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morning reminders.
I was lying in bed this morning. Avoiding crawling out of its three-blanketed warmth. (I think three blankets is too many. Too heavy. Kevin thinks otherwise. London commented on the thickness of our bed covers and I told her how Daddy likes lots of covers. She grinned and replied, “But I bet his bed mate doesn’t.” She was right.) Instead of getting up and conquering the morning, I just kept lying there – letting the morning conquer me. I pretended to be pseudo-accomplishing things – like checking my e-mail on my phone. Then I scrolled through the photos stored on my phone. All 1,375 of them. I stumbled across…
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Keigley CAMPaign: Hamilton Branch
After we came up with the idea back in May, our first camping trip was to the lovely Lake Jocassee. (Seriously picturesque mountain views on this lake. Truly crowded camping experience because those views are so lovely.) Somehow Bergen received the luck of the draw and was allowed to choose our next camping destination. You know he loves birds so when Hawkeye read that Hamilton Branch State Park was well known for its unique bird sightings, his mind was already made up. The drive down closer to the Georgia state line was a bit farther than the drive across Highway 11. (And not nearly as scenic.) But the campsites were…
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Keigley CAMPaign: Oconee State Park
Last weekend was our camping weekend. Oconee State Park. It was a good weekend. And I plan to go backwards in time and recap each state park visit. Eventually. But I jotted down this during our weekend as we were hanging out and enjoying the incredibly perfect weather. ________________ 8:17 p.m. Otto is resting in the hammock. Riley’s reading by flashlight in the tent. I’m writing this, eating raisins, staring at the fire. Kevin is leading the others on a dark Frog Hunt. Listening, shining the light. Two kids are already holding amphibians in their increasingly filthy hands. (Nails embedded with dark dirt that has at least twelve more hours…
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and did you know this?
Guess what? You can get almost all of your children in a cool location. You can have them dressed in Mommy-approved-photo-attire. You can have enough time and patience and presence of mind to attempt a stylish photograph. And you can still blow it.
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Keigley Campaign: The Idea(l)
I think it was May when we first had the idea. Yes, yes it was May. (I like how a blog reminds me of things I forget.) And it was also May when I said my plan was to tell you about our camping campaign idea. (I don’t like how blogs remind me of things I forget to do.) And so far, all I have done is tell you about one particular camping adventure. And that’s okay I guess. I doubt you’ve been hanging on to the edge of your seats waiting for me to follow through with that. (But if you have – I’m sorry.) And today I’m going…
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the end. (of vacation)
Last morning. Last walk down the sandy road, across the wooden steps, over the damp dunes, down to the ocean’s edge. Low tide. And I guess I just want to to say goodbye. A farewell to the beach to the thick salty air that sticks in my hair. Farewell to lazy mornings and late night swims. My shadow made long in the early morning sun. Feet wet all week. It’s been good. So good. The redemption of Fripp Island is complete. And I am grateful. The shooting stars. In one night more falling stars than I’ve seen in my entire life. Lucky. The whole sand dollar. Just being here with…
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the city for me, if a city was for me
I’m definitely more of a country girl than a city girl. I need green more than asphalt. But there’s this one city that appeals to me. Makes me reconsider my hard stance against Big Town and gets me to entertaining thoughts about the loveliness of stepping off my front porch right onto a city block. Savannah. I think it’s all those squares. The green space planned right in to the thread of the city. The statues. The history. The exquisite homes. All that old brick. The Spanish moss. And the trees. It’s just so lovely.
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island thoughts. the difference four years make.
The rain never came. King Solomon, the weather ap, the forecasters behind that free tool – they were all wrong. And we were grateful. We held the day like a gift (as all days are). Fripp Island. It’s been four years since we last visited. And goodness, how the years have changed us. Years measured by the height of my son against the waves. And I can’t stop myself from saying . . . “Last time we were here -” Otto didn’t even exist! Piper Finn was wearing swim diapers. The preschool crowd we ran with was afraid of waves. No one except Riley could even swim. And now. And…
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sunny days. rainy days. island days.
The forecast looks a little bleak. Miniature storm clouds with tiny strikes of lightning and six raindrops below each cloud. That’s what King Solomon’s weather ap is displaying right now. But we’re here anyway. Weather or not. And tonight, immediately after our Suburban’s wheels crushed across the oyster shells in our driveway, we all tossed on appropriate swim attire and booked it down the street to the beach. The sandy, beautiful salty warm water. The Atlantic. Low tide. After six o’clock. No need for sunscreen. Foam. Sand. Shards of sand dollars. A yellow bucket. Hand me down swim suits from one sister to the next. Face masks from Sherry that…
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six flags over georgia.
Summer reading programs abound. In fact, I often lose track of them. Suddenly it’s September and I realize that I missed out on the chance to get three free books from Barnes & Noble. Six Flags offers a year-long reading program that we took advantage of last school year. For reading the required number of books, each child receives a free ticket (and one teacher ticket too!) to the Six Flags amusement park of your choice. We chose Georgia. And yesterday. Thanks to my kind friends Hannah and LIndsey, Otto and PIper were well cared for all day so that they did not have to wait in long line and…
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can the grocery store be a field trip?
When you are raising young children, every time you leave your house – it’s an adventure. They’re so curious about all the details of life. The trips that may be mundane to us are still full of wonder to them. I’m always seeing advertisements and links to websites for homeschooling and classes and projects and activities. I keep a notebook near the computer where I jot down leads and eventually research them to see if they’ll fit our family. The most recent one I sat at our old desk and typed into my search engine of choice was fieldtripfactory.com. It’s a website designed to connect educators with local businesses that…
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wild.
I took a couple of young ones to the library this week. And I came home with a handful of wild things.
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Summer Field Trippin’
Summer definitely looks different than the school year. We sleep a lot later. Our meals are routinely consumed at less-than-normal intervals. We find ourselves in or near water with a higher degree of frequency. But all school isn’t completely shut down for us. (We’re actually continuing math for the summer and we never stop all that good reading.) Plus. We get to go on some fun field trips too. Last Friday we joined a handful of fellow homeschoolers for a drive into the North Carolina mountains to visit the Cradle of Forestry. I love any excuse to drive into the Pisgah National Forest, to enjoy the always-slightly-cooler temperatures, to be…
