Exploring

On Saturday, we found a little lake at the base of a mountain called Grave Lake. It's still frozen but apparently it has a great beach for swimming in the summer. The little campground is right on the shore, and we spent a little time there, hanging out and enjoying the view.

We also did a huge hike with the kids. It's a hike that starts close to Elkford and follows the Fording River all the way up to Josephine Falls. The hike is 2.3 km each way so we initially planned on just going as far as the kids would allow, and then turning back - whether it meant seeing the falls or not. We ended up going the whole way and it was so pretty. The lookout point was qute a bit higher than the falls, so it was hard to get a good picture of them, unless we were crouching down.

There were these cute little benches made out of logs all along the way.

It was a really tough hike and I was so impressed with Carter. He walked the whole way there and most of the way back, only needing a piggy-back at the very end. I still can't believe he did a 4.6 km hike - what a trooper! Hayley got sick of being in the backpack at the end and got a little ticked, but I was thankful for her wailing to help keep the bears away.

This is me, trying to look exhausted. Or handicapped. You be the judge.

We have also been meeting our neightbors. In our cul-de-sac, there are quite a few other young families just like us. I met 3 of the moms and they all have kids exactly Carter and Hayley's age, so we have been playing with them lots. One girl even brought over a huge tote full of toys for us to borrow, because I had mentioned most of our stuff was in storage. Jared and I were so surprised at how nice they were after they had only just met us. I am loving the new toys because my kids were getting sick of the few we brought with us. Plus, what does a kid love more than toys that aren't theirs?

And you'll never guess what was in the tote...

Carter is in HEAVEN.