Moss Preserve Hike

A few weeks ago we went for a hike at Moss Preserve in Hoover. It is a wonderful place right smack in the city of Hoover. There are several trails out here and a rock climbing area. We had a blast!!! More and more I am enjoying being more active with my boys.

I love this picture of Jake - he did not know we were watching him. He is a very loud and rambunctious boys when paired with his brother but this very much captures another side of Jake - very contemplative. I love it!!!

They were learning how to balance and walk by themselves across the log. It was a huge feet for him to do it by himself. Of course we picked a log with no water underneath for practice. :)

This place is beautiful. John had cell phone coverage here which kinda made me happy because I might come up missing one day and venture out here all by myself to enjoy the waterfalls. A cell phone will be nice just in case you know :):) how spoiled we are!!!

R&R at Nana's

We made it to the beach today. We were up and at it at 3am to make a 6 am flight. We actually got in a traffic jam in Holland Tunnel on the way to the airport at 4:30 this morning. Ridiculous that there are enough people on the road that time of morning - leaving the city for that matter - to have a traffic jam. But we had a really easy flight. So I took a nap when the boys did except I sleep for 5 hours - WONDERFUL!!! I didn't want to get up - I really think I could have slept until in the morning. So I want to post about our summer in the next few days but for now I am just gonna rest!!! Have a good week.

A Day in Central Park

Yesterday we spent 4 hours exploring Central Park. It was fabulous!!! Really one of the best days I have ever had with Jake and Brady. Here are a few of our pictures from the day:

We started our day by having a picnic on top of these rocks. The boys are far away because I am still at the bottom of the rocks gathering our supplies. (the camera was zoomed as far as it could) The boys LOVE exploring these really big rocks. After we ate we stayed here for about 30 minutes exploring and climbing. We also had a guest for our picnic - a squirrel who was not afraid of us. We shared our lunch with him and discovered that he likes pbj's and grapes but not pretzels. The birds descended on us when they saw us feeding him. The squirrel got very defensive and his tail got all bushy. This was a great nature lesson for the boys. LOVED IT!!!

Next, we moved on the the playground. Did you know there are 21 playgrounds in Central Park? And still it was PACKED. The boys played in the sand for a long time. Jake made 2 new friends. I love that they are getting to meet and play with so many diverse people.

Next we chalked for a long time. Rather, Jake chalked for a long time. Brady doesn't do anything for a long time. He decided he would fly his airplane (as you can see in the pic). After this we moved on and played in the splash pad for a really long time. Then on to more climbing and exploring the park.

We ended our fun filled day with tea at The Plaza. HA!!!!! Just kidding. Instead we ended with Jello at The Plaza fountain. The boys were filthy and well they are boys - no tea for them.

As you can see Brady was exhausted. It was such a fun day and 4 hours passed like 1. My pedometer read 7,642.

Wild At Heart

“Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of a man.”
This tree in New Orleans Zoo came face to face with 3 fierce warriors and a brave little girl who were determined to win this battles regardless of how many tears they had to shed in the process. It is meant to be climbed and conquered (there is a sign in it that tells you not to climb any farther). So I ask them if they were up for the challenge and up the branch they went. Most of them came down a time of two but just HAD to beat this beast. All of them but Brady shed tears on the way up but would not give up. It is amazing how that sense of adventure runs so deep even in the most cautious child.
I wish you could see that tongue sticking out. He is determined to do it. The youngest of the 4 and scaled it like it was nobody's business. He knows little fear and I LOVE that about him. I pray that God gives me the wisdom and nerves to not squash this in him!!!!

When he accomplishes something Big he gets this very specific smirky grin that is so soul satisfying that sometimes I push him just to see that grin. Today I got it when he finally pooped in the potty (and not in the yard but that is for another post :))

As you see Brady is just chilling waiting on the others. Anna and Jake made it and Eric, bless his heart, just could not bring himself to stop until he finished. He did it and he grinned from ear to ear at his accomplishment.

This was a glimpse at what took place on the way up. Isn't it amazing that they can be this scared but want to keep going? This event was by far my favorite point of the trip to the zoo. These boys walked away feeling like they accomplished a big feet and well I think they did!!!!!

Farmers Market Finds

All this for $40.00!!!!
Last week we were in Bham. John had a meeting and so me and the boys ventured to one of our favorite spots - the state farmers market. Yes it stays open year around and my little Mexican friends have some great deals. We got 1/2 bushel of orange bell peppers and 1/2 bushel of yellow bell peppers for $8 each. The 1/2 bushel of apples was 8, the oranges were 12 and the onions were 4. Eating healthy is so expensive these days. I bought this stuff and came home and spent a day in my kitchen slicing and freezing and cooking (the apples) and I ended up with 4 gallon size bags each color of the bell peppers, and onion and about 12 family portions of cooked apples to use for dessert or applesauce. We love cooking with peppers and onions and this way I don't have to chop them each night and they don't go bad if we don't use them right away. Instead I go to the freezer pull out what I need and start cooking. They are flash frozen before I put them in the bag so they don't stick together. This saves me tons of time and money in the long run. The colored bell pepper is usually over $1 each. I got about 25-30 for $8. It just took 1 long day in the kitchen and I am set for about 6-8 months!!!! Oh if you live in bham and are interested I will tell you where exactly to go find my friends!!!!

Look what we saw today!!!

So yes there is a hurricane in the gulf that is over 200 miles wide (bigger than katrina) and we came to the beach. John and I needed a break so we headed to his moms (nana's) in navarre beach. It was amazing to see how the waves and wind were so strong today. We went down to the beach and the waves were amazing. Some of them were as tall as me when they were crashing onto the beach. Brady could not stand up by himself in the wind. He was determined to do it and he would get down and try and every time it would blow him over. The boys got to see kite surfers (wind surfers) and loved it!!!! The winds were sustained at about 40 miles per hour on the beach (or so I was told). The beach was amazing and very foamy. Anyway, just thought it was amazing that the hurricane is almost 200 miles from the beach we were on and yet it was really affecting here. Several of the roads had to close because the water had rose so much. Anyway, it was pretty cool.

My New Piece of Heaven

Last Saturday John and I took the boys to breakfast at a place we had heard about in Bluff Park called the Tip Top Diner. It immediately became a favorite place for me. Nothing fancy about the Diner - it was not the food that did it for me. It was the view. When we sat down I told John that the view and the breeze - oh the sweet breeze reminded me of Denver. John's response was "are you kidding me?" OK so maybe not nearly as beautiful as the views in Denver but as close to it as I will get in Birmingham Alabama.

Anyway, thanks to my gracious mother in law, John and I are child free for 2 days. So today, I went to spend the morning at the Tip Top Grill wrestling with God over my oh so heavy heart. I sat outside and put my headphones in and begin to pray, journal and just be with God trying to make sense of how he is working in the last day. (Most everyone reading this knows about our friends and former co-workers Billy and Hope Atchison's tragic loss of their daughter.)
Well as you all, and myself, know that I once again walked away with God reminding me that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not mine. But I can not say, thankfully, that this is all I walked away with from my sweet sweet time with my Savior. Today, his creation and things within His creation were what He used to fill my heart with HOPE. I hope you have time to read below to find out more. I pray that you are encouraged as well.