Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Overcoming Obstacles on Pinnacle Mountain

Last weekend, we had the chance to visit some friends on a mini-vacay to Little Rock.
First, we met our friends Lauren & David and their cute little baby, Caroline. 
I was so sad that I forgot to take any pictures.
Oh well, we'll just have to go & visit them again sometime soon. :)

Then, we met my sweet college friend, Ashli, & her husband for dinner.
She showed us this old Catholic Church just a few doors down from her condo.
Ethan was so amazed with the disciples on the doors.


On Friday, we spent several hours at the Museum of Discovery in downtown Little Rock.
We all had a blast exploring the various exhibits!
In fact, when it was time to leave, we had to drag a few little ones away.

Then, we walked to around downtown, across a bridge & into a submarine!

This is the USS Razorback.  Very interesting tour!
The tour guide told us we had to climb in just like the servicemen used to do it!
It's amazing how they managed to live life in this very small space!

Did you know the USS Razorback is named after the 
Razorback Whale & not after the
University of Arkansas Razorbacks?

On Saturday morning, we set out to hike up Pinnacle Mountain.
I agreed to hiking because I'm a "boy mom" who really does NOT like
to sweat!  I really don't like the sun either.  But I felt like it was time
to do something the boys would enjoy.


And yes, this may be a cinch for a lot of people, but it was
no easy task for this girl!
I was slow but ok until we got to the steeper area with lots of boulders.
And I would have been fine just sitting on the bench when we got 
to "marker 9," but no one would let me stop. 
(Why didn't we take a picture of the huge boulders we had to climb?)
It reminded me of the "Biggest Loser" episodes when the contestants are
pushed to their limits.  I was very thankful for Eric, Robin, & Jimmy pushing me to 
go all the way to the top!  It was really pretty, but I was so exhausted & hot that 
all I could think about was 'how in the world am I going to get back down?'
The kids had a wonderful time!  They hiked up that mountain so fast!
They had fun exploring God's beauty!
Ethan found his "secret lair" and kept climbing this tree.
It scared his brother & it should have scared me...
but like I said, I was exhausted & wasn't thinking very clearly.
He & Kallie even started exploring the rocks on the "steep side"
of the mountain.  Again, I should have been worried...
but it was kind of nice not to.
My cool teenager took care of the worrying for me.
And my sweet husband enjoyed his "marriage enrichment activity."  
He exercised quite a bit of patience as we navigated the mountain together.
What wonderful memories we made together!