washington 2014

A trip to Washington where none of us came back the people we once were. we took Washington by the horns.

we were in 4 airplanes, 2 hour traffic jams, a ferry, and a smoking boat. we slept in 2 hotels, an rv, a cottage and a house. we ran down airport aisles carrying kids and carseats and suitcases while pushing a stroller with flat tires then being told the door shut 10 minutes ago. we ate crab and drank beer like it was our job. we laughed and embraced friends who treated us like family. we waded through seaweed and explored a nature that was new to us. we stared up at the tall trees, we took outdoor showers.

and like a summer love, I can't stop thinking about it all.

Washington, you have my heart.

Nothin' is as it has been And I miss your face like hell And I guess it's just as well But I miss your face like hell-The Head and the Heart

off we go into the wild blue yonder

My aunt and uncle own a little cabin tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains. You have to take lots of curvy roads that dip up and down through valleys then pop you back up to the top of the mountains to get there. It's gray with a fantastic wooden screen door and a tin roof. It sits on a green hill and the sun shines down in air so crisp it makes you feel like a kid again.

We went there a few weeks ago and got lost in all of it's magic.

We fished with water up to our waist and floated on big black inner tubes. We spent hours trying to catch the minnows with our hands in the clear river water and swam with our old dog who was suddenly a puppy again.  We built fires and set marshmallows on fire. We did somersaults down hills and chased butterflies. We wore our cleanest dirty clothes over and over. We listened as the banjo made it's way out to the mountains and came back to us.

We played in the river until the setting sun sent us home. We chased our moon shadows and the fireflies that gave us light shows.

The days were full and the nights were quiet.

The world stopped for 8 days and gave us time to enjoy it.

Glen Arbor, Michigan

I still smell like camp fire. The laundry isn't caught up. And the tent is still lying in a heap on my deck. When my kids were born I promised I wouldn't take them to the same place every summer. I want them to see the world. But when memories are made somewhere, really good memories, you want to go back and relive them. So every August, I find myself closing out summer in this magical place.

So my very good friend and I packed up our kids and set out to go camping.

We fed bugs cheez-its. Had fires on the beach. Found an uncountable amount of ladybugs.We washed our hair in coffee shops and we learned to pee in the woods. We rode our bikes before breakfast, we colored rocks and jumped waves. Flew kites and climbed dunes.  We watched the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen. We discovered the true meaning of dirty and tired. We took our baths in the lake and felt the cold Lake Michigan water take our breath away as we dunked each other. We watched daddy long legs crawl on the outside of our tent at dawn. Tantrums were thrown as well as sand. Belly laughs were had.

Memories were made. Stories that will be told next year.

10 on 10 september

Glen Arbor, Michigan D.H. Day Campround

I am going to start off saying I'm not a wimp. I have done my fair share of camping. And even my fair share of backpacking. Before kids Brant and I ended our summers up north. One last trip in August when it was nice and warm. We were ready to jump back into that tradition so we planned a big camping trip for the family. We could handle 4 nights in a tent right? A three year old and one year old...pshhh piece of cake. We've hiked across the entire state of Georgia in 7 days, we can do this.

I wish we would have had a secret camera man to tape all the "highlights" through out the trip....

Grey's uncontrollable urge to run towards the fire, the unexpected cold weather, crawling out of the tent in the morning because every part of your body is not a happy camper, Falon's obvious hatred toward the porta potty,  the campsite that was SURROUNDED by poison ivy, the 50 degree nights in our summer tent, the night sleep screaming from Falon in middle of the night.

But those are the time we remember right? In 20 years sitting around the table..hey dad, remember when all 4 of us were squeezed in that tiny shower at the campground and you got soap in your eyes and the water ran out and mom couldn't find more coins to start the shower again....that was sooo funny!!

I could go on but I won't. Because it was fun. It really was.  We drank a lot of beer.

Using a camper is still camping right?

breakfast:jelly toast

hike up crocodile trail

swimming

trip into town

running: he's gotten really good at it

hide seek next to our favorite cottage bookstore

heading to the beach

singing his heart out

practice running towards the fire pit

sunset on Lake Michigan

And now visit the uber talented Emily Robinson

12 days

This summer my family went to Telluride, Colorado for our summer vacation. Prior to having kids when we traveled, I would have the travel book in hand with numerous events outlined for each day. It was a rigid schedule that let us see the best views and eat at the best restaurants. Then we had kids. And learned very quickly that they schedule our vacation days.

Most days weren't scheduled and we had no idea what we were going to do the next day. We awoke early and walked the streets of downtown and drove the back country roads while the kids napped. We ate where the locals ate. We read books from the free box in the middle of town  and we met new friends. We talked. A lot. To locals and to others who traveled a far distance to be there. We fantasized what it would be like to live there while plotting how we would do it and were even convincing some nights. We breathed in the rich mountain air and laid under the setting sun. We listened to amazing music at the bluegrass festival and watched as our children danced with strangers.

It was a different vacation than I was used to. I wasn't worried about what I would miss or stressed how we were going to fit as many activities as possible into the days we were there. We just enjoyed our time there. And each other.

Last Dollar Road in Telluride, Colorado

On the Farm

Not too far from us is this great little farm. They have chickens and stray cats that beg for attention. They have sheep and pigs and every spring I wait for them to announce their babies have arrived. We went out to the pasture hoping to get some baby lamb love but the protective mama sheep were unwilling to part. When one would run up to us you would hear a baaaabaaa and the baby would run back to it's mama.After lunch we decided to head back to the barn. The sheep had come in and were being transferred to another pasture. We got very lucky and this little lamb loved our attention! Or it liked getting it's picture taken.

Pensacola