Friday, October 14, 2016

We'll Just Ignore the Fact I Haven't Written in a Month TToT

This fall break week has been filled with unexpected fun. (Not quite like the unexpected fun of last year's fall break).

The week started with Grandparents' Day at the high school. My mom and dad both came, which was a treat in itself. 

My dad hadn't been up when the kids left for school, thus he didn't know what their uniforms looked like. He dressed like them purely by accident.

They both stayed through the weekend, which meant they could watch all of the boys' play soccer and football and still have plenty of time to just hang out and play games with us.

The high school soccer season has come to an end. That last game was an exciting one, but it ended in lots of tears by lots of people. The soccer team is one tight group, and there were 9 seniors on the team this year. No one wanted it to end.




Cuckoo's first season of playing a sport has come to an end, too. It was fun to watch, but not quite as emotional. 



Turken's season isn't over yet, but we'll throw some photos of his last game in here, too. (He's the one in maroon.)


It doesn't look like it, but Turken managed to bring that kid down, too.

My parents went to their separate homes on Sunday, and on Monday, the kids and I headed for my mom's house. We were going to visit the University of Kentucky on Tuesday, and her house was a good place to stay the night. On the way, we stopped at a state park we've driven by hunderds of times. (Falls of the Ohio, right on the Kentucky/Indiana border along the Ohio river. The name is deceiving, seeing as how the falls are no longer there. Ruined by a man-made damn.) Now we wonder why we hadn't done it before.

The rock bed and cliffs are covered with fossils. You can't walk 2 steps without seeing another one. The boys are pointing to some on the rocks below.

Big brother showing little brothers how to skip rocks.


We went around a bend and found about a hundred cairns people had built. Of course our kids had to add their own.
After the park, I called my brother to see if they were busy that night. They weren't, so we ended up spending a lovely few hours sharing a meal, taking a gander at the changes to their farm, and laughing our heads off. 

Turken taking a ride on my niece's pony.

Unfortunately, their kids were not on fall break, so the night ended early.

Long story short, that night I discovered that my other brother's kids DID have fall break this week, so we made some plans. After the college tour, we met at a nearby park (Raven Run Nature Sanctuary) for lunch and a hike.

My brother lets his kids live on the edge, too.

The whole group - 10 kids, 4 adults (Did I mention that Bryan wasn't on this trip with us?)

We then checked into a hotel for a swim and a sleep to prepare for the major hiking of the next day.

Daniel Boone National Forest/Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge State Park is one gigantic place with lots of cool features.

We started by hiking to the Natural Bridge and back down. Basically, we tempted fate and death all day long, starting with a run-in with a copperhead. No one was bitten, but the youngest nephew got within a foot of it before we realized there was even a snake on the path. The first three photos were taken in "Devil's Gulch".

My brother likes to encourage cliff exploration.

Phoenix peeking over the edge.

Buttercup wasn't deterred by the elevation either.

As long-time readers know, we must always take a "Help me! I'm falling!" photo. This was taken on top of the natural bridge. We eventually made it around to that point in the background.

After lunch, we took a one-hour drive to the other side of the forest.

Halfway there, we go to go through this:

It's a single lane tunnel through the rock. That's my mom's vehicle going in before us.

When I thought we'd never get to our next hiking spot, we turned off of pavement and onto gravel/dirt.

That dust is from my mom's vehicle still driving ahead of us.

Three miles later, we made it to the trailhead.

Another awesome hike with a smaller natural bridge, a waterfall, and rocks aplenty.

Nana and the grandkids.



The park is way, WAY better than my horrible, old-phone photos can depict.

The kids all hated to part ways, but responsibilities beckoned back at home.

We're home now. Being responsible, doing yard work, playing cards, and simply relaxing. Not much relaxing, though. We're throwing a major Halloween party in a couple of weeks, which includes a "haunted" barn and a maze through the back field. Lots to do! Lots to do!

I look forward to catching up with you all this weekend. I've missed you. 

Tell me the good things that happened in your week.



Ten Things of Thankful


 Your hosts


31 comments:

  1. Welcome back, I've missed you :)

    It certainly looks like you've been busy having lots of family fun, the places you went to look amazing. I love that lake, it looks very inviting for a swim. The cliff exploration looks dangerously exciting, I think it beats my recent hairy climb up and down a church tower while I was on holiday. I love the 'help me, I'm, falling' photo - I assume they were actually standing on something down below? The tunnel through the rock is awesome, and the rock layers look amazing.

    I don't 'do' Halloween, to be honest I hate it, but I could make an exception for your planned party, it sounds brilliant :)

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    1. Thank you. :)
      While it does look inviting, doesn't it?
      I was good with most of the cliff climbing. There were a couple of places where I was beginning to panic, with visions of a child or myself plummeting to her death, but we all made it out safely. :)
      A hairy climb you say? I will have to see if you've posted some photos about it!
      There was a ledge for them to stand on. We're not that crazy. :)
      I'm not a fan of the gore some people put into Halloween, but I'm always up for a good, clean scare. And candy.

