I love my family and the many adventures we have. A few months ago we had the fun opportunity of going to city of rock to do a little rock climbing. My niece and nephew invited us to go camping with them for the weekend. It was so much fun. The pictures are completely not in order, but I will do my best to explain what we were up to in each picture.
Ethan was all worn out from going up and down the mountain so many times.
Eli was just waiting his turn to head up the mountain again. He was so funny, ever two minutes he would ask if it was his turn yet. He just sat down in the sand and was making little mounds and holes.... just waiting.
Eli heading up the mountain. I was so amazed at how awesome this kid did. He had no fear. And at one point he even stumbled and lost his balance, rolled down the mountain a little. I thought for sure that was the end, I thought he would loose it and have no desire to get back up and try again, but I was so wrong. He stumbled, he sat there for a minute, rolled himself back over and said, I got it, I'm okay. And he got back up on his feet and finished repelling back down.
Just another shot of him about half way up the mountain. Look at that balance and control. He is so much braver then I am for sure.
He had made it to the top and was just starting to work his way back down.
Eli at the very top of this particular climb. Look how steep that is? And it didn't even phase him. He was ready to head right back up the second he got down.
I love this picture. So when we first started climbing he was such a silly boy. He would get like two or three feet from the very top of the climb and he would say, I can't make it, I coming back down, its to hard. So we thought we would inspire him by telling him that if he made it to the top we would give him a dollar. For the remainder of the climbs, every time he would want to stop right before getting to the top we would tell him to do it for the dollar. And every time he would make sure that he made it to the very very top. I love this smile. He was so proud of himself. And it didn't take to long before he didnt need the dollar anymore to make it clear to the very top.
Eli sitting at the very top next to his cousin Nick. We sure had a fun time spending the weekend with my fun family.
Then there is Ethan, He tried a few climbs and he did make it up part of the way on some. He just didn't quite have the muscle strength and control that his brother had, but he definitely tried. He spent lots of time playing on the rocks and playing with sticks and climbing little things. He still had a super fun time, just being outside and camping.
Michelle, my cute niece, playing with her cute cousins. She is pregnant with her first child and I think she will make such a cute little mommy. She is very ready and I know her cute little boy is coming in to such an awesome family.
This is Amy and the boys. Amy is there cousin as well. She played so well with the boys and they had so much fun with her. She took them for lots of little mini hikes and they loved it.
My two cute little repelling boys. Check out that chalk bag on the back of Ethan. It pretty much hangs down to his ankles.
Must better shot of this cute little kid in his harness and oooooooo the chalk bag that he loved so dearly. He was obsessed with it and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Eli doing another climb. This one was so high and so steep. I didn't think there was any way that he would make it all the way up without getting tired, but I was so wrong. This was actually one of his favorites I think.
Little man Ethan climbing with a little help and support. He tried really hard and for this I was very proud of him. He was so cute.
Eli giving us the hang ten sign up the mountain. He was so relaxed and calm and just had no fear while climbing. It was both fun and sad to see him getting so big and so independent and brave. He really is getting so big so fast.
One of the first climbs that we did. It wasn't very high and it was a good training climb because it had many grooves and foot holes. He rocked it.
Amy in a small cave with the boys.
Ethan on his turtle shell. That is what he thought this rock like. Such a fun imagination.
One of the few times that Eli lost his footing and was just kind of dangling. LOL he was just stuck. Not exactly sure what to do. He tried turning and getting his balance, and he kind of just swung. It really was pretty funny. I wish that I could get the videos to work on here.
Early in the morning, waiting for breakfast to cook. They were cuddling and watching the ipad just trying to stay warm. They were so cold once they came out of there sleeping bags. I just love this picture. They are so cute together.
Another climb. Honestly, I think Eli did this one about 4 times.
This poor little boy. Eli had fallen asleep so we told Ethan that he could watch the ipad until he fell asleep because his dad and I were out visiting with the adults. Once we came in to check on him this is how we found him. He was bent over, his head a little kinked just leaving over the ipad. He did have a blanket up over his head, but I moved it so that I could get a picture of him. It was super sad because once I moved him to lay him down straight on his bed, he kind of woke up and you could tell that some parts of his body had fallen asleep and were kind of hurting him. He was saying ouch and shaking his arms. It was sad. But he did eventually just roll back over and head back to sleep in a more straight position.
We had such a fun trip with this family. The boys were able to experience a really fun new hobbies and Eli fell completely in love. Definitely something that we will be doing more of. Thank you Labrum family for inviting us for some climbing fun.
