Monday, October 8, 2012

A Weekend in the Mountains - Part 1

We sure did enjoy our weekend away.  What a blessing it was to have some time together as a family.  I think we all needed it.  Since school started, we have been so busy and I feel like we haven't had much time to just hang out together.  This weekend was supposed to be "fall break" and we planned this getaway 6 months ago.  Matt took off Friday and Monday and we were all set to go somewhere.  Well the school calendar changed and there was no longer any time off.  We tried to find a weekend only vacation but that just wasn't working.  We couldn't find a place that was going to work up in Tennessee.  Then I started looking in Mentone, AL.  I found the perfect place!  It is the High Horse Lodge.  Just an hour and 1/2 from our house and everything we wanted.  Up on a mountain with hiking trails and lots of things to do.  We were so excited.  And it lived up to all expectations.  We loved it!!!  

This was the view from the main house looking out over the pond where you could fish or kayak.  
 We checked Ben out of school early on Friday and headed out.  We were at the cabin by 1:30.  We got settled in and hit the trails.
 There were over 5 miles of trails on the property.  We enjoyed checking them all out.  We had a blast getting out there and enjoying God's amazing creation!  Ben was super excited about the shelter rocks where Indians camped.
The kids loved climbing on the rocks.  I was so proud of Ben all weekend.  He was so brave and tried all sorts of new things.  He is usually a little reserved but I am seeing him grow up and change quickly. He climbed rocks, went exploring in the woods and wadded through the creeks.  It is so fun to see him gain confidence and grow!

 One of the main things we were looking for was a place we could go wadding in a creek.  This is one of my favorite things to do.  Ben and I had a blast slipping and sliding on the rocks.  We slipped and fell many times.  Lots of laughing.



 We kept hiking up to the most beautiful spot.  There were rock cliffs on one side and a beautiful cascading creek.  It was just beautiful.  We were all just in awe!  Lots of fun was had exploring and checking it all out.


 We headed back to the pond and the kids did a little kayaking with Matt.  How fun!

 My parents were able to join us for part of the weekend.  We were so excited they could come and hang out with us!  Another great thing about the High Horse Lodge is that it is also a working farm.  The owners raise chickens and goats.  So we also got to experience the fun of working on a farm.
 We collected the eggs that we then ate for breakfast!


 I thought this was too funny with our van surrounded by chickens.
 The kids got to help put up baby chicks and their mama in a special pen for the night.  They thought it was so cool to get to hold the chicks.


 Finally we got to help put the goats in the barn for the evening.  The goats were so funny and Kate had so much fun trying to scare them.
Wow!  What fun and that was just the first day.  Just the beginning of the adventure.

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