I love our Turner Falls tradition so much! I love that we can look forward to it every year and know that we have several days filled with nonstop family time. The Taggarts let us borrow their hitch rack every year which literally saves us! Especially since Kevin wanted LOTS of wood this year for fires.
The key to our favorite shelter, lucky number 7!!
Colby was pretty excited that he was tall enough to open the door himself.
There was hardly anyone else in the park, which is just the way we like it :)
The kids were very anxious to get to hiking and exploring, but they were helpful in the setting up phase. Especially because it meant getting their beds all ready.
Kevin put them to work on the fire ring, which turned out great. I love that he involves them in every step of the process.
Then it was finally time to explore!! We headed down the trail behind our cabin, which has become a favorite.
It never gets old throwing rocks and stirring the moss with sticks.
The golden afternoon sun was perfection!
We toyed with the idea of doing family pictures here since the colors are beautiful and we have so many fond memories associated with Turner Falls, but I was having a hard time finding a photographer and it was stressing me out. I also didn't want to have to worry about looking cute and arriving at a certain time, haha. But we still took some cute family shots...
The kids could have stayed there till dark, but we needed to get back to start our dinner. Our goal was to make all the meals together as a family and the first night was probably my favorite. Brooke was my au gratin potato girl and although she didn't care for them once they were cooked, they were divine! So cheesy, oniony, and delicious.
But I love the ownership she had over the whole process.
Kevin brought a few random strands of lights to hang up and they were the perfect addition to our shelter. Loved the extra glow as we sat around the campfire each night.
The last five year have been the BEST and I can't imagine our family without him in it. Happy Birthday, little buddy!
Cocoa and donuts to start off the day...
The view from the top! We had the hardest time taking a selfie with a good view of the falls, but I guess that's the downside about minimal visitors in the park. There's nobody to take your family picture, haha.
The water was lower than usual at the base of the falls, which meant that we were able to explore all sorts of rocks that were generally out of reach without getting wet.
Another "must" picture spot every year, and thankfully we found someone to take the pic :)
Just look at that clear water and the beautiful colors...
Just watching the kids (and Kevin) play on this rickety playground.
More views from another favorite hike...
The water was ice cold, but the kids wanted to wade around in it. We found the perfect spot, took off all our shoes and socks, put our toes in, then Brooke told me that she needed to go #2. The timing couldn't have been worse, because now we had wet feet and needed to get our socks and shoes back on and make the trek back to the restroom. But I guess sometimes it just hits you unexpectedly.
One of Colby's birthday requests was hot dogs. We never eat hot dogs so I'm not sure where the idea came from, but it was the perfect thing to do while camping :) While Kevin started the fire, the kids played in the water, did some drawing, and enjoyed time in the hammocks.
Roasting his birthday hot dogs...
We slept pretty great each night all snuggled warm in our shelter, except Colby fell out of bed once or twice! The first time it was a loud thud and Kevin jumped right up to help him back into his bed and sleeping bag. I eventually ended up in bed with him, but since I couldn't fit it his sleeping bag, I just snuggled close. Watching my kids sleep is so tender and makes me realize just how quickly they are growing.
As the kids got dressed and ready for another day of adventure, I was packing a few snacks into my backpack. Brooke quickly told me that she would pack and carry her own snacks.
Thankfully, the entrance to the cave wasn't muddy this year!!
Love this view of the falls as well! It's always surprising to me how aqua the water is, especially since most of our Texas lakes are quite murky.
We found the BIGGEST leaves, many of which made their way home with us :)
As we neared the end of the creek, the water was getting really deep and I eventually climbed out with the kids. But Kevin completed the family challenge on our behalf :)
The whole concept of a "family challenge" was inspired because it was a total highlight for our family. We were laughing and having the best time together, and although we had to climb out a bit early, it was still quite the feat.
Then we headed over to the rope swing where Kevin and Colby braved the freezing water...
The challenge was such a hit that the kids wanted to repeat it on the way back. Thank goodness for the warm sunshine because my feet were basically numb.
Brooke found a tiny caterpillar...
As we headed back, the kids were bickering about who the leader was. I suggested they hold hands and lead together, and that was the golden ticket. They literally held hands the whole way back and I loved listening to their chatter and encouragement to each other. It doesn't always work out that way, but when it does, it's pretty sweet.
We were all hungry for dinner and this tortellini soup really hit the spot!
Every good camp out needs a good dessert! Brooke loved the campfire roll-ups, but they were all a little doughy. Colby got creative and used the cinnamon sugar blend for his s'more marshmallow.
Colby fell out of his bed (again), so Kevin let him crawl into our sleeping bag at 5 AM. I didn't get back to sleep, but Colby slept a few more hours. When Brooke woke up, she said good morning to Colby and he dove right in for a snuggle. Luckily I was next to them on my mattress and snagged the picture.
Colby was supposed to be throwing this water jug away, but instead he busied himself with some last minute rock collecting.
We've never written on the walls of the shelter, but there was tons of writing this year, so we decided to add our mark to the space :)
Locked up our shelter and headed out for one last adventure!
We checked out the Butterly Pool and found a rope swing the kids could actually use without getting wet :)
Kevin had some pretty great swings on this thing, but scared me half to death on the last one! He swung so far around and then came back and hit the tree :( He's fine and we've cracked up watching the video, but man, not a typical Kevin move.
Brooke was feeling so confident after repeatedly swinging and eventually expressed regret for not doing the "polar plunge" on the rope swing the day before. There's always next year, little girl :)
Colby was a little monkey on this thing, hanging on for dear life!
And that concludes our 2020 Turner Falls adventure. It's always a ton of work getting ready, but oh so worth it for all these beautiful memories with our family!
Apples and marshmallows while we wait for dinner to cook, haha. 
Kevin made his famous steak, but cooking it over the fire in the new case iron skillets he requested took it to a whole other level. He threw it a bunch of extra onions from the potatoes and Brooke now RAVES about how much she likes onions on her steak.
My mouth waters just looking at this food...
The next day was this sweet boy's 5th birthday!!
Then it was off to go exploring at the castles...
This picture with Brooke is one of my all-time favs. Her smile is just so genuinely happy, which makes my heart happy. She loves to be outside and especially loves being with the family. I was thoroughly enjoying relaxing with her and watching her draw.
Then along came Colby, which was really sweet for a few minutes. But then he climbed in and out about a hundred times which really irritated Brooke (and me), so the bonding was done!
This might be one of my favorite pictures from the trip! They were dirty and wet and just having the best time together.
Trying to warm their cold feet by the fire...
Kevin found a bunch of selfies on his phone and this was my favorite :)
We cooked breakfast on the opposite side of the shelter so we could bask in that morning sunshine!
I can't remember what prompted the conversation, but Kevin ended up teaching Brooke all about the economics of a paper cup. Kinda random, but cute to listen to, especially since she was genuinely interested.
I mentioned before about the lower water level, but it really did make for some great exploring on the rocks.
After lunch, we were ready for our next adventure. It was a beautiful (and unexpected) 75 degrees outside, so we changed into the coolest clothes we had and then Kevin issued a "family challenge" to walk in the creek all the way to the rope swing. Brooke was skeptical because the water was ice cold, but we started out on the top of the rocks and within minutes, she realized how fun it was gonna be!
We went past the spot where we started and ended up exploring part of the creek we've never seen before. Colby kept saying "Can we do this hike every year?" Surprisingly, the moss wasn't slippery at all, which made it easier than we thought to walk along the rocks.
No comments:
Post a Comment