Carolina Thread Trail

Tim travels some for work, and when he does I often get a little stir crazy after "flying solo" for a while. Thankfully, he travels a loss less frequently than he used to and when he does travel I try to think of women whose husbands are deployed because it helps me keep my "woe is me" in perspective!

I've learned that getting out at least once a day with the kids does me a world of good. Don't get me wrong - I love some pajama time and a lazy day every now and then, but that can easily turn into 4 pm, no shower and everyone still in PJ's kind of day which is just not a good thing for my psyche. So..when Tim was away last I had one of those days where we hadn't really gotten out and didn't really plan to but this Momma needed to, so I began searching and found out about this little gem nearby:

It probably seems crazy ambitious to get out to a trail with three kids, but I'm to the point now where I just pack my brood up and get going and deal with whats to come when it comes. I mean - I want to keep it real with you: I get some INTERESTING looks at the grocery, hair salon, etc. with my little posse but whatev - it's my life (three kids included). Kennedy is ABOUT outdoorsy stuff: hiking, camping, exploring, getting dirty, etc. so all it took was me telling her we were going on an outdoor adventure and she was all in. Avery is not so much about outdoorsy stuff but she IS a trooper and troop along she did. Grey was in the front pack and aside from fussing a tiny bit he did splendidly and finally fell asleep.

We had gotten some rain the few days prior so I had the girls wear their boots and I'm SO GLAD I did because it was pretty muddy in a few spots which just added to their delight. Rubber boots + mud = tons of fun for kids.

The trail (though relatively new) was incredibly well marked and just really pretty (think clean see through creek wandering along the trail, beautiful tree canopy overhead, lots of fallen crunchy leaves underfoot and limitless wonderful fresh air!)

There were several spots along the trail where we could actually get down into the creek and stand on some nice flat shallow rocks (again - the rubber boots were a good idea). Kennedy spotted this little guy and the girls were most enthused with their "find".

We hiked about a mile and it took us over an hour! Avery did not want to leave and thus I had to hike the trail back to the car with Grey on my front and Avery on my shoulders: just call me superMom...you do what you gotta do, right?

We had such a good time and got some good exercise. Look how pretty! The girls had a little snack after our hike while I packed up the muddy boots and caught my breath - hiking with two babies on board isn't the easiest thing as you can imagine. I kept thinking that day that I couldn't wait to show Tim my super awesome find in this trail - I knew he'd love it!

As soon as we could get back out to the trail as a family and there was nice weather, we did so. Here are some pics of our fun family outing:

I'm sure this is a seriously proud papa moment because my girls are about a creek and of course, so is their Daddy.

My kids L.O.V.E. throwing rocks!

My sweet little man and I.

I adore catching my girls in moments like these:

Kennedy found something interesting on the bottom of several creek rocks that afternoon:

Tim knew pretty quickly that these were some type of egg, but we weren't sure what kind.

After returning home, a quick Google image search revealed that these were salamander eggs. Cool!

I mean, seriously: look how gorgeous this is (the trail, of course). My husband has an uncanny nack of taking really super flattering pictures of me (insert sarcasm here).  

Knowing that we intended to hike the entire trail, we went prepared with Avery accommodations and thank heavens because I think she only made it .5 mile before Tim had to pack her the remaining 3.5: yikes!

Homegirl even started her picnic in the backpack!

My handsome boys and little wild one!

Totally in his element!

Testing out her rubber boots - she was trying to see how much she could splash and still stay dry. Let's just say Avery was good and wet by the time this little experiment was over.

Preciousness - sisters are the best!

Two flat rocks and three self timing photos later, we finally all got in a picture: victory!

This little one hiked all 4 miles by herself - ROCKSTAR!!!

 The Carolina Thread Trail will be a place our family visits often, I'm so glad we found it! You know what they say? The family that plays together stays together!