Chasing Waterfalls

This summer, the girls (particularly Claira) have taken an interest in waterfalls. So, we've decided to go on several "waterfall hunts." And don't worry, every time we go, we must bring the American Girls dolls along:

Enjoy some of our "chasing waterfall" adventures:

Cochran Mill Park

It's always a fun time at Cochran Mill. Of course, before we could search the waterfalls, the girls spotted the playground. Priorities, ya know. Priorities:

Caroline, the doll, needed to slide, too, apparently.

Swinging Isabelle. The American Girl doll struggle is real. Very REAL.

We finally pulled them away from the playground (and threw the American Girl dolls in the trunk) and headed to explore the waterfalls.

(*this picture reminds me of the Andy Griffith show)

wading...

Watching the first waterfall from a distance:

Skipping off to find some more!!

Somebody was getting tired:

Somebody else got tired. Really?!?!

Finally, we were getting close enough to hear more waterfalls:

The big girls heard it, too. They are so silly. They may have been making fun of me a little bit.

Taking a break on the logs:

We finally made it far enough to explore the giant rocks and rapids:

And by "explore," I mean "lay there like a slug."

Ella was so excited to find a bed of tadpoles!! She is such the little zoologist/environmentalist!

Finally, we headed back to tackle the big waterfall:

Look wayyyy up. Do you spy a man with his 3 little munchkins?? They made it to the very TOP of the waterfall!!! My heart was pounding harder than ever, but it sure made for a beautiful sight!!

Sweetwater Park

In our waterfall expedition, we had to visit our Ol' Faithful, Sweetwater Creek State Park. We took Henry this time. He looks pretty glorious in a rearview mirror:

Every tree we passed, Nora would say, "Can you take a picture of me?" while she struck a pose. It's just her inner diva/actress coming out. Josh finally found a way to stop her. #photobomb

So much history and memories at Sweetwater......the groovy tree:

The Snake Tree

The rocks:

The water....

The views....

The Old Mill

We ventured down to the rapids to play and swim a bit:

On the way back, we decided to take the "white trail" because we assumed it would be easier. Okay, NEVER TAKE THE WHITE TRAIL. It's the never-ending trail of death that lasts a bajillion years. And a bug flew all up in my ear and I convulted. And Henry puked. Don't ever take the white trail of horror. Omg. Thankfully, we still had a bunch of cuties to keep us happy while we hiked the trail of doom:

On the way home after hiking the white trail of destruction:

A few days later, Josh, Lea, and I headed BACK to Sweetwater to search for the actual "waterfall." As many times as I have been to Sweetwater, I've never been much further than the mill.

Woo-hoo!!!

After hiking.....

....and hiking.....

.....and HIKING.....

....AND KIKING UNTIL THE POINT OF DEATH (**note Lea's face while her sister is about to kill over and DIE. #lovingsister)

 .....we FINALLY made it to the so-called "waterfall." Um, no. That's not quite a waterfall. I'm pretty sure I was using some type of foul language in this picture. "I just about killed myself for THIS?!?!" In all honesty, it was beautiful (not a waterfall, but still beautiful). I was just hot and fat and tired and unappreciative :)

The hike back was much easier and hilarious, and we got to see many friendly deer (which Daddy was UBER-excited about!! Hunting season is just right around the corner).

Anna Ruby Falls

My favorite of all the "waterfall hunts" was Anna Ruby Falls at Unicoi State Park. As you may have seen in our last post, we visited Helen last weekend, and we had to see the waterfall while we were there:

Such a pretty journey up the mountain:

Our first glimpse of one of the waterfalls:

It's a DOUBLE waterfall!!!

The waterfall on the left begins WAYYYY on top of the mountain. See how high it is??

The girls spotted a beaver!! 

 Such a stunning sight and sound!! We could've stayed there all day:

The best part of all of our waterfall adventures is that we entered all the parks for FREE (it's usually a $5+ parking fee). The library has free parking passes that you can check out for weeks at a time!! Who knew?? The library is where it's at!!

All in all, it was such a wonderful experience to "chase" these waterfalls with my family. They are truly natural wonders and beautiful gifts from God. One of my favorite quotes is about waterfalls ~ "There is a hidden message in every waterfall. It shows you that if you're flexible, falling will not hurt you." That's my ultimate wish for my girls.....HAPPINESS. Babies, this life will force you to fall sometimes, but be flexible, don't let it hurt you, and keep right on going. Be a waterfall,

Cheers to waterfalls!!!