Friday, January 9, 2015

The Gillie's Winter Break Adventures

Happy New Year!


One of the things that our family is loving about Arkansas is all of the hiking opportunities. We love getting to hang out together out in nature and the workout isn't too shabby, either. This past weekend we went went up just north of Little Rock to Wooly Hollow State Park. It's more of a boating park, but there are a couple trails to hike and we really enjoyed it. It's the first time in weeks that it hasn't rained so the weather was perfect. It was amazing how green everything was despite it being winter. My favorite thing about this hike (aside from no steep hills to climb up) was the stream that we kept crossing over. They had all these cute little bridges going over the streams and it was so fun. I think we probably crossed it six or seven times. And now for some lovely pictures.


 Ah, my cute boys!

 No filter on this photo! It really was just that green on this hike!


 This photo doesn't capture how gorgeous it really was there! I can't wait to go back!

Family selfie!

We also went hiking at Pinnacle Mountain just west of Little Rock. We've done it a few times now and it's always lots of fun. It's only 1.5 miles, but it's pretty steep and involves climbing over and up boulders. Enjoy the fun pictures from there. On the way home, we stopped at The Big Dam Bridge. It's the longest pedestrian/bicycle bridge in North America that has never been used by trains or cars.

 Kicked back in the hiking backpack and loving it. Such a good investment!

 Yep, we climbed up these boulders.




 At the top of the mountain!

 Sam at the summit. (No worries, Jimmy is behind Sam)

 A view of the bridge

We only walked to the center. It was pretty cold. 

On Wednesday, we decided to do some tourist-y things around little rock. We headed downtown and went to a Nature Center that was really small, but well done and fun. We also decided to visit the Discovery Museum. It's a "children's" science museum. We had such a fabulous time! They had a body exhibit that showed the different ways our bodies function. And it was all hands-on learning! Our favorite was walking across sensors that then gave facts about your stride (pace, length, ect.)...we had fun doing weird walks across it. And, of course, Sammy loved getting to run wild. From the body exhibit we moved on to some dino fossils, They also had a six and under play center that was so fun! It had a stage with dress up, a play house with a kitchen, a play farm, a play boat and lighthouse, and lots of toys. We probably spent half an hour in there just running around with Sam. Here are lots of pictures from the museums.




 Sam had fun pulling out "intestines" haha


 Learning about pulley systems!

 lying on a bed of nails!






And here are some quick family updates...

Jimmy - Is about to head back to work from Winter break and is so ready for it! Apparently we're boring here at home. Just kidding. Jim has been enjoying having time to read, go running, and go hiking (of course). He is also keeping busy by preparing awesome lessons for the youth that he teaches on Sundays.

Kyrstie - Is starting to learn how to sew and is really loving the chance to learn something new and useful. She is enjoying having Jimmy at home to play board games with her.

Sam - Oh, boy. This kiddo is growing like crazy. His favorite things include: climbing onto chairs and the kitchen table, climbing and hiding in the kitchen cabinets, riding his trike around the living room, reading books and spinning. Here's a Sammy picture...because he's just so dang cute!

Seriously, isn't this the cutest smile you've ever seen?!


Until next time,

Kyrstie and Family

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks! I think it's so cute! Sorry I didn't see your comment right away. For whatever reason, it didn't send me a notification. By the way, this is Kyrstie :)

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