My oldest just loves to be outside. We obviously encourage his passion because we love enjoying the outdoors, too. Hiking, camping, and fishing were such huge parts of our lives before we had children and we hope to start doing it again soon. We're just trying to work up the nerve to do all at the same time! Camping with multiple toddlers, one who doesn't sleep well anywhere but his own crib? Eek. It's intimidating. Anyway, we take day fishing trips or short hiking trips (1-2 miles) with the kids and those are some of our best memories as a family of four. Last weekend, we headed to a nearby trail just out of town:
And we'll call this next one "Life ain't always beautiful." Alternatively titled, "WHY DO THEY MAKE ME STOP MY LIFE TO TAKE PHOTOS?!"
We had fun, though. All 4.5 of us even though there isn't photographic evidence that we were all there.
What a crazy quick year 2013 was for the W Family! Here's a 12 month recap:
1. In January, I wrote this post marking the beginning of my journey toward fitness. It's funny how I say my goals are to get fit and not get pregnant "especially the latter." Oh, how comical. After having Baby A I weighed 132. By the end of the year, I'm holding steady at about 118! I'm proud of my progress.
2. February brought a new move onto the horizon. The boys and I settled into life in sunny Florida and J finished up training for his new job out of state.
4. Then we took a few trips south in April. We left Jacksonville for Orlando and Sarasota and made precious memories with our kiddos.
5. In May, I set my sights on a goal of running 100 miles in a month. I hit my goal AND broke a new personal record. In addition to that, my family came in from TN to see my cousin get married. We had a good time showing my sister and bro-in-law around our new home in Florida.
6. June was so much fun, too. My husband graduated with his MBA from Norwich University in Vermont. It was my first time visiting the state and I fell in love! Then my pal came to Florida to visit us.
7. Still plugging away at getting fit, I created the Burpee Sprint Challenge in July. Then something Amazing happened at the end of the month! J secured an interview within his company for a job in East Tennessee and we soon heard back that we were moving HOME!
8. August was obviously crazy. We packed up our house in a weekend and I drove with two under two the full 8 or more hours home. We celebrated K's second birthday and Baby A turned 8 months old.
9. Thrilled to be home, we set out to hike the cumberland trail with the boys when we weren't busy shopping for a house in September. I also set and achieved a goal of running 50 miles that month.
10. In October, we finally moved into our new house!
11. November, my birthday month, was pretty uneventful. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in TN in over five years or so, though.
12. December has been insane, too. Lots of new developments. Baby A turned 1! We found out our family is growing again!
We are looking forward to the new year. I'm still formulating goals in my head, but I'll be sure to share those with you when I get a chance. Thank you all so much for reading and supporting me in 2013. See ya next year ;)
12 days (knock on wood) is what separates us from living as a family of four again. Our time in my childhood home is winding down and I'm looking forward to settling in a new town, finding a church home there, and making a life for ourselves. With each move we've made, there's been a sense of a fresh start. It's true for this one, too. I've been contemplating going back to work or going back to school. In general, life is looking up! We've had some struggles over the past few months but it must have been the stress of moving again. So many homes the Captain and I have shared together float through my mind and I can hardly keep them straight. We are happy to finally have a house of our own in a town close to "home" that we will be staying in with no plans of moving. We've never had a permanent place. The feeling is exciting. I hope we don't get anxious. We are very much a military family at heart, after all.
Enjoying fall has been a top priority around here lately. We also haven't had a true fall in a long, long time. Living in Louisiana prior to Florida didn't exactly provide for changing leaves and cool evenings. It was just hot all the time.
A trip to the pumpkin patch was in order-
Some hiking around Frozen Head State Park-
and K even caught his first fish-
We're makin' memories and trying to enjoy the present.
The last few years, we've lived in very flat places: Louisiana, Florida. My biggest complaint was always how flat it was. I love the mountains. There's just something about climbing up to an overlook with fresh air in my lungs. I feel healthy. I feel alive. I feel nearer to my Creator. When we got the good news we were moving back to Tennessee, one of the million thoughts that floated through my head was- We'll get to go hiking in some elevation! What better way to spend our Labor Day weekend than getting our kids out and introducing them to the good ole hills of Tennessee.
We packed a picnic (and by packed I mean we stopped at Subway) lunch and headed over to the Cumberland Trail for a little hiketherapy. I just made that word up just now. I like it. Anyway, we ended up eating on Black Mountain. It was lovely; I had never been.
The trail was great for kids until the very top, of course. There were cracks in the rocks that had to be crossed and obviously a very tall ledge, but it was definitely manageable. I could even relax and have a little fun. Here's our attempt at a family photo:
We try.
