Weekend Adventures

We had a great weekend last weekend! We went to visit the hubby's sister and her family. The best part? NO MOSQUITOS!! Or very few anyway! We had a great time! And the kids had fun with there cousin Deva. We got there Friday evening in time for supper and played a game. Then Saturday we had a busy day of exploring, as Vince called it.

First thing Saturday morning, Aunt Leigh took the kids for a ride on a horse and a mule. Well, ok, Rori was the only one that actually rode anything!

Here she is riding a mule named Jim! She was so excited...all she wanted to do at Aunt Leigh's was ride a horse!

Then she rode a horse and loved doing this also!

Ellie decided that she would sit on a mule. Amazing!! Just a few minutes before she wouldn't even pet him. I think she still wasn't so sure about the whole ordeal, but she enjoyed it! And check out your hair Leigh! It got amazingly long for this photo...and how did you get it to stand up like that?!!! I have good timing when taking photos!!!

Vince would have no part in riding anything....or even petting an adult horse or mule....but he loved this mule colt! He had to pet him several times through out the weekend! He wouldn't even pet the dogs but he loves this mule colt! Crazy kid!

We went to a state park called Rock Creek Station. The Pony Express went through there and it was also the site where Wild Bill Hickock killed David McCanles.

I saw this fluffy looking flower along the path.

There were a lot of these little grayish-blue butterflies all over the place.

Ellie found the perfect spot to take a load off and kick off her shoes! This little bench was just her size....I think it was a bench for a horse carriage but it was sitting on the floor. The kids had fun exploring here and seeing all the old things and the way people used to live.

Then we drove out to the middle of nowhere to search for a Mausoleum. On the path....which was the wrong one!...we saw this beautiful blue butterfly. We walked quite a ways up a path looking for the Mausoleum and didn't find it. Rori kept complaining about spiders but her and Uncle Jim were the first in line and went on without the rest of us! She had fun...in spite of the spiders! We walked back down the hill and back to the river because the path was supposed to be along the river. We never saw the sign that was supposed to be there. So we decided to follow the river for a little while and see where it lead to. We found a narrow path along the river on a small cliff and walked along it.

After a little while of hiking, we found this sign in the side of the cliff wall. Lookout Mountain.

Shortly after that, we found it! Yay! We found the Mausoleum! Who needs signs!!

The sandstone inside was beautifully colored. And of course lots of people have carved things into it.

These crazy tree roots were growing on the side of the cliff.

This is the little river we followed. It's a pretty little river.

This RIP was carved on the back of one of the sandstone chairs outside of the Mausoleum. The kids had fun playing in the sand.

Here is the other little chair carved in the sandstone. No, the juice box is not part of the chair!!

Aunt Leigh, Uncle Jim and Cousin Deva. We had a great time with them and they took us to do all kinds of fun things! That evening they took us to Chucky Cheese's. The kids loved this of course and Ellie liked the singing critters! I'd forgotten about those. The kids were worn out and ready for bed shortly after we got back to the house! They had a blast exploring!

Here we are sitting on one of the chairs at the Mausoleum. Sunday we went to another park and grilled out and then played on the beach before heading home. We had a great time! Thanks guys!

Keeping Things Fun!

Jess