Oak Mountain

Back when I was pregnant and hormonal and over emotional, I remember Ben and I driving past Oak Mountain State Park on the interstate and I just instantly busted in to tears. haha Ben was completely caught off guard and had no idea what was wrong with me. I proceeded to explain to him that "I was so upset because I had just realized that after we had the baby, we would never be able to do things like hike at Oak Mountain anymore." haha Ben tried to reassure me that we would of course be able to do everything we love to do, including hiking, with a baby. We later laughed because usually I was the one having to reassure Ben with this whole "life with a baby" thing, but in that moment I had completely lost it and he had to take on the reassuring role. I guess that's why God made pregnancy last for 9 months; its gives you plenty of time to prepare and get mentally and physically ready. But, anyway, sure enough, Ben was right and here we are just 3 1/2 months after MH was born taking our first family trip out to Oak Mountain to hike around.
A few weeks ago, one of Ben's coworkers let us borrow her Baby Bjorn because her little boy is too big for it now. (Thanks Shelby! :)) This was our first time to use it, and we absolutely LOVED it. We had actually bought a cheap baby carrier a while back and ended up taking it back because it was too difficult to assemble and use and we didn't like it. This Baby Bjorn was so easy, and MH seemed to like it too!
Ben's parents actually drove down to Birmingham for the day to join us. Before going to Oak Mountain, we all met Jack and his girlfriend at Johnny Ray's BBQ for lunch. Jack and Courtney went to Oak Mountain with us for a little while, but I unfortunately didn't get a picture of them. Here is one of Ben's parents though!
We hiked for a while, and then decided it was time to start heading back before it got dark. Here is Ben and his parents looking at the map trying to figure out which trail to take to lead us back home. We definitely didn't want to end up lost and hiking like 10 miles like we did in this post!
On the way back, Ben decided to carry MH and we turned her around so she could see everything.
Of course the doggies loved being able to run freely outside!

We made it back to the main paved road, and as we were walking back towards our car we decided to let Emma near the water to see if she would swim. Last time we went, she wasn't too big a fan of swimming and we practically had to force her in the water. This time, she was totally different. She kept going and going and going. We kept yelling for her to come back to shore, but she paid no attention to us. We wondered how we were ever going to get her back.

Ben kept throwing sticks trying to get her to fetch them and bring them back. She would swim after the stick but wouldn't come close enough for us to grab her. Ben and his dad took turns walking back and forth along the shore trying to get her. Eventually she came in and we hooked her leash to her.
We had a great time at Oak Mountain, and loved having Ben's family join us for the day. It's so funny how I got so upset thinking that we wouldn't be able to do these types of things with a baby. In reality, we can still do everything we love, we just have to make a few adjustments. And, in my opinion now, having her along with us makes everything SO much more fun than it ever was before. Crazy how that happens!

And just for kicks, I laugh every single time I see this next picture...Doesn't Ben look like Mr. Mom? hahahaha Who knew this is what his life would come to...

Trip to Oak Mountain State Park

One of our favorite things to do when it's pretty outside is to take a trip to Oak Mountain State Park. We love to hike through all of the trails, and love seeing so many people out and about. It is gorgeous out there! This time, we knew our trip would be a little different with my preggo self, but Emma had never been there before so we decided to give it a try.

We had to make a couple of stops on the way out there. Emma was doing pretty good riding in the car and staying in the back seat (I told Ben to bring her crate, but he didn't want to), but at one point this is literally what happened...

Dangerous I know...She has to be in the center of attention and has to be loved on at ALL times, so she couldn't stand the fact that we were completely ignoring her in the back seat. Don't worry.. I quickly pulled her away and to the back she went.

Ellie was so excited to be going. She sat in my lap wagging her tail the whole way there! When we got to one of the trails, there wasn't anybody else in sight on the same trail with us so we decided to let the dogs go without a leash. Now, for Ellie, this was nothing new. We walk her all the time without a leash. For Emma, you would have thought she had never been outside before! She went crazy running through the woods... not on the trail....back and forth. She was going sooo fast that we were scared she was going to lose control and run into a tree... we laughed so hard! She was like a little kid in a candy shop! See for yourself... Make sure you are looking VERY closely to the top right corner...you will see her sprint down towards us!

Before we got there, I pretty much threatened Ben with his life saying that I refused to go on any of the strenuous trails that we normally do. I just wanted to take it slow and stay on flat ground. I continuously said "No hills."

I should have known better. We thought he had picked the "easy" trail. I will admit, it wasn't the hardest one, but it was continuously going uphill. Ben kept saying "Oh if we just get to the top of this it will flatten out." I kept going....and the hills kept rising. I was actually doing ok for a while...but eventually, when we both realized it was never going to flatten out, we both knew it was time to turn around. I guess its like carrying a ten pound backpack strapped to my stomach climbing hills. I really wasn't horribly tired or dying, I just didn't want to get to the point where I was exhausted since it was already late in the day and we didn't have any water with us. It actually felt good to be able to get outside and get a little exercise. Hopefully the weather will stay this way so I can start walking more!

I did manage to stop for a quick picture at the very beginning...Emma did not like the fact that I was holding a stick! She thinks all sticks are for her! (Please excuse the fact that I look disgusting in this picture!)

When we got back down to the beginning of the trail, I had the dogs pause for a picture.. Look at Emma's tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth.. she was one tired pup! Now Ellie, she's a champ!!

It was seriously so much fun being out there on such a gorgeous day! I seriously LOVE it there! The weather was perfect.. Not cold at all, but not too hot! We can't wait to go back again soon.. and one day, take little Baby A out there with us!

On the ride home, Emma slept the entire way... no trying to drive or sneak up front this time!

We got home, gave the dogs a bath, and this is what they did for the rest of the night...

Maybe we need to do this more often!