Helen Day 2- June.

Settle in, this is a long post.

Helen, Day 2, started with a breakfast and a tour of the local chocolate shop (and a generous breakfast of chocolate-covered fritos). We played in the park and had lunch, then headed to the hills for some gem mining!

We bought a big bucket of rocks and started looking for precious gems.

Pretty!

Annalise found a whole bag of gems including rubies and emeralds.

Henry was very patient in his mining.

After a little nap, Jo showed up to join in the fun.

Georgie wasn't interested in the gems, but loved playing in the water.

But the day isn't over. We drove farther up in mountains to visit some waterfalls. On the drive, I got a little drowsy.

And we lost Henry too.

Next up, climb the trail to Anna Ruby Falls.

We took a few breaks on the hike up the mountain.

Henry pushed JoJo until the hills got too steep.

The Tallers stop for a nice family picture.

Finally, we made it to the top!

I don't know what exactly Henry is thinking when he gets his picture taken lately.

I mean, what is this?

Our turn for a picture!

On the way back down, we stopped for another shot. I really wanted to sit up of the rock like the big kids.

I've really taken notice lately that I am not as big as the other kids. When we're playing with John, James and Andy, I've been pretty discouraged by the fact that their much faster than me. I tried to comfort myself by saying soon I'd be 6 too. Until Henry pointed out that when I'm 6, he'd be 8. Sigh.

Supper that night was at the Mexican restaurant. Guess who loves tacos?!?!

While JoJo was on a quesadilla high, we got a video of some of her words.

And guess who else got to sit at a table by ourselves. It actually made supper a very enjoyable experience. Maybe mama and papa should try it more often.

Now back to the hotel pool!

These are some tired kids.