cozyblue

mother's day hike

all i (mostly) asked for for mother's day this year was a nice family hike.  we ended up at moore cove, an old favorite that we hadn't visited in a long time.  the weather was gorgeous and the falls were really fun.  it's hard to take pictures here, because it's so bright outside, and then so shady and dark behind the falls.  the cove is such a cool place -- lots of big rocks and cavern-y things to explore -- and the falls are pretty high but not crazy dangerous.  so it's a place we can actually play in/around the waterfall safely.  but not easy to take good pictures!  here are a few.

we also stopped at looking glass falls on the way.  it was roaring with all the rain we've had the past few weeks:

 

spring fun

virginia creeper trail

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last weekend, adella and i biked 17 miles along the virginia creeper trail, with her girl scout troop and their families.  it was awesome! the trail was pretty easy (slightly downhill, and not strenuous... but even while coasting, 17 miles is hard on the hiney!) and absolutely gorgeous.  it's a former railway, and passes through the most beautiful woods and pastures, over rivers and waterfalls.  the entire trail is about 33 miles.  one of these days, i want to go back and ride the rest.   or re-ride this section again.  i've wanted to do this for years, and i'm so glad i finally got the chance.  and i'm so proud of adella and myself for doing it.  what a fun and exciting accomplishment!

walking at biltmore on a rainy day

my favorite kids in my favorite springtime tree

saturday hike

this weekend's hike has been on my to-go-to list for a long time.  because parts of the parkway are closed during the winter months, we haven't been able to go.  but this weekend it (mostly) opened back up, so we finally made it to crabtree falls.  i'll just let the pictures do the talking ( it did not disappoint)!  we will definitely be going back to this one again... probably in the summer when it's when we can enjoy the shade and cold water spray.

other random pics and thoughts...

just the other day, we were in the right place at the right time for the ice cream truck!

 

we found this awesome vintage star wars cookbook at the library.  i'm already searching eBay for a copy that we can keep.

window markers

adella dressed as amelia earhart for her school presentation

love these two...

and a couple of pics from easter.  we decided to keep it really simple and sweet this year, and you know what?  i think it was the best one yet.

another hike

while everyone was here for the wedding, we also took a quick hike one morning.  we decided to go back to catawba falls.  this time, the weather was much colder and there were icicles and frozen spots all along the river and trail.  it was so pretty!

(more on flickr, of course.)  every time family and friends come to visit, i take them on hikes in hopes of luring them to beautiful asheville for good.  so far, i've only been successful with mom (and see how well it's turned ot for her?!) but i will keep trying!

the wedding

my mom got married!  the wedding went great!  it was so much fun to have my sister and her husband, my uncle, and everyone together in one place at the same time.  everyone was having fun, and everything went wonderfully.  the wedding itself and the days surrounding it were busy but relaxed and fun.  adella finally felt better the day after everyone arrived, and after a week of being sick she was bubbling with energy and excitment.

i have SO. MANY. PICTURES.  i simply can't post them all here, and it's really hard to pick a few favorites because i love them all.  please hop over to flickr and check out the whole set from those few days here.

in the meantime, here are just a few of my favorites!

PSA

super busy couple of weeks + ridiculously slow and old computer = no blog posts lately.

i've got a new computer ordered and on the way, and a million billion photos to share when i get things up and running.  be back soon!!

catawba falls

this past weekend we took a family hike to catawba falls.  the weather was amazing and the hike was a great one -- close to home, not too long, not too strenuous, and lots of beautiful things to see.   a definite winner!

halfway through our hike, i realized that adella felt warm.  she insisted that she was fine, so we stayed, and she had a great time.  but sure enough, we got home later and the thermometer confirmed the fever.  five days later, she *still* has a high fever, and some other symptoms as well.  my poor girl!  this is a really long  time for her to be sick, and it's especially hard because we have family coming to town today.  and on saturday, my mom is getting married!  and, adella is in the wedding.

to say i'm feeling frustrated and powerless is an understatement, but there's not much to do except more of what we've already been doing.  i feel really sad for adella, who is worried about missing all the fun.  i know she'll get well, but the waiting is so hard right now.

healing vibes and well-wishes are more than welcome!

a walk at biltmore one afternoon

after the drab gray winter, the greens and yellows and pinks are just now starting to pop up here and there.  spring feels like it's on it's way...

we've had a few wonderfully sunny warm days, and the bright afternoon light tells us that it won't be long before it's here to stay.  we are ready.

everyday moments are my fave

snow day!

we finally got some snow!  it isn't much, but it's enough to cancel school for the day.  and definitely enough to bring lots of excitement to our house.

just being

the weeks have been so busy lately, with after school activities and playdates and this and that...  i am a pretty strong under-scheduler -- my kids do very few 'extra' activities and we really prefer to just be and to enjoy as much unstructured time as we can.  so even with just a few extra committments (albeit fun ones) lately, i've been so worn out by the end of the day, and especially by the end of the week.

but this weekend we found ourselves with nothing scheduled, and two whole days of free time.  besides a few errands and impromptu outings (dress shopping!  bus rides to the ice cream shop!  walks to the library!) we had plenty of time for just BEING instead of DOING.  it was so, so nice.

there was lots of reading, a little knitting (boot toppers for me), a little baking (PB black bean brownies), watching the snow fall (though nothing stuck, we had skies full of flurries all weekend), some movie watching, lego building, and lots and lots of puttering.  i am a huge fan of puttering. 

it has been just exactly what we needed.