Travel: Table Rock SP | 26-28 October 2012

Two weekends ago we drove the few hours to Table Rock State Park for some good old fashioned camping. If you remember, we went two years ago with Jessie & Daron and Jordan & Jamie. It was time for a little reunion (though we do meet up weekly as it is), and we picked the best time to go with beautiful fall colors everywhere and perfect weather. We were more lazy this time around and kept to just a few little hikes. Breakfast was followed by a game of leaf catching, and after checking out Twin Falls on Saturday afternoon, we drove back to the park, had a picnic at the lake, and all of us proceeded to go on different paths. Jonathan and Jessie napped, the dogs played, Jordan, Jamie, and Daron had a riveting game of Uno, and I finished a book start to finish (I love days like that). We had potato soup and cornbread for dinner, made s'mores, and called it a night.

I was particularly nervous about the trip because it was Jasper's first go at camping. Jordan and Jamie brought Kota last time so we knew she would do great, but their newer pup, Penny hadn't camped yet either. I think all three dogs did well, which makes all of us happy. Jasper even met an older kindred spirit, Cloud (an Aussie), camping across the street from us -- at seven years old, he was the first dog that truly played with Jasper Bubs in a way that he wanted. I love watching Jasper interact with new things for the first time! He went on his first trail, played in his first creek, and met with his first two waterfalls. All that stimulation wore him out, but I'm glad that he's able to do these things with us. The only part of our family missing was Gilly (poor Gilly - when will it be socially acceptable to bring cats to public places?), and I know she was miserable stuck indoors all weekend.

Sunday morning we packed up after breakfast, and on the way home stopped at Caesars Head. J. and I had never been before, so it was fun seeing a new-to-us place. It may be an area to explore later and maybe even backpack some. There was a bald outcropping on the main drive back that we stopped at. The whole thing decorated in graffiti - some of it vulgar, some of it friendly. I'll never understand humans' desires to alter God's magnificence, but it is what it is. Driving back home, we all remained quiet, maybe from exhaustion, but I like to think we all were perfectly content in an otherwise overcrowded vehicle. I love this time in our life, being free to enjoy nature and friends in this way.

Jessie picked up on this amazing root system. Of course you notice the tree growing on the rock, but look how far the roots stretch - to the foreground of the photo!

And on the other side, the roots continue, all the way down the banks to the stream, it's life source





Unexpectedly beautiful Twin Falls

"Expectedly" beautiful friends (:

The other side of Table Rock from Caesars Head




Bald Rock

And of course this trip would not have been complete without our obligatory Table Rock photos (:

Columbia | 12-14 October 2012

So many good things have been happening lately that it's been hard to keep up with writing about them. We have so many photos still not loaded on our computers, I don't even want to think about it! This is all good stuff, no complaints here.

A few weeks ago my good friend S. came up with her boy, B. (And yes, they have the same magical initials as the stars of GG! Lucky them.) There was a Jam Room Music Festival that caught their eye and they couldn't resist the allure of Cola. Friday night, after having a delicious dinner outside, we went to Incarnation Lutheran's Holy Schnitzel Oktoberfest. It was fun! Good beer, German polka, sugary desserts, face painting, and best of all -- bouncy house! I love those things, and it had probably been about six years (too long) since I had last bounced in one. Whew, what a good cardiovascular workout, haha.

Saturday morning after a yum-yum breakfast outside (beautiful weather!) we headed downtown for the opening weekend of the new location for Soda City All Local Farmers Market. We had samples of some good stuff, made notes on things to purchase later (like fresh pasta!), and then slowly walked our way over to The Flying Saucer. Just when S. & B. thought they were done with German-inspired food, we showed them some more tasty treats!

Afterward the music festival was starting up. The main act that S. was interested in was her all-time favorite band, The Hold Steady, and they would be head-lining at 8:30pm. We had six hours to enjoy local bands! It was fun! I think my favorite performance was by Can't Kids. J. and I realized the last show we had been to might have been in Chicago 2010. Sad!

Once our ears were throughoughly deafened and our legs were aching, we drove ourselves back to the good ole Forest Acres and stopped at Italian Pie for a few slices. (And also watched USC lose to LSU! Yup, we were the only ones secretly cheering for the other team. Awkwarddd.)

The next morning we shared another breakfast outside (again, just beautiful weather!) and said our sad goodbyes. S. & B. were headed for Florida, with some stops at Savannah and St. Augustine on the way! I'm jealous of their vacation! J. and I headed to church, and since a lot of our friends were away for the weekend, we ended up having our very first picnic lunch with Jasper. There is a small park not too far away from us (and actually, right across the street from our old rental) that my brother had always coined The Dog Park, even though it isn't an official dog park. When we got there, I understood why. There were so many people with their dogs enjoying the gorgeous day with us! J. and I had leftover pizza, veggies, and fruit, and basically took turns walking with Jasper while the other ate. I am sure this is a little window in to what it would be like with a fresh babe in our life. (:

Once the weekend was over, I wanted to scream -- this was the best weekend ever!! But then I realized we've been having good weekends all month! October, you may have upped your position on my "favorite month" list. (Yes, there is a list.) Enough of this chatter, here are some photos!