Gorge Hike

I'll be honest. The area we currently live in is (in my opinion) basically depressing all winter. I won't whine or go into details. The good news though is that this place comes alive when the weather warms up. As a summer tourist destination (wineries, nature, the lake, Chautauqua Institution, etc.), it's like we've collectively woken up to the good life.

Our dear friends Amy and Andrew visited us for a long weekend recently and we took advantage of the good weather and the outdoors by taking a trip to the Chautauqua Gorge. We hiked, skipped stones, and enjoyed mother nature beside a beautiful series of beautiful, small waterfalls. The photos below are courtesy Andrew Daigle who acted as our weekend photographer.


I swear Sawyer could just throw stones into water all day if we let him. Whether it's a puddle or an ocean, it makes no difference...he loves it. He also loved jumping off the shale rock ledges...which was a treat for me and his dad who did our best at just letting him be while praying he didn't slip into the raging river not more than three feet away from him. I'm still shocked we have yet to make a trip to the emergency room with this boy, but the kid is good on his feet.


Little miss took in the sites and sounds as well.


If you're ever in Chautauqua County, New York, I highly recommend a day trip to this stunning location! There are a few camp sites too available if you want to go all out and sleep over. Here are the details. What a perfect nature getaway for me and my posse who have been chomping at the bit to come out of our hibernation after a longer-than-expected winter!

Vegetable Garden

Our garden is finally in and ready to produce! We planted a variety of vegetables and herbs a couple weeks ago, but now the fences are up and the plants are starting to grow. We're starting out simple with just one raised bed (12'x4') and we've got tomatoes, peppers, carrots, broccoli, beans, basil, cilantro, rosemary, and thyme. We maintained a garden for a few years in Chicago and it's rewarding now to know the plants we're working with by just looking at their leaves and to have a better sense of how to grow them.


When it comes to outdoor living, TK doesn't do anything half-hearted so the plants are now protected from deer and other pesky animals with a heavy fence that was built with love, plastic fencing, and two-by-fours.



There's not much that warms my heart more than seeing my boys working together on something and enjoying the outdoors. Here's hoping our garden is bountiful this season and that it will provide for many meals enjoying each other's company!

Muddy Puddles!

One of Sawyer's favorite show is Peppa Pig. She's a British pig who lives with her "mummy, daddy, and little brother George," and if there's one thing Peppa loves to do it's jump in muddy puddles! This, in turn, has turned Sawyer on to the idea and - to be honest - I couldn't be happier! It's a delight to watch him get dirty and have a marvelous time of it.


After it rains, he practically knows the puddles are out there, ready and waiting for him. Along with a few choice phrases he now pronounces with a British accent (including "hAHppy Christmas, gARage, bubble mixtEAH, and fAHthah Christmas), he's also memorized Peppa's favorite line, "If you jump in muddy puddles, you MUST wear your boots." At least the girl is practical!


It's rained a lot lately, so we've had ample time to get out in the mud...and we've also palled-around with Grandma who's been finishing up some last minute gardening prep before winter. Sweet kid!!!

Pumpkins!

No excuses...I've just been a blogging slacker for the last FIVE months. Seriously, I'd be surprised if anyone is still reading this old rag.

Fall in Chicago has been glorious. Sunny days free of rain, temperatures in the high 60s, and beautiful orange and yellow leaves. I'm not one to think the city is all that beautiful, but our block is in full fall bloom.

We got the chance to go to a pumpkin patch last weekend with TK's parents out in Princeton, IL, and Sawyer had a blast. Haybales, slides, petting zoo, bounce house...what else could a city boy want?!

We have yet to carve the pumpkins we bought, but Halloween is ages away, right? CRAP, I've got to make a costume for Soy-boy and I've got four days. I better get sewing.

Potted Christmas Tree

I don't have one, but I want one. Our Christmas tree this year is a bit of a wreck, so I'm not even going to bother posting about it...it's uninspired, rather bare, and a bit ragged. Undoubtedly, any Christmas tree is a wonderful, soul-soothing site to behold, but this year's tree has got me to thinking about what kind of tree I really want. (All images from Martha Stewart.com)

I'm not ready to give up the traditional tree for the holidays, but I've become enamored with the idea of a living, potted Christmas tree. I'm sure it's been all the rage, but I just didn't know about them until now.

Imagine a small tree or two spaced throughout your house, decorated with love, and smelling up the place with an evergreen, perfect scent of Christmas. Imagine with me after the season is over, planting your Christmas tree(s) in the old backyard instead of throwing it out with the wrapping paper and other holiday waste. It's kind of ludicrous to think that every year we discard such a symbol of the season with the rest of the trash.

