Random Bits of Life....

Today Josh brought home this fantastic clay gold medal he made a school. I think it's as cool as the real thing. Matt said he'd bring his tomorrow. I love that they learned about the Olympics and went to great lengths to make the kids feel apart of the event. When Rich is at the hospital working and studying the perfect dinner for me and the kids is something I don't have to cook or clean up. Tonight we hit McDonald's. Feed them and get out the energy. Too bad they drank diet Coke the whole time. I think that defeated the purpose of making them tired.The PTA gave every child whose parents joined PTA a stop watch. All three were beaming when they ran into the house today and proudly showed off their new prize. Best $5 I've spent in a long time. The boys kept timing each other going up the play land. I was just glad we were the only ones for a while.After dinner we stopped by to feed the ducks. It actually looked like fall.Trey even made a little pile of leaves. Maybe summer is really on it's way out. You wouldn't know it with the hot temperatures and humidity.The ducks were starving. They loved us. Brynn might have loved them more.Matt's patience worked and he fed the ducks from his hand and got in a quick touch. Cool. Now where's my hand sanitizer?I went to the kitchen cabinet store for the second time today hoping to get replacement hardware for my broken kitchen cupboards. The above photo is showing the new hinge installed and the door closed. I don't think the new option is going to work. I'll be headed back tomorrow for round three.
Brynn getting a lift. No wonder she loves her big brother so.
I was in cleaning up breakfast a few days ago when I heard lots of giggling in the computer room. The girls had discovered the air conditioner. I think Kaitlyn's face says it all.Anytime is a good time for a bath. They are not picky about the location.On Wednesday we went to lunch at the school with the boys. Brynn was so excited to see Trey she sat still and let me put her hair in pigtails. That's true love I tell ya!After too many bouts with red lip gloss on Brynn's shirts I found and gave her a clear version to keep tucked in her bag. While I was driving she told me "eyes" and then broke into laughter. At a stop light I saw this. Gotta love shiny, sticky eyelids. The boys have been begging me to let them walk all the way home. Wednesday I don't carpool so for the last two weeks the boys have walked. The girls sat outside and waited for them to welcome them home. Who wouldn't love that?Our hermit crabs have turned into little celebrities lately. Each child was asked to bring a photo of their pets to school and they will be hung in the library for the entire year. After the needed photos were taken, the crabs roamed free a bit while the girls hovered. They love them.Saturday after the wild hike at Raven Run we hit the pool. It was still like 90 degrees at 7 PM. It was so nice to have Rich with us.The girls show off their skills. "I swimmie. I swimmie." The boys played gutter ball with friends. One night while on my way up stairs I found Matt building this contraption of many pencils and tape.I quickly understood what he was planning on doing with it. Great way to retrieve a lost pencil behind the piano.Brynn opened up a chocolate pudding by herself. We all laughed at how well placed the pudding was.

Life is good.

