Love is coming early to the Oakley house!
A few days before Valentine's day Beka and emery set about to baking up some love in the kitchen.
They whipped up some Vegan shortbread cookies to share with the ones they love (For the recipe go to Beka's cooking blog at www.cookinglikegrandmahamlet.blogspot.com).
Emery was a great helper. He is very interested in cooking lately, and loves to watch things in the oven, stir things on the stove, and he especially loves wearing Beka's oven mitts. If she is not careful he will sneak up and take them right off of her hands!
Here are the results of the labor of love! They were sweet and delicious!
Then Emery got a love gift in the mail! His Poppa and Mimi (Beka's Dad and stepmom) mailed him a package! It was a superman shirt! He also got some glow in the dark stars. It was a SUPER gift!
I asked Emery to show me his muscles in the shirt, and this is what he did (make a grimacing face).
Michael took advantage of Emery's new found super powers and played 'super man' with him.
Then the day before the actual valentine's day we had a love party for our church youth group. We ate lots of sweet treats and had a great time talking about love, dating, and relationships.
Then it was the day we were all waiting for! It was valentine's day! Team Oakley had a great idea...let's go hiking!
Beka would live outdoors if she could, so she was so excited! Her hiking boots were on in no time!
We all headed to Kroger (one of Emery's favorite word to say) to get some snacks for the hike. Michael and Emery were good citizens and brought back a scooter from the parking lot. They had some fun while doing it.
After snacks were had we were on our way! The trail we were headed to is about an hour away, so we enjoyed the beautiful drive out there.
Before too long we were here! Stillhouse hollow falls has been a hike Beka has been wanting to do for months. She was so excited!
Michael was just a little excited too.
And so was Emery. He could barely keep still! He had rocks in his hands within seconds of being out of his car seat. Literally.
It was a perfect day for a hike.
Once we gave the ok, off Emery went! He led the way to the trail!
Then he was down in the rocks again. There were so many rocks to play with!!!
All that rock finding made for one very dirty Emery bottom.
Off we go!
We had so much fun assisting Emery in his exploration. He is a curious one, and we want to encourage that as much as we can!
After about a half hour of hiking we found our first waterfall! The sound of the water was very peaceful.
Emery wanted to go swimming, but we refrained. That water was COLD! And there is no filter on this photo below, that is Emery's hair color in the sun. Can we say ginger?
We arrived at the top of the falls. Before we went to the bottom we stopped to have a snack.
Emery liked sitting on the bench.
After our snack Emery took some time to enjoy the view. He liked looking over the fence.
After he got daring with standing on the bottom piece of wood, we strapped him in the front pack and made our way to the bottom of the falls. Emery gave his thumbs up of approval.
As we were going down the falls, Michael led the way. Every tree he touched, Emery wanted to touch. Every rock he walked over, Emery wanted to do the same. Michael picked up this 'dowsing rod' and Emery had to too.
Once we were at the bottom, Michael took a turn carrying the bug. We had to cross a river and Beka is just not graceful enough for that. Truth.
I am happy to report we all stayed dry.
Then it was a flat trail to the falls. Emery RAN all the way there. We call it his 'super charge' mode.
He did stop his sprint to catch some primo rocks along the way.
On the trail we passed what looked like the remnants of an old house. It was pretty cool.
We could hear the water calling us closer. We made it to the bottom of the falls!
Michael and Emery went to take a closer look. It made us both nervous, but we want to be parents that take risks with Emery, so we tried it, and it worked!
What a cool thing Emery got to do. He is such an adventure champion! He was yelling at Beka from the top, waving hi to her, and squealing with joy! He is so brave!
After a while Beka could not stand it anymore. She had to get in on the adventure, so up she went to meet her mountain men.
Team Oakley loves to have fun, and we love to explore! We had a great time siting and eating behind the waterfall. We could have stayed for hours.
Once we had our fill of fun, we had to make our way back. We put Emery in the front pack, backwards, and he enjoyed it.
We made it back to the car safe and sound, and dry :D. It was one of the best hikes we have had in TN. We recommend Stillhouse hollow falls for anyone!
Once we were home, we all took part in a big nap. It was needed for every member of Team Oakley. Especially after that adventure!
When we woke up we found yet another gift for Emery! His Grandma (Beka's mom) had made him a cute hat!!!
That night, after Emery was in bed, Michael and Beka rented a red box, and watched way too much TV. It was our gift to each other.
What a fun day, and what a better way to celebrate love than with some beautiful creation!
Go outside, y'all! You will feel better for it in the end!
Love
Team Oakley
