New Promises

I have made a new promise to the family and myself that I will take more pictures of our various pets. When Simba was killed I went through all of my pictures from the last three years and I had only about ten or twelve pictures of him. So I have started taking random pictures of them. Here is one of Achilles.

Dry Falls

Beginning the trip to the waterfalls. Yes, we still went to the falls after Simba died because the younger girls would have been very disappointed if we did not.






Waterfall from the top. This waterfall is only about 30 minutes from my house which is really cool.








This is why they call it a dry fall because you can walk behind it.



















First family picture since the girls were born. Note that Jim is not smiling because of the loss of his best friend.



























Standing behind the waterfall. Yes you do get a little damp standing here.

The weird moss that grows here.

Anawake leaning against the railing.

Jim and Trista. She did NOT like the sound of the waterfall. It was very loud.

Lani the cutie posing for her picture.

Anawake sitting on a rock.

Ana helping Trista down the trail.

Jim and Trista a level above me.

We went on a picnic after seeing the waterfalls. Its easier to forgive someone for their mistakes than it is to forget so as you can see my mother did attend the picnic. It will take us a long time to forget the loss of our dog, but mistakes happen and hopefully she will learn to slow down on our road.

Trista happy with her drink.

After we got home I found this in my bird feeder.

Simbas Tribute

This Sunday was a very sad one for us. We were getting ready to leave with the family when my mother came up the road, hitting and killing our three year old German Shepherd Simba. He was Jims dog that I got him when he came back from Iraq. We are heartbroken and saddened to the core. Ana is very sad as well, our two younger girls don't understand why he is not coming home. I got to tell him he was a good boy and hold him before he died. We will miss him and wish him well on his journey.

The Road to No Where

We took a Sunday drive this weekend as a start of the new Hill family tradition. We have decided that to spend time together every Sunday we are going to do something as a family (since usually this is the ONLY time that we are all actually in the same house together). My friends at work told me about this place called the road to no where. The story is that there is a dam not too far from here and the government pushed many families out of their homes to flood the area. The government promised these families that they would build a road that would allow them to visit the cemeteries that would now be stranded on the other side of the newly formed lake. However, they never did. They did however, start the project and there is a 1200 foot tunnel that simply ends. You have to walk up to the tunnel and you can walk all the way through it but on the other side it just stops and there is nothing but a forested area.

Its really an eerie feeling walking through this tunnel. I always felt like I was being watched, creepy.

The entrance to the tunnel.

A small flower Ana found on the walk.

Inside the tunnel. Ana was the only one to sit still long enough to get the flash to catch something other than her face.

The kids enjoyed running far ahead of us and screaming at the top of their lungs to hear the echo...If you look really close you can see Lani in red.

Some of the Graffiti that lines the walls of this tunnel. Its sad to see this.

Trista inside the tunnel. She looks scared but she is not I just grabbed her arm to get her to look at me to take a picture. Lani never let me get a hold of her.

Heritage Days Parade

Saturday was so much fun for the girls. They got to be in a parade...well sort of. Ana was the only one who ended up riding in this really neat wagon for the parade while Lani decided to carry a Scottish flag at the front of the parade. As for Trista she did not like the idea much so she was the first to get out.



Jim (wagon driver), Lani on the left, Ana on the right, and Trista in the middle!


Lani and Ana liked the old cars that were there as well and this old fire truck.

Old time car that hubby was drooling over.

Only in this small town would the locals get excited over the tractors that were also in the parade...Yes, I did say tractors.