Raven Run

Rich has been swamped with studying for another round of board exams that are in early September. This has meant long days and nights at the hospital cramming his brain with volumes upon volumes of information I wouldn't even begin to fathom. Luckily it's not me that will be taking the test. I will happily hang out with the kids and plan little adventures to fill our days while he is away. This past Saturday I decided to check off yet another "must see" on my Kentucky list: Raven Run. Again the boys were not thrilled about going, but we had to get out of the house and turn off the TV. Yes it was really, really hot but I thought we were quite prepared. We had 5 water bottles to help us on our trek and I had my camera so I was set. Too bad I didn't think more about our attire. I don't think that Crocs and sandals equal great hiking foot wear. Oh well, you live and learn. Raven Run is a nature sanctuary about 20 minutes south of our house. It was really very close to the little ferry we rode the day before. I had heard about this place for the past 2 years so I was really excited to go. I'd say it was a bit like Red River Gorge, just not as far away, not as big and not as lovely, but it was great for a little Saturday afternoon outing. When we pulled up had no idea how big this place was, what there was to see or do, when it closed or where we should start. So we just hopped out of the car browsed the map, asked a hiker that was leaving which direction we should go and we were off. Prepared, I know....Brynn was glammed up with her movie star sunglasses and pout.We walked 1/8 a mile to the Nature Center. I was happy to make it this far, sign in, get a map and know we had 2 hours to hike. The trails closed at 6:30 PM and you had to be out of the parking lot by 7 PM or you'd get a ticket for trespassing. I'll pass on that last bit. We took the first hikers advice and started toward the lookout following along the red trail. I figured we'd just walk until we were tired and then head back. No pressure.Soon all the kids found proper walking sticks to assist us on our journey. Too bad the boys' sticks were quickly transformed into light sabers, swords and machine guns ten minutes later. I was very happy we didn't encounter too many hikers on the trail. They might have gotten an unwelcomed thump on the head.The girls started off strong, but soon were overcome by the lure of all the fun rocks lining the path. Looked like we weren't going to make it too far. Plus when I got them to stand up they were quickly back on their bottoms removing their shoes and shaking the pebbles out. Rule of thumb: Crocs on rocky trails= slow. Very slow.So we posed for picturesspied loved flowers on a mean sticker weeds and slowly made our way deeper into the trail.Of course the walking made Brynn hot, so off went the shirt and the shoes. She eventually got down to only the diaper. Not a cute look. Rule of thumb: It may seem crazy, but bare feet are better than Crocs on a hike if you have tough feet like Brynn. Who knew?As we got further into the canopy, the temperature dropped, the bright sunlight dimmed and the trail got a bit more narrow. And I talked Brynn into putting her shoes back on. It really was such a gorgeous setting (as long as you didn't listen to closely to the Star Wars battle the boys were waging ahead of me with their sticks....). (Lookout photo I found online) Here's where the story got a bit tricky. After an hour of hiking I noticed an "A" marker on the trail. Ten minutes after we passed it, I dug out the map to see we were maybe half way to the lookout. Part of me wanted to push forward and see it, but then the other part of me was starting to panic a bit knowing I had 45 minutes until the trail closed. Then it all became quite clear. The trail was maybe 2 feet across, there were tree roots at every step, we were climbing next to a dry river bed and the drop from the trail was getting steeper. I suddenly knew it was time to turn around and head back. It wasn't like a spiritual thing, I just saw as mothers do that this wasn't turning into a great situation for a me all alone with my five little hikers. A very nice lady passed us on the trail and she helped Kaitlyn get her sandal back on. Off she went toward the lookout as we did a 180 and began to back track. For ten full minutes I sweat as I lugged both girls in my arms down the narrow path. No lookout for us and I was fine with that. I was now focused on getting two wiggly girls who didn't want to be held or hold my hand back to safer grounds. I know this makes me sound so crazy to get this far knowing we had to get out, but the kids were so good I just wanted to see it through and it seem safe walking in. It's funny how the instant your perspective changes, you're new destination is the only thing that matters. Thankfully every step forward got us closer to the end and not long after we were close to the Nature Center and I could see we would be fine and get out on time. The girls were troopers and the boys never complained. After a quick pit stop for water, a quick peek at the turtle and that last 1/8 of a mile we made it to the van at 6:25 PM. After I loaded the girls in the van the nice woman from the trail walked by. I asked her if she made it to the lookout and she said she did. She questioned me if I had and I told her no. We just realized it was too much and turned around.

She then told me three interesting things. 1st: She said the trail got more "treacherous" as you got closer to the lookout. (My heart skipped a beat with that frightening word.) 2nd: The lookout had no barriers or fence. It was just a clearing and then a few hundred foot drop to the river. 3rd: There was an easier path further down past the Nature Center that was flat that led to the lookout.

It made me scared to hear her story. I could begin to visualize how dangerous that situation could have been. The boys would have arrived before the girls and I at the lookout because we were walking further behind. My heart might have stopped as I held 2 hyper girls in my arms while still trying to keep 3 rowdy boys back all the while trying to quickly get away from the cliff. And lastly it was interesting to know that while there was an easier path, it could still lead to a place you're just not ready to be. I know I'll go back with Rich and complete the hike. It's not that we couldn't finish it safely, but I just should not do it alone.

It made me appreciate that there is a time and season for all things and that we must plan, think and never be afraid to back track and return to the right path as soon as possible. I was glad we went, but even more pleased to see first hand that when times get tough if you keep moving forward, with a prayer in your heart, a smile on your face that the trees start to thin, the light begins to get brighter and you know you'll soon be back to where you started. Safe. Good lessons for a hike. Life lessons for me.

Photo Shoot

I was in the kitchen when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a flash go off in the computer room. Strange. Rich was at the computer, the boys were up getting ready for bed and Kaitlyn had already been tucked in. That only left one culprit. Even if I hadn't seen her with my own eyes, the proof was in the photos. Love you crazy Brynn! (You have some serious photography skills for a 2 1/2 year old!)