Columbus Day Adventures

Eric and Alex thought this (above) was what they'd like to do on Columbus Day. Eric had the day off, and the kids have a week-long Fall Break vacation from school. Alex wanted to play video games, and Eric wanted to rest,(in his defense, he has been sick) but I had another idea. It was a beautiful Fall day, why not go somewhere.
Jesikah has been begging to "do my hair" for awhile now (I'm not sure what she's trying to say) :). But, when I woke up yesterday, as soon as I came downstairs, she said today was the day, and she took me immediately into the bathroom to fix me up. While fixing, she made me promise to wear it all day. This is the hair-do she gave me--pig-tails. It made me feel like a kid again, but I thought she did a good job. She's definitely our girly-girl. She took this picture of her outcome and asked me to post it on the blog, so here it is.
So, once I got the crew out of the house, we decided to explore some parts of Tennessee. We headed to Land Between the Lakes State Park. It is between Lake Barkley and Ken Lake--about 45 min to 1 hour from here. This picture was taken at the visitor's center next to the elk they had on display.
Tessa found some fall leaves.
The kids and Eric collecting acorns.

Jarem: "I found an acorn!" He was running down the sidewalk to show me.
Herd of elk that we saw in the elk and bison drive-thru prairie. It was fun, we were right by them in our car.
Elk bull that we saw--he had HUGE antlers!
Fall decorations that we found at Ken Lake
More festive decorations at Ken Lake.
The kids having fun by the water. The water was pretty warm
Eric showing Tessa and Jarem how to skip rocks. A cute daddy moment!

The kids and Eric finding good flat rocks to skip.
Alex showing his perfected skills in skipping rocks!
Jesikah took to collecting little shells, and these are some she found.
Alex took this picture of Eric and I "under the moon". :)
On our way back to the car, Jarem wanted a ride on my shoulders. He kept telling me I needed to go "speed". It's hard carrying 30 extra pounds up a steep hill, but I tried. :)

We had a very fun afternoon enjoying the beauty of nature and the perfect weather, despite the original protests, everyone was happy in the end. We stopped at the Lake Barkley Lodge for a dinner buffet before heading home. It was about an hour drive home, so by the time the we got home, the kids were tired. For one of the first times since we've been in the apartment(4 in a bedroom) they got in bed and went right to sleep. Eric and I were truly amazed and commented on how silent it was! Silence--what a perfect ending to a fun day!