Sope Creek Trail and the Paper Mills

The weather was uncommonly glorious this MLK Holiday weekend and we made sure to take advantage of that and get out of our house this Saturday. We decided to take the girls on a little hike at a nearby trail that runs along Sope Creek just 10 minutes from our house. I was excited to visit because the creek boasts several ruins of old paper mills that used to operate in the area. (In fact, the road that leads to the trails is called Paper Mill Road and our local ward (congregation) is the Paper Mill Ward.)

There are several trails that break off and meander throughout the park. We started off on an easier path that led to a small lake. Zara wanted to collect all the sticks and leaves she could find.

Adelaide walked more than half of the trail herself. She did a good job keeping up with us even if she did slow us down. (David and I like to walk fast.)

Sope Creek. 

Our chosen trail deadended at the Creek so we had to backtrack a little to get to the ruins. We could see one across the river but we had to go a long way around to get to it. 

 Hello from inside the paper mill!

All the ruins were constructed of stone and were mostly pretty well preserved. The roofs had probably been wood and those were all gone.

Adelaide didn't know what to make of sitting in one of the windows.

More ruins across the river. David got down into these ruins and explored more. He took some photos on his phone but I haven't seen them yet.

Tickle Fights

When Daddy's around, there's lots of tickle fights and dog piles and giggle fests galore. Zara and Adelaide seem to think being thrown on the bed and tickled by a ruthless Tickle Monster is all sorts of good fun. The apparently haven't yet had the sorts of traumatizing tickle experiences that I endured as a child which make me detest tickling in all its forms. (When it's being done to me. I don't mind doling out the tickles.) Still, the sound of their laughter ringing through the house is one of the greatest sounds in the world. You just can't beat it. 

The Nativity

For Christmas, David bought me a print of Brian Kershisnik's"Nativity" which is one of my favorite pieces of art. The original hangs in the BYU Museum of Art and it is breathtaking in both its scope and subject matter.

I had to have it custom framed because it's such an odd sized print. I knew it would be pricey (and boy was it) but I think it looks wonderful. I really think the frame we picked really works with the piece. It's hanging above the dresser in our bedroom now so it'll be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.

Sick Babies

For the entire months of November and December, it felt like we all just moved from one sickness to the other. I was as sick as I've been in several years over Thanksgiving. And just when I'd think we were on the mend, something new would strike. 

Last Monday we started in on week two of Christmas break. I blearily made my way into the living room where Zara was hacking up a lung and Adelaide was just an all-around goopy mess and I made the executive decision to strap on my big girl pants and get these kids to a doctor. We'd been miserable long enough. 

I got a same-day sick doctor appointment for that afternoon and even though I was still feeling pretty miserable myself, we all made it through still alive. Zara had bronchitis and an ear infection (right ear) and was given a 10-day dose of amoxicillin. (Zara had been telling me the day before that she kept hearing a sound in her ear which alerted me to the possibility of an infection.)

Adelaide had a rougher time of it. She had pink eye and was given the appropriate drops but the doctor couldn't see her ear canal well enough to determine if she had an ear infection too so she got to endure an ear wash to clean the wax build-up out of her ears. She was not pleased and let everyone know it. But once her ears were clean, the doctor pronounced that her ears were just fine. 

So with our prescriptions in hand, we set off to Kroger to hit up their pharmacy and stock up on foodstuffs for the week. They even got free balloons from the floral counter. (Big hit.) 

Adelaide loves her balloon.

So after a week and a half, I'm happy to say that we're about 90% back to health. (I have a pesky nose that won't clear up.) Adelaide is goop-free and Zara's cough has finally left and I can only assume that her ear infection has healed as well. Thank goodness for doctors and medicine and a week off from school so that we could all get better.

Talking to the Void

I was just looking at my list of the blogs of my family and friends and I realized how few of them actually blog anymore. I used to love reading all the blogs of my friends. If you're my friend and I know you have a blog, chances are, I'm still reading yours. I'm just not commenting most likely. There are a lot of other ways to stay socially connected now and many have migrated to other social media platforms.

I'm the first to admit that my blogging has taken a serious nose dive the last few years and the few people who used to read this blog have probably long since abandoned it.  I did so well for so many years, reaching a peak of 85 blog posts in 2011. And then it plummeted to 21 in 2012, 22 in 2013 and a measly 29 in 2014. But 2014 at least ended strong with 10 and 7 posts in November and December, respectively. I'm committed to blogging more in 2015.

I started this blog as a way to connect with friends and family, but its main purpose has always just been a place to document and record our lives. I re-read my blog posts often, marveling at how things have changed in the last 7 years and how the girls have grown. I'm glad this record exists and I'm disappointed that I've been so lax in keeping up with in these last few years because a lot of memories and moments have been lost. Even if I'm just posting into the online void and no one but me and David cares, I'll still be here. My personal journal hasn't been touched in years. (Five to be exact. My last entry was about Zara's birth and I stopped mid-story. Got distracted by a newborn, I suppose, and never made it back.) So this is it. This is our lives and I want to remember it.

Still, it'd be nice to think that other people are still stopping by on occasion and enjoying this blog. It might make me more diligent and consistent in posting if I thought someone else was reading.

As David would say, this is me blogging about blogging on my blog and he'd make fun of me. If you're there, I'm glad. I'm still here. And stay tuned. The best is yet to come.