15/48 Walks - Reconnect

Earlier this week, I went on one of my favorite walks yet.

A walk with a great friend I had not seen in 10 years. One who moved very near to me a few months back, that is now leaving again.

She had not even gotten the chance to meet my kids yet.

We were always active with each other on the Facebook, little messages here and there.

I am regretting the time I spent in the periphery of my friends life. She struggled silently, for months, and I had no idea. Now she is leaving the area again. Probably for good.

I am beyond grateful that even amidst the stress of packing, and parenting, and relationship struggles she made the time to meet up so we could at least catch up before we said goodbye.

We had tossed the idea of going to see a movie. Maybe The Fault in Our Stars or Maleficent.
That meant I would need childcare because my 2 year old will not even sit through a kid's movie. Let alone a dialogue heavy grown up movie, or a possibly scaryish one. I really wanted my son to meet my friend and her kids though...

Then I thought- Movies are super expensive. She is moving. She doesn't have a job lined up yet,  she will be paying for 5 tickets + we won't be able to chat and catch up in a movie.

So I asked if she wanted to go on a hike instead, since it is way cheaper and will give us more time to chat.
Thankfully, she accepted.

We had such an awesome time. Our kids immediately hit it off.

I am totally kicking myself for not doing this sooner. We both just thought we would have more time.

In total there were 9 of us (including my husband and her daughter's boyfriend) wandering through the woods together. When we arrived at the Sound the kids dispersed with a little encouragement and we were able to sit quietly and talked until the sunset. A total luxury when there are small children afoot.

It was an intense talk that yanked on my heart strings. It also reinforced the respect I have for this friend's inner strength, compassion, and selflessness. She is a golden soul and I am so grateful to have these new memories to put in our lifelong memory bank.

On to the photos;

7 /#48walks

A bit out of order, but this was 7/#48 walks.

I feel like getting my kids outside and exploring is a gift, and hopefully a way of life for them in their future.

We live in such a gorgeous place. 

8/ #48walks : Catching You Up

This run/walk was taken just round my neighborhood. It was the strangest of circumstances: I had no kids with me. Just my dog and I.

I was having a rough day, and I am trying to get better about creating boundaries. 

My husband took the kids out to frozen yogurt and park time, so I could "Run silent, run deep". 

Which of course ended with me walking around taking photos to cool down.

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen these photos already. If you aren't- lets be friends! @_lourab_ 

I have taken a few walks since this one, and will get them up here this week, to get all caught up.

Have a great week!

6/ #48Walks : Yay, Sun!

For the 6th of my 48 Walks we were blessed with a gorgeous sunny day. We drove down south to the Millersylvania State Park. I love this park because it is so close by and child friendly. 

You will need a Discover Pass to visit this park.

I also love that there are many different options on what to do once you get to the park. There are trails, camping, swimming, fishing, and during the warmer months there are boat/kayak/paddle boat rentals.

This walk was actually taken the last day of February.

I still don't have a word, or a phrase for what I am figuratively walking towards. Maybe it should be clarity? 

I'm not really worried about it. It will come in good time.

Right now I am just so enjoying the last of our Winter woods, and anticipating Springtime. 

Now on to the magic.

5/#48Walks : The Walk That Went Awry

My little guy is really, really into stories right now. He LOVES when people tell him stories. He likes to read, and we do every night, but what he is really into right now is the off-the-cuff stories that people tell upon request.

After hearing "you tell me a story?" About 30 times in one day, naturally you start just telling the stories about the day.

Our story of this walk was "Once upon a time, there was a cute little boy who set off on a mission to make it to the end of a loooooong walk to see if he could see some seals in the water. But, this little boy threw one of his shoes into the ocean and his Momma had to carry him all the way back to the start. The end."

This was our first real hike in about 10 days. After being shut up indoors due to unsafe windy conditions and that work thing I was elated to hear that sun was in the forecast. I finished my chores at a frenetic pace so we could just enjoy the afternoon out at one of our favorite spots.
I didn't bother checking tide tables. I just chased the sun.
We walked the mile to the boardwalk and arrived to find that it was lowtide, so we only got to see the strange wasteland that is usually hidden underwater. It is strange, but still beautiful, in a chaotic way.

