as promised...

...a small photo "gallery" of our escape to Pine with my sister Cory and her beautiful babe...

First things first, as soon as one exits the car and gets a good sniff of that beautiful pine air...a few things might take place. For Journey, it seemed that it sent an irresistible urge through her to go gather as much dirt as she could with both hands and devour it without a trace....well...maybe she left a little trace. Her face looked like this the ENTIRE time we were up there...no kidding. For Asher...the air seemed to do something a bit different...but in terms of discovery...they were both just trying to feed the same hunger. Asher started to climb hills...and trees...and find sticks...and throw rocks...and search for ants...and slide down dirt "slides"...and dream out loud about animals and dinosaurs and other little bits of this boy's heaven. As for me...I just did my best to soak it all up. Above is my view from the hammock that awaits the arrival of tired bodies in the front "yard" of the cabin. When I think about these little road trips...I always picture rest and respite...but the truth of the matter is...with small children around, there is always a reason to be alert...and sometimes the best you can get is just to sit still and look up...if only for a few seconds. Trees of green, clouds of white, skies of blue. It IS a wonderful world. Especially when someone like this is waiting for you as you shift your focus back down to ground level...where there is MUCH going on and great big adventures awaiting your presence.

This is also a fitting place for Asher to expand his fascination with bugs. He has grown quite confident in his relationship with insects...he thinks that he can pick them up and feed them flowers...and in this case, he did it successfully (as in he didn't get bitten by the ant...I am not sure that the ant actually "ate" any of this flower...but he did gently lay it back down on the ground when he was finished "helping"). He wasn't as confident the next day, when, on our walk...Asher got his first bee sting! A bee decided to come land on Asher's arm, which alarmed him and made him draw his arm in close to his body...and that didn't go over well with the bee. Needless to say, Asher was a bit surprised...and hurt...and although his reaction to what happened was obviously one of physical pain...it was almost like his feelings were hurt too. Like, why on earth would one of my friends do this to me? Oh sweet boy...there is so much to learn. Journey...still eating the world around her. Seriously...I don't think I have any pictures of her NOT indulging in the deliciousness of nature...it was her bliss. Accept for the ones where she was joining the expeditions of big brother and cousin Brody. These walks were so nice...although I think the farthest we ever got was one block around the cabin. Each time we went out, it reminded me of the value of seeing life from a child's point of view...short steps...taking our time...noticing the small wonders...unrushed and timeless...having no agenda or expectations. If we were lucky...we found the kinds of treasures that are easy to overlook ...like a tire swing in the depths of a vacant neighbors yard that Asher simply could NOT resist. I am sure they put it there for that very reason...don't you? Or a cluster of wild flowers that attracted swarms of bees. Brody liked the flowers...Asher liked the bees...and I think that all of us just liked the idea of being outside where it was cool enough to really ENJOY those beautiful walks. Each and every day, we kept our hopes up for the chance to spot some deer. We kept talking about it and going out on explorations all in hopes of seeing some...and we finally did! As we were driving out of the neighborhood to head back down to the valley...three doe crossed the street right in front of the car and wandered into this yard. We stayed and stared at them for as long as they would let us. What gorgeous creatures...and what a moment for us!

It was a fantastic few days...and I always love the chance to see these children in the kind of environment that extends itself to them with such freedom and natural play. I eat it up...like Journey does dirt!