Family Fun..or very close to it!

Yesterday, Sean had the day off so we loaded up the Bronco and headed up the hill to do some hiking. There is this neat trail that travels along a river in the mountains. There are 7 waterfalls to take a look at along the way. Back in 2000, when Sean and I were here visiting missionaries we knew, we hiked that little trail and had a great time. That was before we were married, before we knew we'd be missionaries, before Sean even had his private pilot's license. It was a fun and memorable hike for two young adventurers back then....we figured it would be fun to take our whole family there now - almost 7 years later to the day!
With Madison in a backpack on Sean's back, Brooklyn holding my hand, and our dog Maya running between us, we started to make our way up the trail. I wasn't too thrilled when I saw what passed for a bridge to cross the river the first time. Back in 2000, we just waded through the cold water. I would have preferred that to this wobbly "bridge" high over rocks, rushing water and a quick drop off. But Sean and Brooklyn are fearless and I really couldn't refuse to cross the bridge once my 3-year-old had done it! I'm such a coward now. 7 years ago that would have been no big deal. But I should add that the picture doesn't really show how high or how wobbly that bridge was. And the "hand rail" was just a tease - you really couldn't put more than a finger on it or you'd knock it over...and go right after it.
The girls did really great on the way up. We were very encouraged and hiked up for nearly an hour. It was slow-going with Brooklyn's short little legs but she was such a trooper. Maddie just bobbed along on Daddy's back with no problems at all...for a while. We were about 3/4 of the way to the top when things took a turn for the worse.

After hiking for an hour or so, Brooklyn became very grumpy and dramatic. That was our cue that she was getting pooped. Then Madison started in - she was done with the backpack, ready for a nap and very hungry. Finally we decided we'd have to give up seeing the top of the trail and start heading back down - at least to a flat area that wasn't so narrow, steep, or slippery where I could feed Madison and we could all sit down for a bit. I went ahead back down the trail to find us a good rest spot while Sean helped Brooklyn maneuver back down the trail. Every so often, Brooklyn would stop and just rest her weary legs. Sean got this shot of her as she stretched her little legs on the trail. A picture is worth thousand words....By the time we were back at the bottom of the trail (about 2.5 hours after we started out) Brooklyn was her happy, energetic self again. Madison was very content once we got her out of the backpack. We were all a little tired and dirty but it felt so good just to get out - to breathe fresh air, listen to nothing but nature sounds, and feel the sun on our backs (which, by the way, I burned). We drove up to Rio Verde and had lunch at a nice little cafe before driving home. All in all, it was a really great time. Trips like this with kids can really become miserable and that didn't quite happen this time (though we were on the verge most of the way back down the trail)- so we consider it a success!!