what rhythm? out-of-doors

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If I was honest with myself, 

I would say that I have never really recovered

from having newborn twins and a 22-month old.

Then throw in moving 3 times in the first year of their life,

at 2 months, 5 months and 12 months,

(and a toddler who was 2, 2 1/2 and not quite 3)

and add a generous helping of depression and anxiety,

which after 4 years is just now resolving itself.......thankfully and gratefully....

Nicole at Frontier Dreams asked for folks to share snippets of their rhythm,

and I agreed, knowing it would be a challenge for me to find *anything* 

that could pass for rhythm in our home and life,

which I often find overwhelming and chaotic.

(Hello, near-nightly panic attacks!  Thankfully, also resolving.)

*whew....that was tough.....moving on....*

But today I decided not to give myself a hard time over the past,

and also not to fuss over what I think our rhythm should be,

and just look for something that I can definitely say is true to our family.

One thing I can say, with absolute certainty, is that my children play outside.

Unless someone is ill, they are outside for large portions of each day, every day.

Please enjoy way too many pictures of my girls,

which I thoroughly enjoyed compiling,

each one a reminder of a wonderful time we spent together.

~ JANUARY ~

 ~ the rare Southern snow angel ~

 ~ ice! ~

~ taking a break from stacking firewood ~

~ hopping right along ~ 

~ FEBRUARY ~

 ~ warm day in february = mud river from the rainbarrel ~

 ~ woods in VA ~

~ creek play ~ 

 ~ old-fashioned merry-go-round ~

~ lake at crowders mountain state park ~ 

~ MARCH ~

 ~ barefoot in the bare garden~ 

 ~ march camping trip ~

~ sunbeam faery and snowdrop child play ~ 

~ APRIL ~

 ~ april camping ~

~ sister rescue ~

 ~ watching daddy flyfish ~

 ~ strollers through the neighborhood ~

~ pasture at the highland games festival ~ 

~ egg hunting at a friend's birthday party ~

~ MAY ~

 ~ may camping trip ~

 ~ a little chilly for tubing ~

 ~ friends by the lake ~

~ strawberry picking with friends ~ 

~ schiele museum nature trail ~ 

~ JUNE ~

~ pool weather already??? ~ 

~ planting tomatoes ~ 

~ walking backwards with baby cousin ~

~ salt marsh exploration ~

~ JULY ~ 

 ~ by the shore ~

~ splash! ~ 

~ horseshoe crab ~ 

~ blackberry picking ~

 ~ cypress swamp ~

 ~ sunset by the bay ~

~ growing-up girl ~ 

~ AUGUST ~

 ~ summer thunderstorm bath ~

~ swinging laurel ~ 

~ abandoned watermelon ~ 

~ tiny girl is learning to swing herself ~ 

~ piggy-back rides on momma ~

Yes I *definitely* feel uplifted looking back on the year....

.....spent outdoors.....

.....that's our rhythm.....

~carrie~

~ down by the bay ~

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We have camped every month since February, 

(of course, I have neglected to post pictures)

and for July,

we made the long drive up to Virginia to 

First Landing State Park.

First Landing State Park is in Virginia Beach,

and sits at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

So this is the mouth of the bay, 

and most of the time the water is more like a lake than the ocean.

 ~ crooked horizons vs. using photoshop ~ 

In the photograph below, 

there are several interesting things to note.

One is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (very faint)

which is a spectacular drive, spanning 20 miles

with two tunnels that are each a mile long.

The ships in the picture are the reason for the tunnels:

the Hampton Roads area is a major port area.

To the right is large fish net, 

where pelicans line each post,

orienting themselves in the exact same way.

I once watched a kayaker paddle out there to successfully rescue a pelican in the nets!

I could say so much about this wonderful place.

First Landing State Park protects a rare ecosystem: the maritime forest.

Just a few hundred yards from the Bay is the freshwater cypress swamp,

where Spanish moss dangles from the bald cypress trees.

If I'm not mistaken, this micro-climate is considered to be sub-tropical,

hosting species normally found hundreds of miles to the south.

This is the perfect beach for young children.

Wide, gentle and uncrowded.

This park holds a special place in our hearts, 

as it was here we lived when Lela was born.

 

 ~ oh, this photograph makes me so happy!
this is uncropped, but my banner i did crop just a bit ~

I have approximately 3.2 gazillion pictures from our beach trip,

and from June's camping trip to Edisto Beach State Park.

I believe that I get caught up in deciding which pictures to share,

and end up not sharing anything

In February we made a pact to camp each month until it was too cold.

It doesn't feel right that I haven't shared our Camping Every Month Challenge,

so maybe I'll go back and chronicle them.  

I hope we can get back to the shore one.more.time before the Autumn arrives.

We may try to sneak in a September camping trip right after Labor Day,

and splash in the ocean once more.

(For August I imagine we'll be fleeing for the cooler mountains!)

Hope you're having a lovely Summer.

~carrie~