Memorial Day with Langfords and Sextons

We've done this for a few years now, and I hope we do it forever. Good times for everyone.

Porter's Creek Trail

We brought along the Cruzes and tried out a new hike last Friday. Porter's Creek Trail was a great one for a large group because the first half was a gravel road so there was plenty of room for everyone to mix it up and not be constrained to single file. It was also great because it ran along a river and provided ample opportunities to hop across on rocks or wade right in. It was also great because there were stone walls, a grave yard, and a barn that were over 100 years old, and a hiker's cabin built in the 30s along the way. One more reason it was nice was because it was not crowded at all. When we've hiked the more popular trails (Laurel Falls and Abrams Falls in particular) they were crowded the whole time, but here we only passed a few people on occasion. Lydia also brought along her bug-home and caught a multitude of centipedes, tomato worms, and snails. It was a pretty awesome kick-off for summer.

Turning 35

Happy birthday to me a couple of weeks ago. Early in the year I asked Scott if his gift could be running a half marathon with me. He's a good one so he said you bet. I googled "scenic half marathons" (because running in the country is way better than running in a city) and found three or four within driving distance. One of them happened to be the day before my birthday, so New River it was. I assumed we'd probably leave the kids with a relative and the two of us would go over the night before, get up and run, then come home. But as I was trying to find a place to stay, I came across a little cabin with enough beds for everyone in a beautiful setting, for less than a room at a hotel and it was perfect. We changed our quick race to a weekend getaway for the whole family, and I'm so glad we did. That weekend was a little piece of heaven.

First the running part.

Before

After (still smiling!)

Before the race started we laughed a nervous laugh together because I trained very poorly/inconsistently and Scott didn't train at all. No, I take that back, he went for a run back in March, and then once again the week before the race. Ha! The elevation was higher than we realized, and the hills were killer. Kill-er. Like legs 2 and 7 of Ragnar combined, plus one more matching incline type of killer. All that along with the cold I'd had for about a week (is that enough excuses?) resulted in times neither one of us especially care to share, but we did it! Go us! Can I just say one of the many things I love about Scott is the fact that he ran 13.1 miles completely untrained like it was nothing? Go natural athleticism!

But the course was beautiful. Bea-u-ti-ful. I wish I'd thought to take a few shots along the run, it was stunning. Trees canopying the roads everywhere, much of it was along riverbanks, it made me smile every step. I smiled most though because we got to do it together. Best gift ever.

We went back to the cabin, got cleaned up, and had lunch. Then we moseyed right across the street to a campground that had a wide open field, large pond, and playground equipment. We thought we might play for an hour or two, but we ended up staying out there all afternoon. It was my very, very favorite kind of day. We had no other obligations, nowhere else to hurry and get to, the sun was shining, no distractions, no cell service, nothing to do but play and laugh and be together. So that's what we did. Even more best gift ever.

I liked it so much I made a movie about it.

A good day for baseball

Josh's grade took a field trip to Smokys Stadium, and I went right along with him because that's what cool moms do. The weather was ideal, the hot dog lunch was free, and Josh brought his glove just in case (a foul was hit into the next section over right in the middle of a sea of 4th graders, holy cow, that was scary, but none came our way). We sat with two of his besties Seth and Noah, who had their gloves with them too. I had to leave a bit early to pick up Afton from preschool and asked Josh if he wanted to stay and ride back on the buses with his friends or come on along with me. He chose me, because that's what cool kids do.

Wearing Scott's high school baseball cap.

Not noticing the odd-looking lone hair blowing in front of my nose.

On the way out we walked by some cop cars in the parking lot, and I thought this would be a hilarious shot.

Apparently I thought it was hilarious two year ago when I came on the same field trip with Ben too.

Nickel Creek reunion concert

I love Nickel Creek. They're one of my favorite bands to watch live because their talent is so awesome to watch up close. The band broke up (and so did our hearts) about seven years ago, but to our great joy they've come back together for a reunion album and tour. No promises whether they'll stick with it this time, but I sure hope so. I like the new album. We joined Langfords, Sextons and Cruzes in Nashville for their Ryman Auditorium show the Friday before Easter. And it was awesome.

photobombed!

If you like them as much as I do, you'll enjoy these brief clips.
(It's not the best quality footage, I tried to not be obnoxious by holding my phone way up in the air in other people's way.)

I somehow missed a few gems from March

1. Emma and Ben both got braces the same day. It's a race to see who gets them off first.

2. Just checking in on her My Little Pony app. No big whoop.

3. Still loves to go out and shoot.

4. One Sunday after church, I had sent the kids out to the van but couldn't find Ben so I went in search of him (I forgot he had a meeting). Emma texted me this pic...I guess they got bored with waiting (not really sure what's going through Afton's head though).