Since Charissa is leaving in a week to head back to college, we decided to go to one of her favorite places here in Illinois - Matthiesen State Park. It is about a two hour drive from our house but has always been worth the drive. We packed a lunch and headed out with a promise of gorgeous weather perfect for hiking.
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| Tired before the hike ever began |
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| Eric is ready to go ... |
Eric was excited to bring his own backpack for hiking. Yeah, that excitement died within the first three minutes of the hike, and Charissa carried it for 99% of the hike. Eric did want it back at lunch time. Eric loved hiking. He loves the outdoors period and was quite the trooper. He did snitch a piggy-back ride up the flights of stairs - don't blame him there as some flights were quite long and steep.
Although we have had severe drought lately, the recent storms helped green up things and made for some beautiful nature shots. It also created some puddles for getting wet and water fights. The water was still low enough that the easier trails were accessible which made it easier on the younger kids and out-of-shape moms.
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| Let's Hike! |
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| Jonathan doing some exploring |
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| Clint and Eric enjoying the view |
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| Joanna and Cara |
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| Jonathan and Oren climbing and trying not to fall into the water below |
Oren was King of the Rock until Charissa the Queen came along and showed him who was boss.
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| Kalynne tried to use a staff to part the waters on the bridge. |
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| Enjoying a treat ... It was National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day afterall. |
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