The beginning of last week was spent in West Virginia at Camp Creek State Park

For the locals, this is probably just a nice park to picnic in.  To us, it was an awesome place to hike up mountains and explore creeks.  We see beaches all the time, but creeks are not part of our everyday lives.  The kids played for hours in them and around them.

One morning, we decided to go for a lil' hike up a nearby mountain.   We got on one trail and then decided to switch trails along the way. That detour led us on an almost 3 mile hike.  We went that far with all 7 of us.   Don't imagine this to be 3 flat miles.   No, we walked more then a mile going up steep trails, and the rest hiking down with some flat areas to finish it off.  I carried our 2 year-old for most of the hike, and hubby was pushing our double jogging stroller which was occupied with a 4 year-old for some of the trip.  This was the hardest physical activity we had ever done as a family.   At the top of the mountain we had a few kids who were just wiped out.  We had 1 child who sat down and refused to move a step more.   After some pep talk, we all were able to get moving and we all made it down the mountain.  I cheered them on as we reached the end.  I was one seriously proud mama!

This was the group victory shot taken at the bottom of the mountain.  See the enthusiasm flowing out of the 2 older ones :o)  They were too tired to smile

Just a shot from the inside of our bus

Our next stop was at Breaks Interstate Park

This pick proved to be a great choice.   We were at the top of a mountain with all the RV's in a circle, and in the middle was open space and a playground.  There were a few other families there with kids of similar ages to ours.   The kids literally played all day, only stopping to eat.   There were no tv, computers, or phones.  Just a bunch of kids playing for hours.  

Christmas Tree farm in West Virginia