Hocking Hills

Cedar Falls at Hocking Hills
Since we were able to have Aunt Mary stay the week with us, we decided to show her some of Ohio's beauty. So after all the shopping mall trips, pedicures, and manicures, we decided to change things up and go hiking around Hocking Hills (Well, as close to hiking as you can get in Ohio anyway). It truly is one of the most beautiful trails I have ever seen and for the most part [to be explained later] we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.


Calvin taking a breather against some rocks- he preferred to hike at an easy jog's pace so it was a well deserved rest.
(Notice the clean pants and sweatshirt.)


While Noah objected to not being allowed to hike on his own, we felt it best that he was carried.






Our turning point. If you look closely, you can see that Calvin is now completely covered in mud. Due to some unfortunate events, Calvin managed to find and enjoy a mudslide during his sporadic sprints while hiking. As everyone knows, it is extremely uncomfortable to walk in crusted, muddy clothes especially when it is only 50 degrees out and windy. So not surprisingly, Calvin decided that he could go no further and insisted on being carried the two mile trek back to the car. (Never mind us not ever making it to the scenic destination spot at the end of the trail.) So that left RB to carry Calvin, I had Noah who by this time had fallen asleep in my arms, and Mary was left with the heavy pack and camera.

Judging from this picture, it isn't hard to guess if Mary's favorite part of the trip was the nature hike or the shopping.:) Still, she was a trooper and helped haul the heavy backpack and babies all the way back to the car.

Eventually we made it back and though we were all relieved to put down our chubby/heavy loads, no one was as happy as Calvin when he stripped down to his Thomas the tank engine underwear and hopped into the car.
......

It was so nice to have Aunt Mary stay with us. As always, she was an amazing help to me and the boys just love her. Even Noah, who never talks, learned to say her name- bringing up the word count to a grand total of four. (That's including the panting dog noise that his Dr. says counts because it's a form of language.) Mary, we miss you already!