By Tatiana
Peter and I love everything outdoors. From kayaking to mountain biking to hiking, we love anything that has to do with being outside and being active. It was one of the things that brought us together - we met at the rock climbing gym while climbing the wall. True story :) I grew up in the Ural mountains of Russia and everyone who has ever met me knows how obsessed I am with mountains, rock climbing and hiking. Mountains are my happy place. Peter and I wanted to share this passion with our kids. Since it is tough to find even a hill here in Florida, we packed our bags and took off on a road trip to Sylva, North Carolina. For a few days we stayed in a wooden log cabin with breath-taking views of the picturesque Smokey Mountains.

Every day we went hiking or explored the town of Sylva and nearby towns. We visited Smokey Mountains train museum in Bryson City which we all enjoyed very much. We hiked to the Juney Whank falls in the Smokey Mountains National Park. We ate the local diner - Coffee Shop - in Sylva and met the nicest people. We even hiked the Appalachian Trail, the whole 1/4 mile of it! While it was all fun, the best part was doing it all together. It's nice when your kids enjoy the same things you do.

I was a little worried about taking girls hiking. They usually don't do well walking for a long time. But as soon as their little feet stepped on the hiking trail, something happened to my kids. It is impossible to explain the way their faces lit up! They were so excited to be in the forest, to hike up the hills and step over the tree roots. They were also excited to be together. On one of the hikes, Jules and Emma help hands all the way up and all the way down. I feel like this trip brought us closer and I am already planning our next hiking getaway.

Here are some pictures from this trip.

Silly face. Emma is enjoying our stop on the way to NC.

Two little bears - Emma and Mimo - kept me company the whole trip!

Jules is wearing her favorite Mim-Pi polka dot coat.

Smokey Mountain Train Museum was a lot of fun! Taking this picture - not so much for Emma.

Beautiful view from our cabin.

At Juney Whank water fall, Smokey Mountain National Park.

So much sister love! Jules is wearing Persnickety Clothing Lucille dress. Emma is in Duex Par Deux jeggings and Room Seven tee.

Mimo likes hiking too!

Jules spent a couple of hours playing with this little fellow.

Trying on mommy's shoes.

Peter is proud to be hiking the Appalachian Trail!

Thanks for looking!