Caving with class II and a wonderful Women’s Retreat

Last month I took my 8^th and 9^th graders caving. I had so much and I think they did also (it is hard to tell if a 15 year old like something or no…Even if they like it they pretend they did not.).

After caving, my aunt and I attending a powerful and uplifting women's retreat. True Adventure Sports put the event on and as always did a fantastic job. Seventy awesome women attending and I got to meet some wonderful people.

I took my kids caving over Fall break. We went to our old property in Stevenson. It is such a beautiful area and a cool cave.

So that is what I have been up to since the last blog post and oh yeah teaching, monogramming, and running like a mad women who has one to many jobs.  But I am very blessed to be so busy.  I remind myself daily....Lord grant me the patience to deal with my blessings.

cute applique

Most of you know that I do monogramming. I saw this on a website and decided to replicate it on a $1.00 jacket from my favorite store...Rugged Wearhouse! Stephanie

Some old adventures

Brandi, Finn, and Maggie
Stephanie, Ethan, and Alec
Spring Break 2008 Treasure Hunt
Bluff River 2008 Entrance
Bluff River 2008

Here are some of the photos I took yesterday. You can see us bottling the water in the Blue Hole, Finn and Ethan checking out a bat and some of the formations in the cave. Jess Elliott has many more formations we did not see. Next time, we will adventure deeper in the cave. Enjoy the photos!

Jess Elliott Cave

Where do I start...The gps coordinates were off, it came an unexpected blizzard, and we walked 5 miles with 7 kids (ages 7-12). With all of this happening I still had fun. It was definately an adventure that we will not soon forget. By the time we got to the cave the kids were pooped and were not impressed with the cave at all. I however loved the opening. It is amazing. I could just envision Indians sitting in the cave. The kids all found some fossils and Ethan found some cool pottery shards on the way to the cave. Stephanie

This was an abundance of adventure! We had a blast! From trekking in the snow up the mountain, feeling the excitement as we finally found the massive cave opening, to walking along the river back to our cars, this trip was exciting, exhausting and unforgettable. The kids loved finding geodes, bottling water at the source and throwing snowballs. We can't wait until the next adventure. Brandi

Caves that we have visited

Raccon Mountain www.wildcave.com
Desoto Caverns http://desotocavernspark.com/
Manitou Cave with True Adventure Sports www.trueadventuresports.com
Sequoyah caverns http://www.sequoyahcaverns.com/
Mammoth Cave
several caves around Mammoth Cave
Bluff River
Noise Cave
White River Cave
I know there is more, however I can't remember them all. Maybe Brandi can remember more than me.

The favorite one with kids is Manitou Cave with True Adventure Sports. TAS has a way with kids. My kids and Brandi's kids beg to go and do an adventure with TAS. The things we have done with them: night hike (great fun), rappelling, Appalacian Trail Hike, Survival Class.