All in all, it was a great day and it left us with an itch to get out in nature again soon.
That's exactly what we did two days later at Ozone Falls.
My sister and her husband joined us and thank God they did! J and I had forgotten how steep the "trail" is to get down to the falls. I forgot the wrap or hiking backpack for the babe so we carried him. It was a joint effort. Paige took him on the way down and I hauled him back up. Despite me nearly having a panic attack (afraid one of the kids might get hurt), we had a good time...until the car troubles. That's another blog post, though.
(I suppose it's time to wrap up the story of our travels to New England. This is the final installment, but if you need to catch up, click here and then here.)
My days in Vermont were spent largely without my husband as he was busy attending meetings. I lived it up, though. My youngest and I went hiking a lot and he fell asleep wrapped up against Mama at every chance he got. I was so happy to breathe in the fresh mountain air, gaze down at my baby, and remember all that is good in this world.
I visited the state house...
On sunny days, people gathered in the grassy area relaxing in the rare sunlight. Folks from all walks of life could be found there- some taking their first steps, others sprawled out from a long morning at work. It reminded me of a common area that could be found on any college campus. I got the feeling there was plenty to do, but everyone was focused on not doing it. Instead, brief moments to pause and appreciate the day were had out in front of the state's capital.
At night, when J was relieved of his requirements at Norwich, we searched for activities to fill our time. One of my favorite evenings, we came across a vineyard in the Vermont countryside. We enjoyed some wine tasting and the first peeks at sunlight we had seen for the whole trip!
We also enjoyed evening dinners when Baby A let us eat in peace.
There were several good restaurant options in the city. Many of them focused on locally grown, organic produce. We didn't really have a bad meal the whole time we were there. Expensive meals, on the other hand, is another story!
The little, tiny towns that are dispersed throughout VT are precious.
But perhaps my favorite place we visited was Stowe. Captain J got the day off after graduation and the sun was shining. We set off to explore and it turned out to be my favorite day of the entire visit. We definitely did the tourist thing. On our way to Stowe, we stopped in Waterbury for the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory. We got to see the graveyard where all the old flavors go to die. Of course, we enjoyed some ice cream outside, too.
It was lovely. In case you aren't familiar, this is the location where the family depicted in The Sound of Music lived after leaving Austria . There's a lot more history involved with this family that is quite interesting, too. Anyway, we walked around the grounds, enjoying the amazing views.
Then we enjoyed a glass of wine celebrating this graduate:
I had such a great time. The graduation ceremony went smoothly. The baby was an angel for hours. It was ideal! I'm so proud of my husband and all of his accomplishments. Congrats, babe!
Have you been to Vermont? I'd totally recommend it to a friend!
Well, you may know that Captain J and I recently made the long drive to the Arctic Circle for some caribou hunting. I'm here to tell you that I survived despite the much colder conditions than what we expected (and despite my really negative attitude towards this trip!). When Captain J approached me about this trip, I thought- "Yeah, I could use a girl's weekend! The lovely and brilliant, Sarah, will have recently said goodbye to her man so I could probably talk her into hangin' with me!" Much to my surprise, J wanted me to attend. Really? Me... hunting? I've only shot at targets before and they're never moving targets! I told him there's no way I was going. A week later, he had some help in talking me into going with him and I caved. I suppose I am happy that he wants me around! Still, I was in a poopy mood on Morning One because we woke up to -15 degrees Fahrenheit and I was pretty sure someone was going to die on this little adventure or at the very least- someone was going to get frost bite. Captain J was trying to cheer me up so he decided to record a vlog for all of you...
As you can plainly see, I wasn't too thrilled about this 10+ mile hike we were about to undertake. I felt like we weren't prepared and that can get messy in Alaska. In this climate, you just can't go somewhere unprepared. I should have trusted the four army guys that I was with. They assess risks and make important decisions almost daily- I guess I can't argue! We decided to hike up into the Brooks Mountain Range to see if we could find the herd of caribou that was said to have been grazing there. For the first hour or so, there was nothing but white, snow covered mountains as far as the eye could see. Each peak we ascended, another one appeared shortly after.I kept picturing that game on the price is right that shows the man hiking up the mountain to get to the correct price range. That guy made it look so easy! I also kept invisioning someone passing out and finding us all in a survival situation pretty quickly. I do worry too much. The thing that really got me through is thinking about Jesus. You may laugh, but I'm totally serious! I was imagining what it was like for him to carry his own cross that he was to die on while his body physically should have given out. That made me realize that I shouldn't complain about this lil ole mountain climb!