What I need is a backyard though. For now, this city slicker will have to settle for a rosemary plant to scratch my living Christmas tree itch. Anyway, aren't they pretty?

Urban Farmer

Our church started a vegetable garden a few years ago, and it's raised hundreds of dollars for our Warming Center and other community efforts. It's also allowed many of us to get our hands dirty and learn a thing or two about growing food, city-slickers that we are.

I signed my city-mouse up to be on the garden team. I figure no one's too young to contribute once they're able and it would get us out in the sunshine!

So far, he's been a good farmer who loves to water the plants, eat the veggies, and play in the dirt. Sawyer's a huge fan of tomatoes, so he seems to find these mini ones particularly wonderful. Beans are a close second.

An interesting development in this year's garden has been the flourishing of seeds that we never planted, but that have risen out of soil that was from the church's compost bin. Peppers and gourds spring up all over the place that weren't planted. I mean, what the heck is this thing, a mellon? A cantaloupe? Whatever it is, it's massive and it's growing in our temperate garden unbeknownst to us.

I long for the day we have our own garden where we can sow and reap to our hearts content, but until then, this city plot will have to do!

Crash

As of a couple months ago, we've got a walker! Our boy was in no rush to get on his two feet, but he's making up for lost time and is all over the place these days. During one of his first, longer jaunts a couple months ago, this happened.



Poor kid! I'm not one for parading your children's embarrassing videos online for the world to see, but I felt like this was too funny to keep to myself. After a few tears, he was right back up, walking, and trying to find and play with the furry offender.

Marshall is my brother and sister-in-law's puppy and he and Sawyer are becoming fast friends, despite their run-ins. Sweet little guy!

Into the Woods

We have an annual group-camping tradition with some friends from college in which we joyfully participate each summer. We went last summer when Sawyer was 4 months old, and needless to say, this year was a little easier!

Like his mom and dad, he's a sucker for the woods and wide open spaces. He also loved running around in the tent like a maniac!

A dose of weekend camping in Wisconsin does the body good! Our campsite population grows every year with more kiddos (mostly of the female persuasion), and we all enjoy our fellowship in the woods relaxing and being together.

While a serene, adult-only camping trip definitely has its merits, it is a wonder to behold children outdoors, exploring new things and breaking free from the confines of every-day routine.

Bugs, games, frogs, s'mores, and campfires make life grand. Add in a remote controlled fart machine and they really enjoy themselves!

Alternative Moby Wrap

Sawyer hasn't been in our Moby Wrap since he was pretty small. When we were away from home though and had the opportunity to take a nice long hike, I had to make something on the fly to hold our mini-hiker in.

I don't have the cash to buy my dream Kelty Child-Carrier Backpack (in green if Santa is reading this), so I took a stroll down to the Salvation Army, bought a fitted jersey bed-sheet and whipped up my own wrap. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

Jersey seemed like the best material for some give-and-take, and for a mere $1.99 I couldn't resist. First, I removed the elastic off the sheet by just cutting in. I split the sheet down the middle and essentially created a long piece of fabric by sewing together the ends several times over with a very tight stitch.

We watched several videos on how to wrap your kiddo onto your back and we were off to the woods!

Also doubles as a head-wrap for a Bedouin wanna-be.

As a warning, this is NOT a tutorial on how to make your own child carrier. I can't be held responsible for weak seams, insecure knots, or your sweet baby's ability to breath when you wrapped him up. It worked for me, but please use at your own risk.

Lounge, With a Capital "L"

My boys and I spent the first week of June in Jamestown, New York where my parents live. We were blessed to have my sister, brothers, and sister-in-laws all there and we spent every moment enjoying each other's company.

Photo credits: Rebecca Ondrey
What we primarily do when my immediate family gets together at my parent's house is basically lounge. L.O.U.N.G.E. We really take it easy. My mom and dad have a huge, green, glorious back porch and yard that we spend every waking minute in.

We eat.

We play games.

Photo credit: Rebecca Ondrey
We have long conversations around camp fires. We constantly interrupt each other. We basically eat, drink, and be merry... and I couldn't ask for anything more.

My amazing sister-in-law is becoming quite the photographer, so many of the pictures (which are noted above and below) are hers. TK, Sawyer, and I got to spend a long weekend plus a few days there, and it was a lovely start to the summer with my favorite people in the world.

Photo credit: Rebecca Ondrey
There's no place like home!