Hiking!

Caroline and I hiked Mount Lamlam this past Thursday and had a blast! Mt Lam Lam is the highest point in Guam and due to the Marianas Trench containing its base, the tallest mountain in the world.

I had intended to carry Caroline in a hiking backpack, but that ended up being a terrible idea. 30+ lbs of baby and 10+ lbs of water and gear equal 40+ lbs of backache! Caroline was a trooper and hiked a good portion of the way on her own. Our baby, age 1, climbing the world's tallest mountain. Pretty cool, huh? We'll have to see what she does at age 2, which is just around the corner!

Before I post the pictures from our hike, check out this adorable video of Caroline. Every time we leave the park, she insists on saying goodbye to everything -- the park, the slides, the swings, the 'play.' She's hilarious!

On to the hike:

Here was the view behind us as we hiked up.

This is my awesome friend and neighbor, Crystal! (Love her!) She also was carrying the newest, coolest accessory -- a baby -- on her back.

More views from the hike.

Here Caroline and I are trekking through.

The view behind us as we stopped for a snack. I don't know what I was thinking when I packed crackers as a snack. Caroline would eat five, then ask for her water. Wash, rinse, repeat. Up the entire mountain.

I apparently became a hunchback at some point during this hike. Carrying all that weight will do that to you. And Caroline was less than compassionate. But on the bright side, our t-shirts match and I didn't even plan that. How cute are we?!

This is just about the final stretch to the top of the mountain. I'm convinced it's much easier to climb without holding your toddler. Just a hunch.

The top! Those crosses are huge, by the way. I'd say the tallest one is close to 25 feet tall while the smaller ones are about 8-9 feet tall. Every year on Easter, volunteers from the Catholic church carry a cross up to the summit of the mountain.

View from the peak!

Still hunching, still trying to catch my breath. I think Caroline was hiking up her shorts to try to get us a ride down instead of hiking down.

Another picture of the view from the top.

In the distance, where the turquoise water is, you can see Coco's Island, which is just off of Guam.

All in all, despite the challenges of trying to carry more weight than I probably should, I had a great time. Caroline was a great sport and Crystal and her baby, Madison, were great company. And when hiking the world's tallest mountain... that's exactly what you need. :)

Last but not least, due to popular demand, here is another picture of Caroline and her makeup adventure. You can see the work she tried to do on her eyelids and the look of shame she wore after being caught!

She is hilarious!