This past holiday season has been quiet and calm, mostly due to the amount of outdoor time we’ve prioritized. Because of the mild weather, I took the boys on many hikes, reveling in the quiet of the woods and the search for winter color (a point I’ll reiterate in my next post about a hike with my mom and boys). We had plenty of friend time, and even more family time on our trip to Ohio, which is where all of these photos were taken.
A special thanks to Bill and Annie, who took us into their home for a long stay, where my boys proceeded to eat them out of house and home (so, do they really eat every two hours? was an actual question, to which I had to sheepishly answer, yes, I guess they do!). Of course, we were never made to feel badly about any of it; family is like that and I can only hope they will come eat all our food and wear out all our toys and batteries, and squabble and bicker in our house next time.
On the first day of 2017, I woke up early and walked out into the back yard to the foggy scene above. It was so quiet, so eerily peaceful, that it was all I could do not to wake everyone up to witness it. The whole break was like that, really. Though the cousins had their moments, in general, they got along really well and played on their own, giving the adults plenty of time to catch up. It really was a wonderful trip.
Happy New Year, and here’s to more reflection, more peace and quiet and appreciation for these moments during these early winter months. And thank you, Billy and Annie, for taking such good care of us! We love you!
When I was young, we rarely had a babysitter in our house. Instead, we’d be dropped off at the home of an older woman in town who watched kids as needed. My parents would go out with a group of friends once a month, and all the kids would be dropped off at Ms. Frances’ house for the evening. (So maybe I loved that name really early in my life for my own daughter!) Anyway, we had free reign of the outdoors and she had that exact same tree. We would climb 15, 20, who knows how many feet in the air, and hang out for hours in the branches. I was always happiest in a tree. I love to climb them, and love that first photo. It instantly took me back to her tree. (She died this year, at the age of 88 – I just looked up her obituary, and it mentioned her years of watching the children of Scott County!)
That sounds awesome, Kristin! So glad this brought back good memories. Those trees are really incredible, aren’t they? It’s like they were designed to be the perfect climbing tree the way the branches are arranged!
It was lovely meeting you and your boys in person! I am glad you had a good visit. Annie and Bill are awesome people 😉
It was wonderful meeting you and your family too, Giselle! Finally! 🙂
Lauren, you do always manage to make our place look so magical, I like seeing it through your eyes and watching the kids discover places within our own yard we don’t often go ourselves. You are all missed already although the exhaustion level has lessened, so has the fun. Gives my friend Emil a squeeze from Uncle Annie!
Well your place IS magical! Really, we had an awesome time. Oh, and we found Baby Tommy (Emil had left him at my mom’s house and she so kindly quickly packed him in the mail)! Emil loves you, Uncle Annie!