Anyway, we finally see some movement and notice a smaller portion of the herd close by. Unfortunately, two out of the three rifles that we had had gotten snow and ice inside the barrels so they wouldn't fire properly (and we risked really damaging the guns). The other gun was not meant for 300 yards out, which is how far away we were. That guy took so many shots that it was comical! The caribou weren't even phased by that gunfire. The one shot that Captain J took missed (which he blames on the ice built up in his gun). It turns out that the only things we killed were calories.
The hike wasn't quite as treacherous as I thought it might be. We were hiking up a mountain so the elevation changed quickly. I thought that it would kick my butt because I was hiking with four army guys and one other wife (who is in excellent shape!). I was fine, though. It felt good to get some exercise and fresh air.
My hair was white because it was frozen. My attire was making me actually quite hot because the ensemble was an arctic suit the army issued J when he first arrived here. The only thing that became problematic for all of us was our extremeties- especially our fingers and toes. After about ten hours outside in this climate, we were all spent. We made it back to our vehicles and hit the road. Hunting just wasn't our cup of tea in Alaska in October. We defintely should have gone sometime back in August!
Here's another video from our drive (Isn't it beautiful?):
The best part of the trip was definitely the views. It always amazes me how quickly the climate and weather patterns change in just the span of a few minutes (or a few miles). We'd be driving along in something like this-
Then we'd drive into this-
The 12 hour drive (each way) was completely gorgeous. We had a lot of downtime where we discussed everything from zombies to religion! Here's one last video of our group of people in our truck-
On the drive home, we got to see the most distinct and prettiest display of the Northern Lights that I have seen to date.
This adventure should tide me over for awhile. I'm satisfied. I don't know too many people who camp when it's below zero ;)
My apologies for my last post. I was a bit whiney...a bit complainy...and that's unattractive, isn't it? I had a busy day yesterday. Laura Faye and I headed to Pigeon Forge to see what damage we could do to our wallets. Yes, I went shopping again. I purchased a cute hat, some new jeans (as if I needed more of those!), and a few Christmas presents. Most important of all is that I got to spend time with my dear friend. I really miss having them close by when I'm away. After a scenic drive through Townsend, Tennessee we arrived back to my neck of the woods where I was scheduled to meet up with my family to watch my step-brother's football game. He played really well and I was excited to get to watch at least one of my brothers playing the sport they enjoy. Afterwards, the whole gang went out to eat. I arrived home feeling completely drained so when the comforting voice of my husband came from the other end of the line, I just lost it. I miss him- I'll admit, but I'm feeling better today.
I have plans to see so many people today that I probably shouldn't be sitting down to blog, but it gives me a sense of normalcy and I don't feel quite as hectic when I go through this routine part of my day. I'm enjoying my second cup of coffee as I attempt to catch up on blogs and fast forward through the commercials from last night's Dancing With The Stars. Who are you rooting for? I have so many favorites already. Usually Captain J would rather not watch DWTS, but I hope I can talk him into it this season. What a great week for television! Biggest Loser is back tonight. Greys Anatomy. GREYS ANATOMY!! I can't wait.
Tomorrow I'm going hiking with my dad and step-mom, Julie. I'm pretty pumped about that! One of my goals while visiting was to get outside to be reminded of why I love Tennessee so much. I quickly realized that might not happen because there were so many people to see, places to go. When they mentioned wanting to head to the mountains last week, I jumped at the chance. I hope to take lots of pictures to share with you later on next week. Have a wonderful Tuesday, y'all!
On Saturday we took advantage of the nice, warm weather and headed out of town for a day hike around the Chena River. The trail we took off on was the Angel Rocks Trail, a popular hike in the summer time. In the winter months, people tend to stay away from it, though. It's not a difficult hike, but it can easily get me breathing pretty hard as you'll see in a sec. It felt good to be outside again and there were a couple times where I actually felt hot. I haven't had that feeling in awhile! Bring on summer!
In the video you're about to watch, you'll see Captain J and Drifter standing on what I called "the water" which, of course, is actually ice. The part of the trail where I started filming was straight uphill so as you can imagine, I lost the spring in my step a bit. "The boys" were ahead of me so they stopped to check out the frozen river. Drifter was not a fan of the ice!
On the way back down, we actually walked on the river against my wishes. I just kept having visions of my husband falling in and me having to run miles and miles in snowshoes in order to get him help. It wasn't cold outside (about 30-35 degrees Farenheight), but falling in ice cold water in the bush out there would have been problematic. We made it out of the woods with ten fingers and ten toes each so all is well. The following is when we reached the top and were enjoying the view God gave us. I sent this video to my mom to let her know I was thinking of them. It's a little shaky b/c we were standing on a small rock together-
