Raven Run pics

We were collecting leaves for a school leaf project.  It was Elijah's homework.  I love this pic of him.  Totally spontaneous.

Isaiah took this picture and I didn't crop it at all.  He's quite the photographer.

Climbing the falls.  Miraculously, no one got wet, and I didn't have to go chasing after Micah's shoe down the stream either.

Memorial Day Activities

Three boys on a bridge. This is the only picture of Isaiah with his eyes open. :)
Eric and Isaiah. They were trail buddies for most of the hike.
Elijah climbing and displaying his masculinity completely unprompted. There is just something about the great outdoors that brings out the boyness in boys.
At the overlook. That is the Kentucky River and there is very little between us and the water below. Scary. Eric has Isaiah on his shoulders at this point.
There is a butterfly on Elijah's finger.

What did we do with our day off from school and work? The weather was beautiful so we packed a backpack and headed to Raven Run Park for some hiking. We went here last summer at the end of the summer and the boys loved it. Its about a 15 minute drive from Wilmore and they have some great trails- very hikeable for little ones but challenging enough that they feel like they're really hiking into the deep dark forest. When we first pulled in to the parking lot, we heard a lot of, "This isn't a park... where's the playground... I don't want to go here."

After a stop at the porta-potty and the nature center, we ventured to the overlook- a REALLY high cliff that overlooks the Kentucky River. We hiked about 40 minutes to get there. We don't have many pictures from this beautiful spot because we were both busy making sure little ones stayed away from the edge of the cliff. We ate lunch out on the trail and a snack when we got back to the nature center- an hour and a half of hiking, and the boys hardly complained about being tired at all. The whole afternoon was good free fun, and at one point I heard Elijah say, "This is so much fun!" Amazing what some good fresh air, a picnic lunch, trails, bugs, rocks, and streams can do.

Raven Run Nature Preserve

Hoooray!!! The weather finally cooled off a little this weekend. We were down to a high of only 92 today, and the humidity was bearable, so we had to find a good reason to spend some time outside enjoying it. We decided to take the boys hiking this afternoon. Elijah, of course, needed to know the plan and as many details as we could provide about the park. He was skeptical to say the least. How could a park with no playground be any fun at all? Raven Run Park is about 20 minutes from Nicholasville. There are quite a few trails and a little nature center with stuffed, wild animals and some live turtles in a tank. You would have thought it was the Cincinnati zoo. Kids are so easy to please. We were really thankful for our off-roading stroller- the one we haul behind the bike for Micah and Isaiah. A regular stroller could never have handled the trails, and Isaiah needed to be pushed most of the way. Actually, Micah surprised us by walking almost the whole way. Elijah rode more than Micah did. We ate a picnic dinner after our hike, and on the way home in the van Elijah said, "Mommy, I guess nature parks can be fun," so I guess that means it was a successful trip. Incidentally, we saw a family there with like 8 kids, the oldest being maybe 15. The dad carried a 2-3 month old baby on his arm both times we saw them, and the 10-11 year old son had a Baby Bjorn on carrying a baby that looked to be about 9 months old. They were enjoying the FREE entertainment of the nature preserve as well. Does is seem like big families are more common than they used to be, or is it just me?