Elowah Falls =)

We decided it was a good time to go for a hike. It had been a while since we'd gone hiking and neither Nigel or I wanted to carry Brock in the backpack. So, we called Papa and asked him where we should go. He said that Elowah Falls wasn't too far, wasn't too steep and was perfect for the kids. We packed up the kids, packed up the car, and off we went. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining and we were bound and determined to have a wonderful day! The only downfall is that Brock was running a fever of about 102. I know, I know, why would we take him out with that fever. Well, he'd been running the fever for a few days and he wasn't acting lethargic or tired, so we figured it was a go!

It was AMAZING. We had the best. time. ever. The boys did great, they both hiked the whole time, and we all had a wonderful, memory-filled day!

Nigel and Caden RAN a lot of the trail =) I lagged behind with Brock...

Once we got to the falls, we found a spot and called it home for several hours. Nigel went exploring......

And the boys were thrilled to stand on the bank and toss rock after rock (after rock) into the water. It is one of their most favorite things to do. Ever.

I enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. It's amazing to me how perfectly this world that we live on was made and how every little detail matters. I'm in awe.

This is Caden's newest "pose". Every time you ask him for a picture, his hands go up and that's where they stay until the camera is put away. Silly boy.

Throwing rocks happened the entire time. Non stop. There were a few short, no, very short, breaks for a bite to eat here and there, but otherwise, rocks were being chucked into the water.

Nigel found a newt =) I love slimy little creatures like this! (No, I'm not kidding. I really do. Ask my mom!)

We had some cookies......thanks to Starbucks =)

And Nigel practiced some Bear Grylls skills. He dug a hole in the bank by the water and let the hole fill up with "filtered" water. And then he drank it. And loved it. It was hilarious to watch. He would LOVE to be just like Bear. Out in the woods, left to his own devices. This thrilled him.

See.....Thrilled =)

And here's the falls. The beautiful and amazing Elowah Falls! I had been trying the whole day to get a picture of the entire falls, but the mist coming off of it was so heavy that I couldn't get a good picture. Until the end of the day, when we were about to leave. But, now you can see where we were and what we got to look at all day!

Of course, on the way back, there was the usual Schnackenberg silliness.....

After the hike, we were so close to Cascade Locks that we figured we might as well drive just a little bit farther east and get some amazing ice cream from the East Wind Drive-In. There's never a bad time for ice cream =)

Nigel had already eaten quite a bit off of his cone, and this isn't even the biggest one you can get. They don't mess around. It's my kind of ice cream shop =)

Who doesn't love ice cream?!?

Because we all do!! =)