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sixteen. a birthday post.
I was 29 years old, just hours away from turning 30, when I met her for the first time. It was a terribly long, incredibly painful delivery. And yes, I have pretty much forgotten exactly how it really felt, although if I let myself, I can remember enough. We had two names picked out for her. We had decided to wait until we met her to make the final decision. Emerson Scout Elizabeth or London Elizabeth Scout. She was beautiful and she was instantly popular. Riley was infatuated with her. My mom adored her. She had a fan club longer than all the letters in her unusually long name. I…
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five finds friday (the best popcorn, a great sermon, ear cuffs and we need a new funny show)
The entire family knew, going into the summer, that this week would be a wild one. Art camp for one. Math classes all week for two. Birthday party. School planning session. And all the regular stuff. Jobs. Meals. And my dad visiting us too. It’s been a good week but I’m thankful to see the weekend around the corner. funny Lately I’ve been obsessed with Jimmy Fallon’s hashtags. #WhyILostMyJob #MyPetIsWeird #WhyI’mSingle and so on. They are hilarious and ludicrous. The length of the videos is just the right time – short and sweet. But if you’ve got more than a minute – it’s okay to watch six of them. Also.…
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swipe left.
Every once in a blue moon, I let myself get a little distracted and I wander down the virtual aisles of Bumble. Okay – twice. I have done this twice. If you don’t know what Bumble is – you’re pretty lucky. It’s a free dating app where people create a brief profile to find other people interested in dating. In this particular app, you see a photo and then you swipe on that photo. Left means “no thank you” and a right swipe means “let’s talk”. Or something like that. I am no expert here. In fact, mostly I am a disinterested person, but occasionally, with friends or on a…
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fast forward: pause: resume
I have not spent much time over here in weeks. (I miss it.) The summer has been F U L L . I was lamenting to a friend with children of similar age recently: Remember when we decided some activity for our family and everyone got in the car and did that activity together because there was no such thing as choice? Remember when a busy week meant we took the toddlers to the zoo one day AND to the museum on a different day? Phew – what a full week. Missed two naps in one week??? We were so wild and crazy. Remember when every child was sound asleep…
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Six Steps to Hiking & Adventuring With Kids
I like traveling with my kids. I like taking adventures with my children. I like hikes and being outside and going places with them. (This is beginning to sound like some sort of confessional. Are you waiting for the “however” or the “but”?) Exploring with my family has always been on the top of my list of favorite activities. This summer the kids and I drove 5,000 miles and hiked a handful of trails. We rode horses. We toured through four National parks in Utah and we went glamping for the first time. We saw the Grand Canyon and we drove across this gorgeous bridge in some state (I cannot…
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five finds friday (except it’s four because I ran out of time)
Every stage of parenting has its perks – and its disadvantages. With a newborn, you’re sleep deprived. But – when you place the baby on your bed, she cannot go anywhere else. With a toddler, diaper changes are disgusting – but the phrases and words they say are hysterically funny and worth daily recording. With teenagers – they’re good at conversations and adventures. But – when they can’t drive yet, they depend on you to take them to ALL the places ALL the time. All I do is drive, drive, drive. Short trips. Repeated trips. Back and forth trips. It’s the summer of going here and there – a…
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I don’t understand
Tuesday happened. Like it’s been doing each week for a long time. And I woke up and I looked at Facebook and I saw a post about a former student. A fellow I knew when he was in my high school English class. Maybe fifteen years ago. On the right track. A good kid. Honest. Reliable. Responsible. Likable and kind. He grew up. He got married. He had three children. And this week, on a drive home from another state, he was in a car accident. He didn’t survive. And neither did his two daughters. His wife and their son are fighting for their lives. And I do not understand.…
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from the cabin: Bergen Hawkeye at Lost Valley
He doesn’t know I am watching him. My fourteen year old son. I’m on the porch, settled on the porch swing. Basha blanket from home wrapped around me because of the surprisingly low temperatures. Hot tea in a Lost Valley mug by my side. Pen. Notebook. It’s all good. He’s well below the cabin. Waiting for his friend to exit his cabin and to join him in some wild outdoor adventure of their own design. He’s got some pole with a red rope attached to the end. He’s whipping it around. Occasionally hitting himself. Grinning. Content and absolutely present in his own life. Bergen is a master at creativity. Simple…
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going dark . . .
It’s funny that we have a phrase for this. That “going dark” can be seen in so many different lights. (I make puns as if it were my job. Even when it’s not my job.) When I was planning for our trip to Colorado and Utah, I was talking with my Travelers Rest Here Intern/IG Diva/Really Gigantic Helper about what she would be doing while I was gone. I told her I would be completely off the grid for a while. She suggested I write a post when I returned called “going dark”. I’m taking her advice. Going Dark. For some it sounds like a dream. Shutting it all down…
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five finds friday (the right ice, a great kid, gorgeous views)
I’m not sure how quality this Five Finds can be this week. I never enjoy the return to the work week after a fantastic vacation – but this week has been extra The Worst. Talk about Slow Motion. That’s my speed currently. Or backwards. That speed too. Can’t seem to kick the sickies and don’t love dwelling on it. So I’ll give it a go over here – typing as slow as I’ve been moving all week long. funny On the road (with nearly 5,000 miles under our belt) we listened to a variety of different podcasts. One of the funniest was one recommended to us called Everything is Alive.…
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still here …..
After leaving the ranch we spent a pretty glorious and adventure filled couple of days trekking it together through Utah. Over the Rocky Mountains, to a handful of Utah’s famous National Parks. We spent a day each at Arches, Bryce and Zion and a short spell at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We saw landscape – in the same state – so varied and distinct and beautiful and stunning that I had a hard time taking it all in. My phone photo storage is at max capacity. (So is my iCloud storage too – is that normal?) I really want to unpack all we saw and all we…
Keep Reading . . .
holiday links.
WWII Graphic Novels: A Timberdoodle Review
tick tock. a small choice.
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returning …
Even when your real life is one you actually enjoy, it’s painfully difficult to leave a place as dreamy as Lost Valley Ranch. It is absolutely a place of genuine connections, set aside agendas, zero emails – and, of course – laughter and luxury. Naturally, having someone else make your bed is far better than making it yourself. (And they do a much better job at it too.) Turn down service nightly – and that little Andes mint waiting on your pillow – beats any sort of turn down service happening at my house. (And what turn down service is happening at my house, you may ask? None. None turn…
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here we go ….
School is out. We’re packing these boots up and heading to the ranch. It’s a mess up in here trying to gather all we need for a (very) long drive across this beautiful U.S. Kids requested “mommy meals” based on a story in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. And I don’t know when you’ll hear from me again on a blog – maybe soon, maybe not. It’s hard to type while driving. (Kidding. Kidding.) But you can follow along on Instagram if you’re into that sort of thing. I love pretty much every part of this adventure. Even the long hours in the car with no DVD player…
