a new path

yesterday morning i felt a little glum. we had spent our entire saturday tending to house rearrangements and hadn't really set foot outside but for the occasional shaking out of a rug or a dust rag. we accomplished a lot, but i woke up sunday feeling a bit depleted and uninspired. luckily dan saved the day by expressing a strong desire to take a hike. i did a little looking around online to see if there might be a new path out there for us to step on, and found one. it is in fact quite close to us, closer than the usual destinations. 

we arrived at patricia ann byrom forest preserve just a short while after tristan fell asleep in the car. so we hung around a bit under the pavilion by the parking lot, reading the postings.

and relaxed on the rocks, doodling

there were fantastic views of fox mountain across the way

and there was foliage in various stages to admire

eventually tristan woke up, but took some coaxing to get in the spirit of a hike. 

he liked sitting on this dragon egg.

he was the first to spot this massive hornet's nest. and while i was snapping a photo of it, warned me of a big black snake that slithered by and disappeared into the woods. 

he's got an eye for nature, that boy!

as does she

and we set out for a hike on a steepish path through a sweet 

forest in the blue ridge mountains

just when tristan had had about enough walking, we came upon a creek. 

nothing like a creek to kindle a kid's joyful spirit!

some horses passed by with their people

we snacked, chatted, relaxed, and explored the creek

tashi completed her "doodle"

and then it was time to head back

but the beauty never ends in the blue ridge. nor do the surprises.

and all that rearranging we did on saturday? it had something to do with this:

tashi has been wanting to move into the downstairs guest room/office/playroom for 

some time. so she is there! and tristan, after four and a half years in our room, 

now has his own room. he's pretty happy with it, and slept in it for the first time last night.

big changes around here! 

it's all still a bit of a work in progress, but coming along! 

photos of tashi's room once she is set up!