the hills, the cliffs, the trees, the river, and the… river.  Really, the river steals the show sometimes.  And the kids love it too.  Here’s so photographic proof of their love.

Lizzy was not hesitate at all, but walked right in.  It was very shallow where we started her playing.  At first she just wanted to horde rocks, but she soon got the hang of throwing them into the water and threw rocks for 20 minutes straight.  (She really is a Hedengren/Dunn.  Both my family and Dell’s are good rock throwers.)  I’d give her a pile of rocks and when that was gone she’d sign for “more” “please.”  But then that was too slow for her so she sat herself on a large rock and would throw a rock in, reach over and grab it out of the water and throw it again.  She kept throwing the same rock for a long time.  And it was a good rock, the size of a small grapefruit.  It made a very satisfying splash.  Lizzy would grunt her “1,2,3, boom” with most of the throws too.  She’s so funny.

Dell and Henry hiked up the stream a bit until they found this perfect swimming hole.  The water came up to Henry’s chest and he loved jumping and playing in there.  Lizzy and I hiked up when she tired of rock throwing in the shallow part and we introduced her to a little pond that came up to her waist.  She LOVED it.  She splashed and splashed the water and tried to grab rocks to throw in.

By the time we left this part of the river, Lizzy, Henry, and I were soaked.  Dell stayed dry because I was the one carrying LIzzy (and getting splashed by her rock throwing.)

The hike itself was glorious.  The temperature was perfect.  Just hot enough that being wet wasn’t uncomfortable, but cool enough that being dry was comfy too.  And the sky was my favorite shade of bright bright blue.

Henry hiked the whole way, though on the way up he started to run out of interest so we then had to be jedi soliders sneaking up on seperatist troups.  We set traps, cast spells (not sure where that came from, maybe super mario brothers), and snuck along as quietly as we could at times.  We each had a stick.  Mine a small wand, Dell’s large and curved and so was a bow, and Henry’s big thick stick (which he’d brought from home) was his sword/wand.  You can see his stick in the picture of him in the swimming hole.  He lugged that stick the whole hike and we even brought it home again for the next hike.

Lizzy, doesn’t sleep in her carseat very well, but it looks like the backpack is a better place to nap.  Here she is.

going, going….

GONE