Thursday, May 29, 2014

Outdoors adventures

I went to a free class at rei (we have one right next to our grocery store) tonight called backpacking basics for women. In some respects it was a sales pitch for lots of cool camping gear, but it was also a really cool basic class where the instructor talked about experiences she has had and when various gear comes in handy. It got me really excited to go camping with Audrey (this weekend if the weather cooperates) and to do bigger hikes and camps in the future. The woman sitting next to me was about to do her first section of the Appalachian trail with her girlfriends this week, that sounded awesome. I would love to do that. And I would also love to hike machu Picchu and Kilimanjaro before I go the way of all the earth. Considering I haven't backpacked in a decade, I've got some work ahead of me.

Thursday, May 08, 2014

Spring Break

Audrey's spring break is usually the week before Easter.  For the first part of her spring break, the girls and I drove down to North Carolina with Ryan's mom to visit Ryan's sister and her family.  They have four kids and two of them match up perfectly with the ages of my girls.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and returned Tuesday afternoon.  The drive there was slow - we hit all kinds of traffic, but it was so lovely to see spring starting.

The girls had a wonderful time.  Audrey and Tori had a sleepover every night.  They were inseparable the whole trip and got along great.  Audrey, Tori, and I played a game of Ticket to Ride (which is definitely one of our favorite games). Meredith would not take any noteworthy naps, however, she maintained a sweet disposition and loved playing with the baby and Ellie (the cousin who is about 6 months older).  Meredith also went and found quiet spots to play on her own whenever things got chaotic (with six kids and four adults under one roof, that was often).  That was interesting because at home she usually just wants to play with me.  It was good to see her becoming more independent and finding fun things to do for herself.

The girls and I were able to visit some old friends/neighbors who lived a few houses up from us for several years.  It was a lot of fun to catch up with Chris and Amanda and to see their kids again.  It is amazing how fast kids grow!

The highlight of the trip for me was a stop at a little local yarn (and quilt) shop, A Fox in the Hen's House.  It is right by Alisha's house and so Margaret dropped me off on the way back from our activities on Monday and I was welcomed with that famous southern hospitality.  I had so much fun that I stayed for a couple of hours, just knitting and chatting with the other ladies there.  Since then I have been wishing I had a good local yarn store here.  (Perhaps I should open one.)