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    2. A description and pics of my church tower climb are here - http://tigermousetales.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/saturday-september-17th-2016-winterton.html

      I had a brilliant holiday with only two days of not good weather, so I got loads of great photos. I've also recently started another blog if you want to have a nosey - https://mousehouselife.wordpress.com/

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  2. as the old saying goes, 'no good deed goes un-punished', seeing as you're the first of the co-hostinae to post this weekend, I will add my 'contribution' to the process.
    my compliments, you are the road-trip master! (and, I for one, never tire of the 'Help! I'm falling' photos)

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    1. Glad to know the help me photo doesn't get old. We can't help but take one every time the opportunity arises.

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  3. Aww.....I love that part of Kentucky. I went to grad school at UK and and my husband and I (although we weren't married yet, back then) spent lots of time hiking at Red Raven, Natural Bridge, Red River Gorge. Good memories! It is beautiful there!!

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    1. It is such a pretty place! I didn't even know it existed until my brother suggested we go.

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  4. I've missed you too, but it appears you've been having a great time with family. You're forgiven for not being around. Family always comes first.

    Yikes on the snake. That was more scary than all the hiking that looks dangerous.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Thank you for understanding. :)

      It was quite alarming to come across that snake. None of us had ever seen a poisonous snake except when it was behind a piece of glass.

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  5. Welcome back! I always love your road trip reports. I hope your kids recognize what a fun mom you are. Your typo (?) about the dam made me wonder how you really feel about man's impact on the river. :-)

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    1. Ha! The surly teens don't always think so, but I hope they'll recognize it again someday. :)
      Hahahahaha!!! When I was writing the post, it even crossed my mind to make sure I used the right spelling. Guess subconsciously I did. :D

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  6. Your photos are amazing. Phoenix looks like Prince Harry in that soccer shot. A week (or two) filled with family fun and activity.

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    1. Thank you. Ha! I will be sure to tell him. :) It was loads of fun. The kids were begging to change plans so we could stay longer.

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  7. Wonderful adventures and family time shared, memories to last a lifetime! I love that you get out and go places when you all have a break together!

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    1. One thing Bryan and I love is a road trip/vacation. We want to see as much of this planet as possible while we have the health and time to do it. I'm grateful to have kids who are happy to go along with us. :)

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  8. Welcome back you have been missed!!! I think the repeat photo ops like the help me photos are just the best!!!

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  9. Welcome back you have been missed!!! I think the repeat photo ops like the help me photos are just the best!!!

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    1. Thank you!
      We do love a traditional photo around here. :)

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  10. Wow, you guys sure do keep busy!! Such beautiful scenery, looks like a blast! This must be a TToT reunion week because I have been gone quite a while myself :) Glad to see all is well with you guys! Take good care!!!

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    1. That we do. :)
      It is a beautiful part of the country.
      We need a reunion week. So many of us have been off the blogging path lately.
      Thank you!

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  11. That matching grandpa picture is too sweet. Sorry the ending of soccer came for your son, but it sounds like it was a great journey for him. Nice to get caught up on your travels and activities in this post!

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    1. Isn't it, though? :)
      It was one of the best things he's done in his short life. The soccer field is where he becomes a leader. A risk-taker. Confident in himself and his abilities. I'm thinking he will join a league once he gets to school, but I won't be there to see it.

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  12. I thought the photos were great---they make me want to go there. The shots of the kids on ledges gave me that queasy-fear-of-heights feeling. Yikes!
    Your dad dressed in basically the school uniform made me laugh so hard! I bet he took some teasing for that.

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    1. Thank you! It is a nice part of the country, for sure. Ha! Me, too! I wasn't afraid of heights until I had kids and could picture their little heads cracking on the ground below.
      He certainly did! The photo was on FB, and he got quite a ribbing. :)

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  13. I enjoyed the hikes through your pictures. I wouldn't have braved any of "the edges". So sad that a man made dam dried up a natural water but also neat to see what was underneath.

    I know it must have been sad to end of game that had 9 seniors. Wow!

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    1. I'm glad. Edges don't usually scare me too much, but there were a few on these hikes that about did me in.
      It is cool to be able to see all of the fossils. Nice silver lining. :)

      It was so, so sad. Even the boys were crying. One in particular was sobbing.

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  14. Welcome back! Missed you!
    Wow your kids are growing...kids have a habit of doing that, don't they? I particularly love the great sense of adventure and family packed in here. Awesome.

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    1. Thanks! I've missed you, too.
      It's shocking how big these kids of mine are getting. We do love a good adventure!

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  15. Beautiful pics! I'm married to someone who likes the edge, so find myself there often too. We call my hubs 'the mountain goat' : ) Looks like a lovely fall break.

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    1. Thank you!
      Ha! Great nickname. It would apply to my boys as well.
      It really was.

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  16. Love how much time your family spends out in nature. I never did get the hang of skipping rocks.
    :-)
    Sounds like fun though and so do those Halloween plans you mention.
    Love the expressions of "laughing your heads off" and "living on the edge" too.

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