Hublein Tower.....Take 2!!!

Wow, what a busy weekend at the Neeley house...and this was the perfect way to end our 5 day long weekend! We could seriously not have asked for better weather and had so much fun with our friends.

I was talking with my girlfriend @ baseball on Sunday and we decided to do the hike again with the big boys. I absolutely adore this family and our kids get along great. Another fun day, the boys were silly, Lexi got to follow her little boyfriend around, and Ethan collected half the mountain and shoved it into his pockets....which I was so happy to find in my washing machine at 11:00 last night!!!

After our hike we went over to the cider mill for apple fritters and fresh lemonade (bad combo. for my taste buds, but kids loved it!) we had to make sure we put on all those calories we burned hiking! :)

I was just starting to think that we would not have time for days like this with our crazy schedules and then I realized that the time is always there, we just have to be creative and find it!

Lots and lots of pictures...........

Half way point.....happy kids, happy mommies,
and they are all still clean! (and yes, those would
still be workout clothes, why break tradition!)




They were all sooo good to pose
for my pictures all day. I tried to
just snap without telling them, because
if I asked they did obnoxious things!




What one does not think of.....the other does!
Love it! :)





Love Love Love this teenage boy
of mine, and his smile is so infectious!



This very nice man offered to take a picture
for us. Our kids were all climbing down the side
of the mtn. together and he thought it would
make a great shot! I had to post this one first
because I think we have 12 just like it! He could
not get anyone to look at the camera and then we
started laughing and couldn't stop!






Much better... AND...we even
managed a couple of smiles, of course
not by my little munchkins!






These big boys absolutely scare me sometimes!
I have to keep telling myself "He's not a little boy"
My kids downloaded a Miley Cyrus song a while
ago and everytime I hear it, I think about Jake.
(Get Ready, Get Set, Don't go.) I think I'm ready,
he's definitely ready, yet I still want to hang on
for as long as I can.....I'm such a sap, sorry!





End of the road! Could not get "The
Princess" in the picture. She was
behind me couting all of her "owies"
She fell 5 times and was so banged
up, cut's everywhere and I had left
the bandaids in the car!

Hublein Tower

This was today's little adventure and we had soooo much fun. It was a beautiful fall day and we could not pass up a day outdoors. Jake and Cameron had big boy stuff going on so I decided to take Lexi and Ethan and hike up to the Hublein Tower. It's only about 20 minutes from our house and about a 45 minute hike up to the tower. (Little legs take longer!) We've lived here for 5 years and always something we have wanted to do and just never done. We got the perfect day! We got half way up and stopped to take a few pictures and I realized I had left the battery to the camera in the car....they did not skip a beat and happily went back down with me to get it! They simply amaze me every single day! Their sweet little smiles can turn my entire day around. I loved this day with my little ones, I don't get too many of these and love them when I do!




So, this is a very bad shot of the tower. Lexi asked me to take one and this was the best one I could get from where we were standing. I just love seeing the blue sky!



My little princess. She was so happy today, she told me on the way up "mommy, this is my best day ever!" She sang me (and everyone else walking by us) all of the songs that she is learning in music, it was so cute and I love to hear her sweet little voice.


Ethan loves his sister so much and wants to do everything she does. Today was no exception. Somedays I forget that they are 2 yrs. apart in age.



It is always a challenge getting a picture of Ethan. He will NOT smile for the camera, he will make the silliest faces or just run away! I used to get mad, now I just snap lots of shots as fast as I can and hope for a good one.....this would be a good one! There were a bunch of teenagers behind me trying to distract him, I think he was scared of them.

Ethan is all boy and loved every minute of our little adventure. 2 minutes into the hike he already had his hands full of rocks, big sticks and a fabulous assortment of leaves.....NO, not the pretty fall leaves, they leaf green ones he picked that were probably poison ivy!


Yes, this one took a little bit of confidence on my part to post. I don't make a habit out of leaving my house looking this way, unless I'm running that it is! But, it's a memory and one we want to remember, no make-up and all!!! The cutest old man (Lexi called him the grandpa man) stopped us and commented on Lexi's singing and asked me if he could take a picture for us so that we could remember our day!




This would be the half way point where we had to go back for the battery. The view was absolutely breathtaking and the kids were so curious and excited to have me point out different landmarks that they knew.