Reaching New Heights

So Easter came and went without too much excitement.  Of course Pace loved the candy, but besides that we had a great family dinner and shared the Easter story.  Our Easter story involve a lot of props, which made it fun.  Then we decorated eggs to celebrate new life.  I think we got a few beauties (thanks to a friend who we had over who gave us a few tips :).

Finished Product

We also got to visit an all new (to us) place in Missouri.  We took a weekend trip to Arcadia Valley.  While we were there we were able to explore, climb, jump-on, crawl under, and admire Elephant Rocks.  It is truly the Goblin Valley of Missouri.  The formations are bigger and more round, but still incredibly fun.  What is even better are these rocks are made of Missouri's famous rose granite.

Enjoying the hide-a-bed in our motel

Some of the old miners carved their names in the rocks

Admiring the scenery

Love this picture, Grant just looks so little

An old quarry

We were lucky enough to stop by a civil war battlefield the same weekend as some civil war reenactors.  It was memorable to see the cannons firing and the men dressed in their uniforms.  Fort Davidson was the location of the turning point for Missouri in the civil war.  Thanks to the Union holding off the South at this fort, the Union was able to maintain Jefferson City and St Louis.  The history may have been different if those major cities were captured.  We also visited some of the other parts of town which were affected by different battles.  Also of note Ironton, MO is the location where Ulysses S Grant received his commission as a Brigadier General.

Then we visited Missouri's High Poin, Taum Sauk Mountain at 1,772 ft.  And proceeded to hike to Mina Sauk Falls, the tallest waterfalls in Missouri.  The falls were a series of cascades that seemed to go on forever rather than one big drop.  They were beautiful.  We even made it out to Devil's Tollgate, which was not quite as impressive as we thought it would be, but still a wonderful hike.  The trail was rough on the feet, as the rocks were sharp and pointed and dug at the shoes (glad we wore boots).  Unfortunately that meant Pace couldn't hike.  He was very disappointed.

Devils tollgate in the background

Part of Mina Sauk Falls, look closly you can see a little person towards the top.

From a fire tower.

And of course there are always some everyday moments that I just happen to capture and I don't want to forget.  So here they are, our sweet little boys.

Chocolate-banana pancakes, YUM!

An interview with Pace

An interview with Grant