The hike lasted 5+ hours. Mostly due to not knowing exactly where we were going. It was really hard, the kids were incredibly tired, and it was exhausting and steep in some areas. Justin is really good at hiking with kids. Not only does he carry half of them, but when they start complaining, he comes up with ways to distract them and lift the mood. Today he came up with a winner. We had to find a cool rock, pick it up, and keep walking and as soon as you see an even cooler rock, set the one down, and pick up the new rock. By the time we got to the top, we oohed and aahed over everyone's awesome rock. It worked like a charm!
The sight of seeing that flag was breathtaking. It made the whole trip worth it. I was left in amazement as I thought about this country and about those who give so much of themselves. They have provided a place for me to live such a happy life with some pretty awesome freedoms. I have been thinking about that a lot lately!! My life is simple and the rights that I have are amazing! There are times I know I take that forgranted and don't realize just how lucky we are to live here! My goal is to never forget that and teach our children to never forget.
This hike, as hard as it was, taught all of us some really good things. But most important, we can do hard things and there are amazing people who have done some of the hardest things of all so that we can be free. Pretty awesome!
I would say that 5+ hour hike was worth it.
(however, the boys would probably disagree)
:: I loved that Corbin suggested we put our hands on our hearts ::
(Taylor was just so thrilled we made it...and almost, Levi!)
