Hiking at Pedernales Falls

(We were all standing on one rock - from top left to right- Drew, Luke, Clinton, Me, Isaac, Jenny, Sara, & Julia)

We went with the FUSION group (college/early career/young adult - whatever you want to call it) to Pedernales Falls on Saturday for a day of hiking. It was a fun and beautiful day. However, I have to say the hikes were not quite "kid proofed". We had Julia in the backpack carrier, so she was taken care of. The person carrying her, not so much. It got heavy after awhile, especially when I was carrying her while walking through the deep sand near the river. Every time I took a step, I sunk deeper. What a leg work out!!! Isaac was on foot most of the day. During the first part of the hike, the brush and grass were waist deep on me, so it was head high for Isaac. He didn't like that too much. We finally made it down to the river and let the kids play in the water a bit. Isaac could have stood there all day throwing rocks and sticks into the river. Julia wasn't too sure about the water at first but warmed up to it. She too enjoyed the rock throwing. However, she wanted and tried to pick up all the big rocks. She could barely get them a few inches in front of her, rarely all the way to the water. Glad one didn't drop on her toes!! As we started hiking out of the area we were in, the trail basically ended, it was all overgrown and full of burs. Needless to say we turned around and headed back the way we came. During this time Julia decided to take a little nap. She had the best seat all day. Have I told you before... that girl can sleep ANYWHERE!!
After a nice little picnic, we went to the falls. Again, Isaac could have stayed there all day! He absolutely loved climbing over the rocks and putting his hands in the fast moving water (with Mama holding on very tight, of course) At one point, Gabe mentioned that I should be a little less protective and just let Isaac explore on his own. Gabe and I are a good blend. He helps me loosen up a bit and I make sure our children don't die! (love you Babe!) I can't tell you how many times my heart lurched as Isaac ran up to the edge of a drop off because he wanted to throw a rock over the edge. We were walking all over wet slippery rocks, with holes, cracks and drop offs to the river. With one wrong step, you could be swept into the very fast moving river. Scary for a mother of a very active and energetic 3 year old boy!
At the end of the day, we were exhausted to say the least. We fed and bathed the kids as fast as possible and they were in bed at 7:15 without another peep from either of them. I can't speak for any of the others, but my body was aching from head to toe the next morning. It was a good kind of ache though. The kind where you know you got good exercise doing something you really enjoyed! (that, or I am just getting old!!)

Here are the rest of the pictures from Saturday......