My lil’ family just got home from a 6 day camping vacation. Many photos and stories to follow, but wanted to share this view as we stopped at a little mountain store near Leadville to renew a fishing license.
Category Archives: Family Stuff
Daily Prompt // learning
Today’s daily prompt over on The Daily Post is learning.
Recharging the soul
Life can catch you up in its vicious cycle called “routine.” Routine keeps you sane, keeps you grounded, gives you the sense of “being in control”, but can dull your senses, keep you from noticing the small things in life that can make you smile. When routine causes the latter symptoms, my family always escapes by grabbing our souls and heading to the mountains for a lil’ camping adventure.
Our latest soul recharging camping trip was to Michigan Creek campground which provided us with biking, hiking, fishing, wildflowers, wildlife, and tons of new memories to replay in a loop when routine clouds us.
What do you do when your soul needs to be recharged? Have you been on a soul recharging adventure lately? Sometimes, we need these adventures to make us stop, remind us to pay attention to the little things, and smile.
Lil’ Family Adventure
Memorial Day Weekend, my lil’ family decided to take a scenic drive along mountain roads to a music festival. We listened to music while rock climbing, playing on rocks near the river, climbing trees, watching kayakers, eating amazing food, throwing sticks to our lab in the river, and marveling at my son who stopped along the way to write everything down in his journal. We even threw in a little bike riding, shopping, and some ice cream. After the festival, we found an amazing little campsite and enjoyed a camp fire while gazing at the stars.
We ended up camping near a 200 year old cemetery and visited an old mining town before heading to another small mountain town for lunch, more bike riding, more rock climbing, more kayak watching, more throwing sticks to our lab in the river, all while surrounded by beautiful mountains.
I thought I would share just a few pictures from our amazing two days. I will most certainly be sharing more.
Did you add some memories to your memory bank this Memorial Day Weekend? Please share.
Garden of the Gods
My lil’ family has visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on several occasions. To say it is breathtaking is an understatement. You can fill your afternoon with hiking, biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, or setting up your tripod for that perfect shot.
I hope that you get a chance to visit one day. Wishing you a happy weekend!
Mother’s Day ’13
I had an amazing Mother’s Day. My lil’ guy presented me with some artwork he created for this very special day.
After spending the whole day working in my yard planting herbs, flowers, adding enriched soil and mulch, my lil’ family grilled the food we selected from the Farmer’s Market earlier in the day.
I am such a lucky mama because I have this lil’ guy as my son.
Happy Mother’s Day!
broken…
Last night, we took a short car trip to Urgent Care because…
He was trying to swing back and forth on a bar as far as he could, and he didn’t “stick” the landing. He landed on his wrist instead of his feet. Have you or your kiddos ever broken a bone?
On a brighter note, one of N’s art pieces is featured on k’ARTwheels Art Gallery. It is now displayed on his ArtWall in our home which you can read more about here.
AdVeNtUrE Time last year (#2)
Adventures with my family make me happy. Memories of these adventures make me smile. So, I decided to start a new series each month called “AdVeNtUrE Time last year…” I will load this post with pictures/memories of my family’s adventure this time last year. Hope you enjoy this second post in this series.
In April 2012, my family and I went camping in the Pisgah National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains in the western part of NC. We enjoyed some hiking, fly fishing, bouldering, and just playing in the river.
Hiking our first trail
Hiking the yellow blazed trail
A huge rock face that we encountered on our hike
It was Peregrine Falcon mating season, so access was restricted in some parts.
One lonely flower
N bouldering. We hiked two different trails looking for a bouldering field.
Enjoying some fly fishing on our 2nd day
Can’t wait to share another “AdVeNtUre Time last year” post. To reminisce just makes me smile. Sometimes, it is the little things.
St. Augustine, FL
One of my photos is featured on the Toemail blog today. It is a photo of my hubs and N walking along the beach in St. Augustine early one evening. Grandma and Grandpa live in FL. When we lived in NC, we would hook up our camper and make a leisurely drive taking a couple of days. St. Augustine was always one of our favorite places to stop and camp. I thought I would post that featured photo here today, along with other St. Augustine memories.
I hope you get a chance to visit one day. Do you have a little place that you return to time and time again? Where is it? Please share.
Breaking Up with Routine
RoUtInE…I always tell myself that I thrive when my life revolves around routine. My son was on Spring Break last week, and we enjoyed everything BUT routine. We broke up with routine and loved it! I think that you have to be submersed in routine from time to time to appreciate the moments when it doesn’t hold you hostage. One way we broke with routine was to go to Winter Park skiing for 2 days!
Winter Park, CO
Thursday’s skiing was definitely “spring skiing” with the sun beaming down and the warmth coursing through our bodies.
Loving skiing in CO
I am fairly new to skiing. I am sure seeing my skis flailing through the air as I head towards the snow covered ground does not remind anyone of gracefulness. On one of my falls, this was my view. So to take it all in, I sat there, took off my gloves, reached for my phone, and clicked the button. All the while, my hubs and N were waiting on me at the bottom.
Falling in Beauty
Maybe next time, I will invest in one of these.
When the lifts closed on that first day, we rode the cabriolet back to our home for the night, changed out of our winter gear, revisited the cabriolet and landed in a Belgium restaurant in Winter Park Village called Cheeky Monk.
Cheeky Monk
I enjoyed what seemed like a cauldron of mussels and a Blonde Beer. It was such a nice way to end such a nice day!
Mussels and a Cold Beer
The next day brought a few snow showers and a few more clouds, but a lot more great memories. What a treat that my little guy gets to learn to ski at a young age. Never has my age been so prevalent in my head as when I see him “fearless” flying down the mountain, making quick S turns, skiing through the trees, and making small jumps. Oh, to be fearless again. Oh, and the hubs…fearless and an amazing skier. 
Contemplating the JUMP
Going for the JUMP
I walked around a portion of that day just taking in the scenery that is not the slopes.
I welcomed the break up with routine. I look forward to summer break even more!
Do you thrive in routine? Do you occasionally like to tell routine to take a hike? What do you like to do when routine is not holding you hostage? Please share the little things that you enjoy and that make you smile.
simplylifestuff 