Cloudland Canyon

I'm back to blogging! Yippee. My main camera lens broke, which put a damper in my picture making abilities. Our solution was to upgrade my phone first, then save for the lens. I've finally gotten into the groove of getting them on the blog. So...here I go.



We are finally finding our hiking feet as a family of six. Lark and Ridge were so young yet so big, that we couldn't find many hikes where we could carry them both or have them walk. Now, we've got Lark in the carrier on John's back and Ridge is totally capable of walking! While these are minor details to some, they make or break our ability to hit the trail.



We headed up to Clouldland Canyon. First, we hiked the one mile loop where there are several remote primitive camping spots. Burl and I are itching to try backpacking, so we are doing it on our own speed: slowly.



Hiking with Burl is a different experience now. We don't see him much. He runs ahead of us then we catch up with him only to find that he has his knife out and is doing some nine-year-old boy thing. We love it.



We found a couple of creeks and they truly are my favorite outdoor activity. I never met a creek that I didn't love. 

After that exploratory hike, we headed over to the east rim of the canyon for the epic views and the picnic spots. 

Right now we still keep the food simple and stick to the basics. 

Once we finished dinner, we climbed down part of the canyon to a beautiful waterfall with the bluest pool at the bottom. Somewhere deep in my childhood memory, I remember hiking to this waterfall when I was very young and with both parents. I asked my mom, and she confirmed that we came here quite often before my parents divorced, sometimes with other families. This matches with my fragmented memory. 

One of the highlights of our time hanging out here was watching Burl. He ran around the edge and back five times, getting closer and closer to the base of the falls. With a lot of cheering on from me, he eventually stood under the freezing water as it hit his back. He was so charged up by this and said that it was one of the coolest things he's ever done. Gosh, he's fun. 

We set up the hammock, poked in the water, helped the babies and took a picture or two. Wink, wink. 

It was another great time outside. Endurance is increasing in all of us with each hike. It's pretty easy with children that enjoy it and incredible views like these!

Self Care Laughter

There is so much buzz and debate around self care these days. It's something that I think about as well! What works and what doesn't work for me is something that I wonder. For a long time, I used to think that self care for me was a break from the kids to do something on my own or with friends. While those are great things, it didn't always do it for me. It put me in a posture of always waiting to get away from my kids so I could relax, only to feel frustrated when I'm with them and never totally myself when I got back from my break.

Some of my breaks include: out to eat with friends, coffee shop mornings by myself, exercising (oldie but goodie), having friends over after bedtime for a bonfire, etc. Those are all good and I still do them occasionally. However, I've recently learned that actually playing with my children is some of my favorite self care! 

It was a nice day when they kids were off of school recently, so we went to the playground for fun and a picnic. We ate, they did their thing, I watched all the things that they wanted me to see, then I got in on the fun. 

I ran, chased, tickled, helped, and did a lot of laughing. That's happening more often, and I've so enjoyed getting involved and laughing with them. Being goofy with them brings me so much joy. In my search for feeling good in life, giving myself over to my role as mother has filled me so much. 

These are my children that I adore and they have truly been my best self care. 

Finally! A Hike

I've really been looking forward to blogging about this little hike. Illness hit us (a reminder that we've actually been pretty healthy this season), so I've fallen behind on some of our goings and comings. Before the end of the year, however, we were able to get in our first local hike of 2018!



Besides our camping trips, we hadn't hiked in 2018! It's crazy to me, because it's meant so much to our family. When I look back at the year, I remember that we've spent a lot of time doing baseball then the bathroom reno that never stops.

John and I made a commitment to get in a hike over Christmas break. First, we passed this trail on the way to another trail on a land trust. When we got there, it was closed. I was so upset-what a setback with four kids! Anyways, we went back to this small, there-n-back spot that's not as interesting. 

My attitude quickly turned around because of the kids. Children are wired to have fun-they're always looking for it and always making it. Burl was especially adorable as he felt unleashed and could run ahead, going as fast as he wanted and climbing whatever he could!

An exciting part of the trail is that it passes under the Incline Railway and passengers always wave back!

Another highlight was finding the recently developed boulder fields just off the trail. This was a great surprise. We had so much fun exploring, climbing, and making loud noises. This spot off the guild trail was perfect for our family. We were really impressed with it! So much so, that I returned there with the two littles with some mom friends and their kids a week later. 

As I remember this trip, I remember how happy I felt. I told John that I really want to do more hiking this year. While I've heard some hilarious comments about hiking (there's no vending machine out there/it's just a walk in the woods), I don't relate. It calms me, it excites me, and it makes feel happy in a way that I can't fully understand. I'm so interested in it. As the country song goes, "I like it. I love it. I want some more of it."

Turkey Trot 2019

For something like twenty years, we have had an unofficial tradition of cheering on my brothers at the Turkey Trot. It's THEIR race.

Until this year. The attention has officially shifted to the kids. Fern and Ridge joined Burl in the kiddie K race. 

Burl and Fern won their age divisions. If there was a prize for "smiled the most," then that would have gone to Ridge. He held Joseph's hand as he smiled and ran the entire race. He was so excited. 

And I was just the regular old proud mama, thinking that they were best things alive. 

Cades Cove Field Trip

What a perfect time to hit Cades Cove! Fern's grade chartered two buses and took the kids for a full day field trip. The colors were unlike anything that I've seen before. The winding road to get there was coated in rich, gold hues contrasted with the darkness of the bark. It felt like it was glowing. While the kids made potty jokes, I kept interrupting with "Guys aren't the colors awesome?"

Within a few minutes of entering the park, we got to see a six point buck!

But, nothing was as amazing as surprising Burl and his buddy that they got to skip school and join us. We grabbed Fern and Asher and they got to ride the loop, unbuckled with the back open while they ate junk food. There is no other thrill than that! 

Not only did I enjoy the colors, I loved being a fly on the wall as I listened to their elementary school discussions. I love the baby stage, but this stage offers a different kind of fun! Kids, they're awesome. 

Dinner & An Evening

Since our beach camping trip was cut short, we had some staycation time and extra money leftover. We decided to take the family out to dinner at a real restaurant with a server and everything. The whole night turned into a very fun evening and I have a few pictures to share. Of course, I'm still not great at taking pictures at night without a flash, but I'm learning. Please excuse the blur...



We went to a local pasta place near a walking bridge. Tony's Pasta was fun-free bread all night, kids meals that are big enough to split, and the spot where John and I had our very first official date. "Ew, yuck!" the kids said in response to that news, followed by explosions of laughter.

At the walking bridge, we let everyone run free, or in Burl's case, climb free. Lark is starting to transition from being in the stroller to being a big boy. Because he was so excited with his freedom, he yelled in celebration the whole time. I imagined him saying, "I am big-here me roar!"

On the bridge, there is always someone playing good music. All the children liked it, but Ridge was the only one who asked if I would dance with him. Dance we did because he is my twin when it comes to good times and easy fun. Followed by the guitar man, we saw someone practicing ballroom dancing. Fern was the most intrigued by this! She gets her people watching from my side of the family, a trait that runs strong. 

The night became An Evening and the kids forgot all about their camping trip troubles. They followed up by kindly asking if we could do this more often. Specifically, they asked if we could go to a restaurant once a month. Apparently $5 pizzas and drive-thru ChickFilA don't count-who knew!? We said yes (and it has to be a place that gives some food for free). Sometimes staycations can be better than vacations!