Waterfall Photo Shoot

Today was epic for so many reasons. For starters, I hiked my family to the base of the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi in hopes of a family Christmas picture. {Pause for eye roll and laughter.} Surprisingly, we didn't get one. Shocker, I know!

Frankly, it's challenging to get everyone smiling at the same time that my shirt hangs the right way. Once I mourned the lost opportunity and the perfect lighting, I remembered the wonderful time that we had! It was an amazing family hike.

The good parts were our children's attitudes and the beautiful scenery. 

The children have really become great little hikers. Often Fern will point to woods along the interstate and say, "we could park here and go hiking in those woods." It's great to know that hiking is a simple part of our family's story, and this time was perfect! As they hiked down then up the canyon, Burl, Fern and Ridge had great attitudes. No complaining. Hilarious conversation. They've become very independent and confident on our small hikes and it's sweet. Burl and Fern continued to point to parts that they thought looked cool-from a patch of ferns to a mossy rock to a waterfall. Then there's Ridge, who is very portable and beyond easy-going. 

The second great part was the hike itself. John said that I've never reacted to a hike like this one. The base of the falls took my breath away, and I can only remember a couple of hikes in the Red that were as good as this one. There were so many different elements all crammed into a small area. Wet, thick green areas next to dry rocky spots covered by a huge stone overhang. The mist from the waterfall. The sweet little brook. I loved it all! It is definitely my favorite hike in our area!

I would have loved this day even more if I got a Christmas card picture, but I can't get a grand slam every time that I step up to the plate. (does that sports analogy even make sense? idk) It was still fun to explore a new part of our favorite park. 

Once we returned home, the kids got their little people and cars. They pretended to take their family on a hike at Fall Creek Falls. It was all good fun in their pretend world, and the parents showed no frustration over pictures. Hopefully, fun over frustration is what they saw from us today. It was a great time!