River Hike

Since it was such beautiful weather this past weekend, we took some time out to do a river hike.  We ended up not having to hike far at all before we found a great little spot to hang out at.  Cayenne swam and played in the water the whole time, Mark fished, I took pictures, and the kids played in the river.

At first Nina and Lyla started by just getting their feet and legs wet, then the more time we were there, the more wet they became.  Eventually, they just asked if they could float around in the river with their clothes on.  We didn’t have any dry clothes for them to change into, but if you ask them, they’ll say they’re “river girls” so things like dry clothes just aren’t a problem.

  

Cayenne absolutely loves the water.  She is such a good swimmer now, and she figured out the spots where there was some light current to swim against, little eddies for finding minnows, and shallow parts for just running through the water. 

We stopped right under a cool, old bridge that still had the wide boards for the “road”. 

    

After our time at the river, we started our relatively short hike back to the car.  We had to go less than a mile, but a portion of the walk back to the car was through the thick part of the woods on a narrow path.  The path was only wide enough to walk in a single file line.  So, I was walking in front with Cayenne on the leash about three or four feet in front of me, the kids were behind me, and Mark was in the back.  All of a sudden, Cayenne stops right in front of me, and I see her jam her nose right into the face of a skunk!

I jumped back, pulled Cayenne back, and we all froze and hoped the skunk didn’t spray us.  Thankfully the skunk didn’t spray us or some toward us, but he/she wasn’t moving off the path, and there was no way we could get back to our car unless we passed by on the path.  Mark tried throwing some rocks in it’s direction to see if it would move off the side of the path, but it didn’t.  I tried creeping toward it, and it then turned and walked back into the woods.  I kept an eye on it (and took a picture of it) while Mark got the kids and the dog through, and we very thankfully made it back to the car  without getting sprayed!!!

Vote for Cayenne!!!!

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July 4th

Yesterday was a fun day!  Of course, we celebrated our nation’s freedom and independence, but our wonderful country also shares a birthday with our favorite 4-legged family member.  Cayenne turned a year old yesterday, and while she wasn’t offered any cake, she did get a Costco sized bag of Beggin’ Strips – basically her dream come true. 

We started the day by heading into downtown Leesburg for their parade.  The weather was beautiful and uncharacteristically mild for July, so Cayenne came along.  She really seemed like she enjoyed the sights, smells, and other dogs, but mostly she’s just happy to be out and about with the family.  We met up with some friends there and enjoyed the small town feel of the parade.

      

We managed to sneak in a visit to the pool after the parade and lunch, then evening came and it was time for the festivities on our block.  It’s a shame there aren’t more kids for Nina and Lyla to play with. 

The parents relaxed and hung out while the kids ran all around, ate cupcakes, played with sparklers, smoke bombs, poppers, etc., then we all sat back and watched a little firework fun.  Our community’s big fireworks show was last weekend, but we still enjoyed seeing some bigger ones set off in the distance.  The night ended late for the kids, and we were all pretty worn out, but it was a great 4th of July.

   

The Summer Has Started!

One of the first things Nina and Lyla wanted to do after school got out was head down to Hartfield.  So, the girls and I packed up early Monday morning and headed down for a few days at the river.  When at Hartfield, there is down time and then there is boating time.  We had some down time in the first part of the day – catching minnows, taking bike rides, painting with Mousey, etc., but as soon as Poppy said he was ready to get out on the boat, these girls were more than ready!

We had some really beautiful days for being on the water.  It was hot, but the river was calm and quiet with boat traffic, and the sun was shining.  As always, getting in the tube was one of the main attractions.  For these two (especially Lyla), there’s no speed fast enough for riding in the tube.  From their seat in the tube, they call out to Poppy to speed up and drive in circles (so they hit the waves).  The tube is always a good time!

This was Cayenne’s first trip on the boat, and I was anxious to see how she would do.  She has a track record of not being the best traveller.  Ever since she was a puppy, she often gets sick in the car and actually throws up in the car quite often (fun times).  Being on the boat, we figured she’d be ok with all the open space and flowing air, but we were wrong.  Actually, it wasn’t the motion or the movement of the boat at all that I think made her sick.  She ended up throwing up on the boat two days in a row, but both times were after she was hot and quickly drank a large amount of water.  Needless to say, that part wasn’t fun, but other than that, I think she enjoyed riding on the boat and swimming in the river. 

Lyla is just like me when I was little.  I was obsessed with driving my grandfather’s boat, and to his credit, he always let me.  Lyla is also obsessed with driving her grandfather’s boat, and to his credit, he always lets her. 

We always try to find a good spot for swimming after we’ve spent some time riding on the boat or tubing.  The river feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, so the water is brackish in most parts.  As a result, there are jellyfish that always make their way down the river.  Last summer, the cousins started something called the River Girls Club.  There were several criteria that had to be met before being a true River Girl, and getting stung by a jellyfish was one of them.  They’ve all been through it, but of course they don’t like it. 

On our first day swimming, we were having a great time in the water until Lyla got stung.  While it wasn’t a terrible sting, it was enough to end our swimming session for the day.  Day one also ended on a sour note when Mousey’s wireless speaker took a dive into the river.  While day one on the river kind of ended on a less than happy note, the speaker fullly recovered after two days buried in rice, and day two on the river more than made up for day one’s little jellyfish sting.

I was hoping the girls wouldn’t be hesitant to get back in and swim, and I was pleasantly surprised when they jumped right in off the boat when it was time to swim.  Poppy took the boat a little deeper into the river (farther from the bay) where the water is more fresh, and we didn’t encounter any jellyfish.  We had such a great time swimming in the river on day two, and I think everyone (including Cayenne) enjoyed cooling off in the water, swimming, jumping off the boat, and having some fun!

Life is pretty simple down at Hartfield, and the pace of life is much slower there than Northern Virginia.  So instead of feeling like there are a million things you need to do, you end up looking for things to do or places to explore.  One of the things Nina and Lyla really enjoyed this past trip was biking down to a miniature horse farm to pet the mini horses.  They gave them names and fed them all the tender grass they could find. 

As the days wound down, everyone eventually got showers and the adults caught up World Cup games that were recorded during the day.  We enjoyed our time hanging at the river with Mousey and Poppy, but we were excited to get back home and see Mark (who had to work this week).  We now feel like summer is officially in full swing, and it’s off to a good start!

Father’s Day

I feel very thankful to celebrate two great guys on Father’s Day.  I was blessed to grow up with a father who was patient, kind, loving, and always put family first. Even though his kids are now adults, he still keeps connected to what is going on in our life and that of our families.  Having such a positive experience with my father no doubt was a huge factor in determining the person I grew up to be.

I am also very blessed to celebrate the father of my girls who, despite being an outdoorsy/sporty guy, actually loves life with little girls (although he can be known to be found the garage for “projects” when the drama gets a little much).  He rough houses, compliments them, puts our family first, is always at their games and performances, is the master doctor when there’s an injury, works hard so their mom can be at home with them, and pursues the calling to be a godly husband and father.  Plus, he’s “a handsome dad” (as Nina calls him, and I agree).

We were happy to celebrate Mark, Pops, and another great father, Garland, on Sunday!