Last night Kevin and I went into Boston to see Natalie Merchant sing with the Boston Pops at EdgeFest. 
Checking the tide schedule, the weather, packing bags and lunch, getting everyone dressed for the occasion, the drive, the long walk to our favorite spot, not to mention all the cleanup that needs to take place afterwards, and sticking a beach trip into an already VERY full day, IS ALL WORTH IT --for a few hours like this. 
The place where you have no choice but to slow down and enjoy a big bowl of 'salty sand soup'
Food is packed. Kids dropped off at my mom's early Friday morning and we are on the road.
Beautiful weather at the trail head...1100ft elevation to begin.
very excited about the trip ahead (that is me taking my own picture so that way I can prove that--Yes--I am on this trip)
Extreme climbing...getting cooler and a bit cloudy.
Here comes the rain/sleet
(on zoom by accident, but cute picture anyway)
high elevation, we have now climbed up to 4328ft...storm blowing in, very cold and wet.
2-3 feet of snow on the trail
next peak of 4459ft too cold/windy to hang around. Had to clutch rocks to not get blown off of the mountain.
made it to our first tent site. Cooking dinner. It is sleeting/raining. Very cold/windy and we everything is wet.
Had a rough night. I was experiencing symptoms of the beginnings of hypothermia. We spent all night trying to get my body temperature back to normal.
next morning...change of plans. We had another 1800ft to go and didn't want to risk what the weather may be like and add to the problems I was already experiencing.
So, we looked over the map...found a trail down the mountain from where we were. We got a phone number for a shuttle from others camping near us, and we hiked--down down down...yes, my legs are killing me from going down so quickly from such a high elevation. We made it and called a shuttle, they brought us to our truck and we got a hotel, a hot shower, and some rest before heading home to the girls.
It was a fun trip. (stinks we missed a 1 1/2 days on the trail, but it was nice to get sleep as well) We are planning on finishing what we started early September.
My sweet hubby and I are heading out on a backpacking trip. This will be our first trip in over 6 years (the last time I was pregnant with my little Emma). We are heading up to the Franconia Notch area in NH. and we have a great loop with some excellent climbs in front of us. We are leaving first thing Friday morning and will be back some time Sun afternoon (hopefully). Talk to you all next week!!!
I have been stocking up on field guides for at least 5 yrs now and I find them a wonderful thing to have around. 
Containers to keep for future use. Butter containers, and hummus containers make a great place to keep worms, dish out bird seed, and to use for searching for whatever bugs your child may want to keep for a while. Peanut butter jars--I NEVER throw away or give to recycling. We have them all over for frogs, caterpillars, butterflies, pencil holders, a great way of keeping marbles, etc...other misc tins and buckets we find in the 1.00 section at Target and they are in constant use around here.
fresh air
forts on TOP of the table
beautiful colors
warmer air and skirts
rainy day fun with 'the ducks'--named Sara and Laura
creating slow moments out of a busy month--almost impossible. 
These are only pictures of the quiet, beautiful moments...this is NOT 'the normal'. From comments on my past posts, I am afraid to mislead you all into thinking I have found the secret to living, as if on vacation, every day....and in case you are still wondering...I HAVEN'T. Read my post below to see what 'the normal' actually is.
