Snoqualmie Falls

It was so nice to have my parents stay after the baptism.  My dad helped so much in the yard and mom played with the kids.  We drove to Snoqualmie to see the waterfall.  It's breathtaking.  We were hoping to catch sight of Peregrine Falcons because they nest in the cliffs but we were out of luck.  

We had never done the hike to the bottom of the falls so dad and the kids did it.  Mom stayed at the top and waited because of her knee.  I didn't research the hike at all and it was a hot day of switch backs going down, down, down.  I really wanted to do it but in hindsight should have brought a backpack for Evelyn.  And I should not have worn flipflops.  But, we had fun hiking down.  A lot of it was shade.  When we got to the very end finally I thought about how hard it would be to expect the babies to walk back up.  I also knew it would be a bit hard for the big boys.  But we relaxed at the bottom for a bit and had a snack.

I told the boys going up would be harder than coming down but there was no need to complain because it would be over soon.  And truthfully it was.  It wasn't as bad as I had thought.  Going down seemed so much longer than going up.  I learned that mental attitude really does make a difference.  Dad carried Jase on his shoulders and I carried Ev on mine.  We had several groups of YMCA kid camps pass us in their matching t-shirts and they all wanted to high-five the babies.  

I also got to thinking that our Father in Heaven wants us to stay positive and faithful during times in life that are hard.  They're for a short time in the eternal perspective.  It's hard for a short time but then it's done.  Just like the hike was hard (ish) for a short time but then it was done. 

When I googled the hike I found out it was only 7 tenths of a mile.  Haha, we can do that easily with preparation. It would have helped from the get-go knowing how long it was because I kept expecting it to be shorter and then wondered when it was going to end.  I should've had better shoes.  We were going at a toddler pace of course and we didn't have enough water or a baby back pack.  So without being prepared, even 7/10 of a mile can seem long. :)

Thank you dad for hiking up a hill with a toddler on your shoulders even at age 76.  You rock!