It was nice to finally have a weekend of nice weather to get out and go hiking. To make things perfect we were able to spend the day with some of our good friends from our college days at BYU. I met Melissa my freshman year at BYU and we ended up being roommates the very next year. Melissa and I ended up in the same ward as both of our husbands. Go figure. In fact, of the six of us girls that lived together, half of us married guys from our ward at Liberty Square. What are the odds?!! Both Mike and Traske were Linguistics majors with plans to attend Medical School. Mike and Traske both went on to Medical School and both became Surgeons. Both of them juggle and are just down right silly. It's too bad it has taken this long to live close to each other. Melissa and I have stayed good friends over the years and have seen each other's children from the time they were little. We were so excited to find out that they would be moving to Washington. Even for the short time we are here before our move we are thrilled to be able to spend some time with our good friends. To us they are like family.
Our kids really enjoyed getting to know the Muir girls. They all immediately bonded and had such a great time on our little hiking adventure along the South Fork Skokomish River Trail. The hike started out uphill and then leveled out before hiking down to a small waterfall. The kids enjoyed crossing the little river of water by the waterfall and were careful to not get wet just yet. It was fun watching Emma and Meilani hold hands along the trail. Girls holding hands is just so sweet. The tall gigantic trees reminded me of being back in the Redwoods in California and the moss just reminded me that I was definitely in Washington State. It was a beautiful hike. We ended up hiking along the bank of the river until we found the perfect little sandbank to eat lunch and play. The kids built sandcastles, threw rocks in the water, swung on the roots of a fallen tree, and just had fun exploring and being with friends.
Most of the kids were pretty good about not getting too close to the small cliff near the river. We definitely didn't want to get in and fish them out. Abby was the only one that didn't have the sense to stay away so we ventured over to a better area to throw rocks in the water. After getting too close to getting in the water I finally had to hold Abby by her hood so she wouldn't be tempted to just walk in the water. It was hilarious as she would feel my tug she would get mad at me so I would release just enough to make her think I wasn't holding on. What a silly girl! The kids were having such a good time that they didn't want to leave. Our hike back was fun and the older four kids were so quick that they beat us all back to the entrance. At one point we were a little worried that we couldn't see them or hear them so I opted to be the runner to try and catch up to them. They actually beat me to the beginning. What fast little kids they were. I fed the four kids snacks until we waited for the rest of our crew. As I sat there I listened to them plan our next adventure together. We ended our fabulous day eating BBQ at one of the best roadside BBQ houses in the state. It was a good end to a great day with some really good friends. We can't wait for our next adventure together!!
