Falls Creek - Mayo River State Park

It was hot today. Dang hot. I wanted to find something wet for the kids to do and Rebecca found the Mayo River State Park. We've actually been the Mayo Park before, but I noticed on the map that there's a different section of the park way to the north, near the Virginia border. In that section is Falls Creek and the waterfall that gives the creek its name. it looked like it was pretty easy to get to, didn't require a bunch of walking, and had a place for the kids to splash around.

 It didn't disappoint. The falls were pretty and the pool in front was so inviting...

 The kids wasted little time getting in the water. A big bonus is that the bottom is mostly sandy and not very deep. even at the base of the falls, the water only got waist deep. 

The kids loved climbing on all the rocks. There were shallow little pools on each level where small fish, crayfish, and waterbugs had gathered. Ezra spent a lot of time trying to catch a minnow with his bare hands. No success there, tho.

 Getting into the falls themselves was like a refreshing massage. It felt so good!

 We had the place to ourselves for a full two hours, but when another family showed up with kids close in age to Ezra and Emma, they lost no time making friends. They even had two pit bulls with them that were the sweetest dogs ever! Shorty, the girl, wanted Irene to do nothing but throw the stick for her over and over! After 3 hours of swimming, climbing, and playing, the kids were tired and getting hungry. We will definitely be going back there soon, tho!

Camp Mashiach 2019

Camp Mashiach is a weeklong summer camp for Messianic teens and youth. Rebecca has been the camp nurse there for the last couple of years, but this was my first time going. 

This year, they moved from their previous location in Tennessee to a retreat center outside Cherokee, NC. Apparently, though there are hills, they're nothign like the last place. 

The kids had such a great time playing games, doing devotions, worshiping, and taking part in various activities together.

There were various theme nights where the kids dressed up in silly outfits.

This year, the boys got to come along and participate in the wolf cub group. they learned all kinds of neat survival skills.

Even the parents got in on the action!

It was so great for the kids to get to spend time with other kids who share their faith in Yeshua and in keeping the Torah. Looking forward to next year!

Great Wolf Lodge - May 2019

Going to the Great Wolf Lodge has become a tradition for us and the kids. We love it because we can all fit in one room, weather isn't an issue, and staying one night gives us two full days of fun at a water park. 

It's especially fun to see the little ones as they are becoming more independent in the water. Neither of them is afraid of diving right in and swimming around. They wear life vests, but dont really need them much any more because they're both getting stronger in their swimming. 

A new thing we got this time that I think will be a new tradition is the big bucket sundae. It's just big enough to satisfy this horde. It certainly doesn't last long! 

Already looking forward to our next trip!

Happy 6th Birthday, Irene!

Look who's 6!

 It's hard to believe this little one is 6 years old! She's growing so fast! 

While she's still the baby of the family, she's starting to really make her mark on the world. She is an amazing combination of sweetness, mischief, and explosive energy that keeps us guessing! As has become our tradition, Rebecca took her to Party City to pick out a big balloon, but she also got to pick something special this year!

 She came home as a beautiful rainbow pony! A prefect complement to her personality.

Happy Birthday, little one!

Happy 9th Birthday, Ezra!

Ezra turned 9!

 Mama took him for his traditional balloon and let him pick out something else...

He came home dressed up as Spider-Man! 

This kid is nothing short of amazing. He is so sweet! He always wants to help out and asks if there's something he can do. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. He gets really frustrated and anxious when he isn't capable of doing something and sometimes his anger gets the better of him, but he always tries his best and will work hard to get it right. We love seeing what a thoughtful, kind, and conscientious person he's becoming and can't wait to see what the next year has in store for him!

AHG Awards Ceremony

It's hard to believe another year of AHG has gone by!

 It was Irene's first year, so she was with the Pathfinders. 

Once she had completed all the requirements, which included stuff like memorizing the AHG Oath and Creed, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and memorizing several Bible verses, she was eligible to move up to the Tenderhearts.

 She got her Tenderheart vest and a new bag to keep her AHG handbook in.

 Emma completed her first year as a Tenderheart, earning a couple of badges and service stars. 

Olivia finished up her second year as a Pioneer and has moved up to be a Patriot, the highest level in AHG. She worked really hard this year, earning a lot of badges and finishing the year with over 100 hours of community service, enough to get the Gold Presidential Award!

We are so proud of our girls and the hard work they put in. It's great that they enjoy it so much!

Strawberry Picking

One of our favorite pastimes: strawberry picking! We had a wet spring, so Rudd Farms, our usual place, wasn't doing pick-your-own, so we went to our backup: Ingram Farms in High Point. The're certainly as good as Rudd, just a little further.

 They definitely had some good looking berries! 

 And good-tasting, too!

We picked 5 buckets of berries (about 30 pounds) and brought them home to make jelly. Altogether, we made about 60 jars of jelly, which should last us through the year.

Epic Hanging Rock Hike

While the big kids were away at MTYC, Rebecca and I took the littles on a hike in Hanging Rock State Park. 

There's a trail that going past two waterfalls, Hidden Falls and Window Falls. The trial keeps going after that, and since the hike to the falls was fairly short, we decided to keep going to see where it led. Little did we know...

 Of course the falls were gorgeous. 

  

  

There were lots of creeks to cross, so Rebecca and I would pop our shoes and socks off, load a little on our backs and carry them across. 

  

Along the way, we found several spots where there were dozens of little blue butterflies all gathered together. Not sure if they were getting water or just resting, but they were pretty.

 Eventually we reached the end of the trail: The Dan River. Unfortunately, there was only one way back... the way we came. 

 So off we went. 

  The girls kept up good spirits throughout the hike, not complaining at all.

 Fortunately, there were some places to rest.

 Eventually, we crossed all the creeks again and got close to the end. I ran on ahead to get the car started and be ready to load the kiddos while they rested a few more times before climbing the long set of steps back up.

 Our strong girls! Still happy, even at the end.

 My phone died just before I made it back, but it was a total of 9 miles that those girls hiked! 

 No wonder they were so exhausted on the ride home...

But they certainly woke up quickly enough when we stopped to get froyo!