Rock On

In December Greg's parents Gary and Joan came for a visit, to see the new house and spoil the grandkids. We drove out to Enchanted Rock State Park to go for a hike. You can see the rock behind us in the picture, and if you look really close you can see the little ant-people wending their way to the top. When we arrived, Natalie was asleep, so I stayed behind while everyone else began the hike. 10 minutes later she was WIDE awake and I was stuck in a van with a toddler and no cell phone reception. Rats! So I threw on the baby backpack, which I had previously not had any intention of using because I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it to the edge of the parking lot, much less up that hunk of granite. Oh, and when I say I "threw on the baby backpack" in oh-so cavalier a fashion, I mean I set it up on the ground, stuck Natalie in it, spent several minutes figuring out the intricate system of straps and buckles, then sat down in front of it, strapped myself to it, and somehow managed to stand up with all these pounds of kid on my back. Long story short (WAY too late, I know) Natalie and I made it to the top, a little sore in the calves but no worse for wear. By the time we got there, though, the rest of our group was nowhere to be seen. Rats! No witnesses to my awesomeness, and no camera to Kodak the moment. So we made our way back down the rock, only getting slightly lost along the way, and took some pictures when we all met up at the bottom. Good times!

P.S. Enchanted Rock is 425 feet high, and the hike to the top is around half a mile, so my awesomeness is all relative.