We love "staycations"

If you love hiking, camping, waterfalls, trees, etc. then West Virginia is the place for you (cheesy- I know). If you don't like trees, then I don't know what you'd do here.

Whenever Drew takes a week off we seem to head to some state park for a couple of days to soak up the serenity that we don't often find at home. This past week was no exception. The original plan was to pack up the tent, the kids and the camp stove for a couple of days away from here. When we realized that we could get a good deal on a cabin (apparently there isn't a high demand during the middle of the week in the middle of April =), we ditched the tent and camp stove (kept the kids) and opted for beds rather than the ground.



There is a pattern developing that each hiking trip we take is basically us trying to keep Lucas from killing himself via some death-defying action. He didn't disappoint. For example, at one point we found him crossing a log that had fallen across the river banks, forming a bridge several feet above the water. Elena is quite the hiker and insists on being referred to as "hiker girl." She has recently developed a hatred for insects and insists on killing any that cross her path. This added a lot of drama to our trip, but I think Holly River State Park is now free from any bugs.


Drew and I enjoyed a few days of no phone service, no television or computers, plenty of space to let the kids run, and we even threw a few rocks into the river ourselves.

Shupe's Schute: Lucas was sorely disappointed when we wouldn't let him go down this water slide.

Drew setting a good example for Lucas. The middle log is the one Lucas crossed.

Elena enjoyed pretending she was this Little Mermaid on her rock. I don't know why I always get stuck playing the evil Ursula. huh?

After all was said and done, I think the kids enjoyed the bunk beds most of all.

Or maybe it was the S'mores.