Labor Day Hike

*DISCLAIMER: While processing these photos (which I do not normally do by myself). I accidentally messed with the white balance and also didn't turn off our watermarking action for our business. I am way too lazy to do it all over again therefore you are stuck with it! So, my point is that I wanted to make sure you didn't think I thought these silly photos were professional looking by any means. THEY ARE FAR FROM IT!

For Labor Day weekend we decided to take a spontaneous hike to the beautiful Pinnacle Lake off the Mt Loop Highway. We miscommunicated on the schedule of the day when planning it and it turned into a huge day experience of adventures. This hike was the hardest/steepest hike this little wimpy girl has taken. It was 2.9 miles of steep switchback and mud pits. Daniel was so determined to show me this gorgeous lake formed by glaciers that he willingly carried Danagan, our day pack and dragged me by the hand for most of the hike. We left a little later than we had anticipated which was impinging on some little guys nap time. This just made the toddler scream-fest fun on the ride up there that more enjoyable though. We will really be thankful when the dying pterodactyl screeches are stopped and we can finally enjoy a family car ride. (please tell me they do stop eventually) If any of you have any car ride advice I would love to hear suggestions. Currently, we have 2 sets of magnet fold out cases, musical instruments, sippy cups, snacks, plethera of pacifiers, AND a filled toy box within his small arms reach. We even blast him with the wind from the window down when we simply can not take it anymore. Yet, we still go on these trips for some reason. :)

Anyways, I am glad that Daniel carried Danagan and I up the mountain because the lake was AMAZING! It was so clear and private. Our own little heaven shared with the insects. We stopped for Lunch on the big flat rocks that lay in the lake. While we ate, Danagan enjoyed throwing binkies in the freezing lake and watching Daniel go in after them (We made this a serious matter since we knew that is our only sanity for the car ride back!) The best parts of steep hikes is getting to go down! I flew down that hill in double the time it took to get up there. Danagan on the way down took his latest nap of his small life at 2:15pm. He normally takes a consistent nap at 10 :30 so, he was exhausted. Here are some pictures of our crazy hike. For the most part he loved the whole adventure. He found himself a cute little walking stick and devoured many oranges with us. He also showed us his mad skills with the camelback. Its crazy how fast they learn at this age!

Sharing Lunch half way up....

Perfect sized walking still that he picked out himself!

Unfortunately, when I was airing out my feet at the top I got attacked by killer mosquitoes and took a gory picture for all of you to enjoy :)

Up at the top finally...love this goofy guy

At first I think he was a little confused about what our expectations were about the camelback.

With a little teaching we were totally floored that a 18 mo old could bite down and suck at the same time. We love this awesome learning stage he is in.

sleepy head