Adventure Mom!

So K is back in school after his very successful first clinical rotation and we're back to the same old schedule - which is the kids and I trying to find stuff to do to fill our days while K studies away. Last year I was new to the place, had a brand new baby, and was struggling to adjust to how often K was gone, so I didn't really do much. This summer is going to be different! I'm going to try really hard to be an adventurous mom. There's a girl in our ward whose Facebook I was stalking, and I was surprised to see how many excursions she had gone on, just herself and her two kids. Our kids are similar in age and our oldest kids are similar in temperament (that is to say, crazy) and I thought, if she can do it, so can I!

Guys, I'm going to be Adventure Mom! K is going to be doing school stuff so often that I can't really wait around for him to have a day off to come with us. And it'll be sad doing things without him because he won't get to see them, but I also don't want to say 20 years down the road, "Gee whiz, remember living in NC? That was so boring!" Because really, this is a cool place and I think whenever we do decide to leave I'll miss it a lot!

Remember the bucket list I posted on my old blog? Well forget about it, because there are so many more things I need to add. I'll just have to make a whole new list and try to check them off one by one.



We finally did make it to Pilot Mountain though! It was one of those hikes where there is a super easy option (you can drive right up to the top) and tons of people are there sitting around smoking and right as you go to fill your lungs with fresh mountain air you get a nose full of second hand smoke and motorcycle exhaust. But, eventually we passed the point that most people wanted to hike and found ourselves some peace and fresh air. Granted, we went on a pleasantly sunny Saturday afternoon so I can't really gripe too much about the crowds... But people! STOP SMOKING! Shouldn't everyone know how bad it is by now? And I know it's addictive so older people can have a pass, I guess, but when I see a young person smoking I just want to slap them and make them call their mothers.

The Yadkin Valley

Aren't these the prettiest mountain flowers ever? I was so wonderstruck by them. I've never seen any flower like them! 

Destination: the Knob!

This should freak out some grandma's ^^^ Don't worry, it wasn't as high as it looks!

Adventure boys! J was so excited about hiking, I guess I should take him more often.

These huge purple flower bushes were everywhere on the mountain side, so pretty.

J found a tunnel!

E was a littler adventurer too, so much so that it kind of surprised me!

I spy with my little eye... ^^^ Can you spot the daredevil?

Checking out a doe eating her lunch at the base. Eagle eyes!

It was a super fun trip, and only took a few hours. It was a pretty breezy hike, though we did wish we would've brought more water (we only had just enough). I think I could probably do this again solo with two kids in tow. I can be an adventure mom! Hopefully...