Labor-ful Day

We had a really fun Labor Day. We went out to the mountains to a place called Bandelier National Monument where they had cave dwellings where the Pueblo Indians used to live.
Here's Jesse climbing up to one of the caves:Inside the cave (some were really small):Some were a little bigger:
Grace striking a pose:
Cute kids on the trail:Daddy with his little hikers:The finale of the trip was to a ceremonial cave. It was 140 ft up the side of a cliff. You had the climb several steep ladders and narrow steps to reach the top. Now 140 ft may not sound very high, but think of it as 14 stories and it gives you a better understanding! I did not get any pictures of the sheer insanity that we accomplished with our children because on the way up I was making sure that everyone got to the top safely (Grace and Jesse climbing and Danny and I switching off carrying Dylan) and on the way down, just trying not to fall off the ladders or drop my sweet little boy. It was really cool and I am glad that we did it, just in retrospect, it wasn't the safest idea. But, we all made it safely and what an adventure! Here's a pic of the kids in an alcove at the top:Here's the best picture that I have of being at the top, it doesn't do the drop off justice!The whole family near the end of the journey (we were pretty exhausted!):A little friend on the trail (I didn't get a picture of the rattler that we crossed paths with at the beginning of the trip, we didn't really want to get that well acquainted with him!):We had such a fun time. The mountains and forest were beautiful and completely satisfied a "green" fix for me. It's nice knowing that there are beautiful green places to go that are not too far from us. It was especially nice to have some fun with my little family and be out in nature. What a beautiful world our Heavenly Father has created for us...He must really love us!