Then, while I was distracted (by photo ops?), my son apparently threw his shoe off the boardwalk. I looked back to find one white little sock poking out from his pantleg. Then looked over the edge to see a tiny, lonely shoe.  Lost forever.

At this time I just started laughing like a crazy person. Just wondering what this little person could have been thinking. Age 2 is my favorite.
Maybe it got stuck under the railing and fell in?
Maybe, but the story I got was that he threw it.
He was pretty upset to learn we could not retrieve it.
I just picked him up and we walked together all the way back to the car.

And the whole time he was either telling or requesting the story of the little boy who threw his shoe into the ocean. The end.

Now, onto the pictures

4/ #48Walks : Snow Walk!

I know the rest of the country has just about had it with snow, but this is our first real snow since before Christmas.

Since the roads were pretty bad we didn't drive out to a park or trail to do our walk. Instead we opted to go for a short walk in the woods behind our house.

Then our walk morphed into walking back to the house to get all of our sleds out and sharing them with all the neighborhood kids.Fun was had by all.

Yay snow!

3 /#48walks : The Sequalitchew Trail

This trail was a brand new adventure for us. This Super Bowl Sunday, despite grumbles from the boys, I wanted to go for a hike. I needed to be outside today. Ever feel that way? We can be great friends!

I chose the Sequalitchew Trail since it was super close by and I had never been here before.

This is an excellent trail for kids, and I believe you could easily stroller run on this trail. The lovely wooded walk down the hill is rewarded at the end by an abandoned, grafitti'd railway tunnel (kinda spooky) and immediately beyond that, a gorgeous rocky beach! 

Nearly every stone on this beach in barnacled or mossy.

These #48walks, led by Alison Chino, has been continuous inspiration. We are outside all the time, but this project has absolutely led me to seek out new trails and destinations. There is an accountability factor, but also a gratefulness I feel I must share.

 It took me a long time to make peace with these long, grey winters.

 I want to share the beauty of these forests while I am here, no matter which season we find ourselves in.

Today we were blessed with a beautiful, cold, early February day hike.  Then we scrambled (a.k.a. ran uphill all the way back to the car) to catch the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl. Pretty amazing day if you ask me!

2/ 48Walks on a Sunday

These were taken at Tolmie State Park. This is a great park for kids. The trails are well kept, even boardwalks in places, and just long enough for little legs to run.

During the Summer months the beach is the perfect place for kids to enjoy some crab catching, sand dollar collecting, and general watery fun. It's not usually too crowded, even on our most Summery days.

It is definitely one of our favorites. 

This #48walks project, led by Alison Chino, has been super Interesting. My favorite part is seeing where all of the participants are in the world, and the places we are choosing to show. 

My family is a pretty outdoorsy lot anyway, and it has been fun to go out walking with an intention of showcasing these familiar twists and turns on our favorite woodland trails. 

There is a quiet peace I feel when walking in the Winter woods. There isn't a lot of foot traffic during the Winter, and I'm sure that plays a big part. 

I love the bare winter branches against the overcast sky & the dark hollows made by the understory brush. These will soon be little secrets. Still there, only hidden by the new Spring growth. 

 We will be there. Happily running the same trails, with new wonder.

Weekend. Finally!

Hey weekend!

I've been working out of town all week, and it was so nice to not have an 120 minute commute to anywhere today. 

Of course, Saturdays are always tricky for me as I have to shift gears quickly to keep the kids entertained alone. My husband works Saturdays, so I am on my own. 

Even though all I actually want to do once a Saturday rolls around is lay on the couch drinking tea and reading something interesting, that is not going to be a reality for several more years. I am ok with that. Especially if I remember that when I get the time to myself I crave it will mean that my babies will be all grown, and I will be missing these days.

So today, despite a chill to the air, we ran around our local preserve and I took photos for the #48walks project led by Alison Chino. 

Love the idea, and I kind of feel like it is a visual relay race team, if that makes sense. 

I love being outside more than I can explain, if I sit inside all day long I am so irritable.  I am so thankful to live in such a gorgeous place, where the best days are spent playing with the kids out of doors.

 Thankful that nature is completely free entertainment.

Hope you are being good to yourself this weekend! 

Have a great one.