These Boots Were Made for Walking.....

And the poor things had been sitting in my closet for years without a nice backpacking trip, but all that changed this past weekend.  Often, my birthday request has been to go backpacking, and for many years that is exactly what I have done on my birthday, but it haed been four years since I had gone.  Something about being 8 months pregnant, then having a not quite 1 year old, then not wanting to leave my little angel, but this year, she was more than happy to stay with MeeMaw and let Mommy and Daddy go backpacking.  We walked much further than anticipated due to a wrong turn on my part, but we still had fun.  The biggest complaint I have is that my remote, quiet Piney Creeek is evidently in the flight path of the new Branson Airport cause there were LOTS of planes overhead which was somethign never previously heard before.  But I still woke up listening to a screech owl.  Here are a few pictures....

 A deer skull in the bottom

 This was a wolf spider with something on its back....do they carry their babies? 

 This was our campsite....the sun wasn't very high yet and it was in the woods, so pictures were a little difficult to get.

 Here's the creek just below our campsite

 This is lookign the other direction

 Here's the trail....one time through here was where Daddy asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and he told me, "Find something you love to do and figure out how to get paid to do it."  Some of the best advice I've ever gotten.

 Between Mud Mountain (Hike it you'll understand why we call it that) and the final climb back up to the tower. 

 Yes, this was our trail up.

 And he was still willing to stop at my favorite place in the world and get his picture made.  I've hiked hundreds of miles (literally) across the west and Arkansas, but this view right here is my absolute favorite one ever!  Especially this picture with my sweetie in it!

 Ok, so this was Thursday night.  We took her to the little fair here in town so she could ride a merry go round.  Seh LOVED it....but only rode once cause it was $3!

Happy little girl getting off with daddy. 

And what did Emily do while we were hiking?  I think she played baseball and frisbee and Blaine must've had a scooter or somethign because Sunday night we were looking through the toys r us ad and she saw the scooters and said, "I want one those, like Blaine. But I want princess one"  Was pretty plain, so he must've had one....

And now my day must begin...plus Emily wants to type so it might get hard to read:)