Today, I Conquered

I am afraid of heights. I am not only afraid of heights, I am curl-up-in-the-fetal-position-and-cry-until-my-feet-are-firmly-planted-on-solid-ground afraid of heights. That's right, I'm a sissy.

Jason and I took the boys to Seven Falls today. It's a beautiful place, but if you've never been here are some pictures...

Yes, you have to walk up those stairs. And even worse, you have to come back down them eventually. In case the above pictures don't do it justice, here is one more. Notice the tiny ant-like people down below...

I was petrified. I was gripping the railing so hard that my knuckles turned white and my forearms cramped up. But slow and steady wins the race, and eventually I made my way all the way to the top. The view up there was amazing! There were 2 or 3 trailheads at the top, so we decided to go for a hike. This was by far my favorite part of the day. The boys did amazing and didn't complain about being tired once.

I took tons of pictures of chipmunks, lizards, butterflies, fish. But every now and then I'd hear a squeal come from Jacob and he'd ask to use my camera. Here's the pictures he took...

I think he has an artistic eye.

After the hike, we had to undergo the daunting task of descending the Staircase of Doom. The boys were fine... Jason was fine... I was not fine. I was beginning to question the truth behind the old addage of "what goes up, must come down". In fact, I had grown quite fond of the mountain, and wouldn't mind making it my new home. But after watching Caleb and Jacob descend with such ease, I told myself I could handle it, too. My knuckles were again white, my arms ached, my legs were shaking visibly (which did not help the situation), and I felt absolutely nauseous. I would be lying to say that I didn't shed a tear or two. But I kept going. I looked straight at my feet and took one step at a time. All was going relatively well, until I overheard a kid behind me talking to his friend. I believe his words were "Ah man! Wouldn't it be awesome to skateboard down this!?" No. No it would not be awesome. The very thought made me swoon and near lose conscieousness right there. So I stopped and gripped the side, letting the imaginative boys pass, and after a small inner pep talk I continued my journey. Needless to say, I made it down safely. Necessary to say, I did not vomit.

Overall, the day was pretty amazing- and I walked away victorious on my still shaking legs.