Meeting new friends & the big hike

     This past weekend, JT and I hit the road and headed to Atlanta. The rest of the Apedaile6 crew was either at camp or working, so it was our first big Mommy and son trip. We headed there to meet some June Momma's and their children to celebrate one of the "June bugs" 5th birthday. This was JT's first time meeting any of the children from the group, so I explained to JT how all of the kids he was about to meet were all 5 or about to be five. That excited him very much and he was ready for his fun weekend.

 All of the families met at Sweetwater State Park on the outskirts of Atlanta for a fun day of exploring and hiking. First stop- the playground!

 

 John was the only Daddy brave enough to join our crew for the first day. His little boy is Giovanni, he the one with a hat on. John loves to have fun and be silly and he was a fantastic guide for our hike.

 

 Day one we had 7 June Bugs. This was the sad effect of holding silly faces for the 7 Mom's snapping photos and taking turns looking at each person.

L-R: Koraline,Rain, JT, Kayla, Giovanni, Henry, and Xander.

 

 John was also kind enough to take several photos of our entire group together. Each Mom is standing behind their June bug.  This was my first time meeting everybody except Ravi(pink shirt & wearing a baby), whom John and I met during a trip to Florida 2 years ago.

 

 We started out on the trail.

 

 JT pointing out all of the cool things he was finding.

 

 I was ready for the hike with my camera, camelback, and the most colorful shoes.

 

 We started at the beginning of the White Trailhead, but it merged with the Red Trail that we were going to hike.

 

 The kids investigating a  large hole in the tree trunk.

 

 Krista explaining to the kids that we need to follow the trees with the red markings to stay on our path.

 

 Most of the trail followed along the edge of the large lake and it was so beautiful.

 

 Many small creeks to be discovered.

 

 JT enjoyed stopping at all of the signs to have me read what information was there describing the history of the site or what type of nature things we could be finding in the area.

 

 The kids loved this large rock outlook. Of course most wanted to explore and go towards the edge.
 

We were all a hot, sweaty mess but JT kept his happy face on.

 



Several opportunities on the trail to demonstrate his excellent balancing skills.

 



Absolutely beautiful scenery.

 



The area that most of the kids took off their shoes and played in the creek. JT was ready to join the fun, but the moment his bare feet hit the squishy creek mud, he immediately demanded that his shoes be put back on. He wanted nothing to do with it. I'm sure this is a quality that JT picked up from me.

 



JT was able to discover a new little creature on our hike.

 



It was an inch worm. I've never seen one in person, so I was pretty mesmerized myself.

 



Look how cool this little guy is! All of the kids loved looking at this for several minutes and took turns holing it.

 



 I'd love to come back here when the fall colors are in full bloom.

 



JT and I are having so much fun!

 





The sound of the water rolling down these rocks and mini waterfalls was so peaceful and relaxing.

 

We all took a little break on a walkway that had benches. JT, Rain, and Henry all enjoyed some homemade cookies.

 



JT standing in front of the remains of an old mill that stood by the riverfront.

 



The information board about the mill.

 



Heading back to our starting point to enjoy some snacks.

 

 

Our last stop was a brief look through the visitors center. JT has a pretty good impression of the bear. Afterward, we all sat under a covered picnic area and enjoyed some lunch. The kids played tag and hide & go seek while the adults visited. Then, a pretty massive storm moved in and dumped a ton of rain on the area. We took that as our sign to head back to the hotel and get cleaned up. We had a wonderful day of hiking and meeting our friends.