thank you for my new boots!!!

cousin colten

nap time

adda found all the celebrating to be quite exhausting. she slept 13 hours last night and is snugged up right now, enjoying her 2nd nap of the day.

celebrations

spent the last 2 weekends celebrating jonathans 30th birthday & our marriage becoming officially legal. turns out, getting married 2x is kinda fun. adda was dangling happily in my arms while we said some quick courthouse rendition of vows. she let out a little squeal and kicked her legs when they pronounced us husband & wife - and the whole thing took about 3 minutes - hilarious.

bonfire party

mondays

i think adda is learning early in life to hate mondays. jonathan goes back to work and she misses him and the extra attention/stimulation that the weekend provides. if we've travelled, it's always worse - the more fun we've had, the more i know i'm in for it come monday. she doesn't hold back on her boredom or disappointment and this past monday she protested the commonplace ALL DAY LONG. i can just see her going "why don't you take me for a bike ride and build me a bonfire? why don't we go walking and look at the stars? why can't i sleep w/ you, why can't we sleep outside? why do we have to pay bills and swiffer the floors and put away dishes - we did all that stuff last week". oh mondays...

new river state park bike trail

went camping/biking along the new river this past weekend - was the best time i've had in awhile. the combination of forest+exercise+family is so nourishing and even after our sleepless night and 22 mile ride, i came home feeling completely rested. the new river is the oldest river in the u.s. and presumed to be the second oldest in the world, after the nile. it's also one of the few that flow from south to north.

bought a kiddie trailer for adda and she loved it. kicked and babbled and fell asleep - she's so happy in motion. went down to 35 at night so we really had to bundle her. the next morning, the whole valley was steeped in fog, ethereal & beautiful w/ steam rising from the river. there were horses frolicking, dew drops dripping from cob webs, trees reflecting in the shallows and others showing the first signs of fall. i forgot how amazing everything looks at first light, and the sweet smells and quiet energy of a new day just begun. it's been too long - so i promised myself that i'd peel out of bed at dark and sneak into the woods at dawn again, one day very soon.

good morning mommy

whoa - is this me?