On Hiking ..What I Wish List

It has been a long time since I went on the backpacking trip, and although I loved it, I have not taken the time to blog about it like I had intended. It was a great trip and I loved the challenge, the exertion, the feeling of being surrounded by nature. If you have ever thought about going backpacking, here's a list I wish I had read before I left:

What I'm so glad I brought:

My homemade dehydrated food

Biodegradable wipes

Extra pair of shoes

Hydration pack (like a Camelback)

Water filter

Ibuprofen

What I didn't need:

Extra clothes

Cap

Sunglasses

Cool Tog Bandana (didn't work too well)

What I should have brought:

Duct Tape

Deodorant (don't ask)

Better creamer for coffee

Knee Brace

Lightweight knife (ours was too heavy)

Walking sticks (OK, I had sticker shock - if you buy the trekking poles - ski pole looking things, they seem so expensive. I think it would be worth it!)

More on the extra shoes - just think - you are wearing your hiking boots aggressively all day. You get to camp, tired and hungry with food to cook and a tent to set up. I can't tell you how good it felt to get out of those boots and put on my Keens. I saw quite a few people with Crocs -which might have been a better choice due to how light they are.

More on the walking stick- It doesn't look very authentic, in my opinion, to be walking around with an aluminum ski pole when there is no snow around. When I overworked my knee, I found me a good walking stick - my son Robert would have been impressed. I could not believe how much it helped. So much so, that I don't have a desire to go walking without some kind of stick -be it aluminum or tree.

Teaching What's important

As the school year approaches, I find myself constantly evaluating:

What do I want my kids to learn this year?

What are our goals for them socially, spiritually, emotionally?

I mean, I have their educational needs figured out:

SPELLING work, writing faster, math for Jonathan, things like that.

How do they do in "society"?

Do they know their manners in public, at the dinner table, in different situations?

Do they know how to react to kids who are unfair, mean, hurting, nice?

Do they know how to make friends?

How do they do in their walk with God?

How is their prayer life?

Is there any disconnect between their spiritual life and social life?

Can they read and understand the Bible, and are they doing that daily?

I find holding up a mirror at this point is helpful and also daunting. Our children are the best reflection of us.

I haven't been thinking about curriculum lately, I've already done that, and it is arriving in the mail daily. I've been thinking about the important stuff. We are starting a dating book with Raeley and we are going to go through the book How to Win Friends and Influence People with all the kids. Raeley may have the opportunity to attend a seminar called Success Skills which will help her develop her leadership abilities. Raeley, Robert and Jonathan will have a significant increase in their time helping prepare dinner during the week. I'd love to give the kids more background in music. They are very motivated in art. I'd like to keep that going. Raeley's photography is outstanding. How can we support her in that?

We only have three more years of high school with Raeley. It's going to go by very quickly!

Just checking in!

Once again I only have time for updates. I have a series of blogs planned about our hiking trip, but that will have to wait. I just wanted to check in with you all.

We just got back from the annual 4th of July with my family, and can I say how blessed I am with such a great family? Leaving them is always hard on me. 9 hours of driving is so far away.

Raeley continues to amaze us with her photography skills. She took some awesome photos during this trip.

Cameron was gone from us for a week and a half. I am so glad we are all back together again. She seems so much bigger now. She did great on the trip and her grandparents and aunts made sure she had lots of fun.

Backpacking

Raeley was on a mission trip to Longbeach, MS

The boys were at boy scout camp.

Cameron went to visit her grandparents.

What were Mark and I to do? Something we hadn't done in years.

Go Backpacking.

So we dusted off our gear (my hiking boots, Mark's backpack, and all the small things were the same).

Mark started researching, and I started dehydrating food.

It consumed every spare moment for a week or two. And I must admit I would wake up at night and worry every once in a while how it was going to turn out.

But the day came and we were off.

Here is a quick overview:

Kids leave Sunday, I return home at 5 pm from dropping them off.

We pack and I clean house (who wants to come home to an unkempt house after being in the woods for a week?).

Mark works on his spreadsheet of caloric/protein/fat intake.

We go to bed much later than intended.

4:30 am came early.

Up and at 'em and the last shower in a private shower for a week.

We leave Tupelo at 5:05 to be exact and head to Georgia.

We stop in Atlanta at REI to see about replacing Mark's pack, but they were just too expensive.

On to Dehlonega GA, a very quaint town we wish we had more time to see.

We met friends of Mark's for lunch at The Crimson Moon, and it was great to get to know them better. Lunch took longer than we intended, but it was all good (both the company and the food!).

We stopped in an irresistible shop next to the restaurant, then one last coffee, and we were off!

We dropped our car at the end point -which is the beginning point for many. We decided to walk the trail south bound (sobo in AT talk) to end at the big waterfall (on a downward slope for it is very steep) at the welcome center.

Our friends asked us if we had a knife for the bears and Mark suddenly remembered what he was looking for the night before and couldn't find - a larger knife -he only had a small one. Mike pulled out this long knife in a case that you can velcro to your leg. My eyes got big. Are bears really that much of a problem? Do you think I would have a knife like that if they weren't, Mike replies. Well, that knife was a little too big, so he pulls out another one that is smaller. I'm beginning to wonder about this whole thing-just joking. I would like to see a bear from a distance I think! You have to admit, that sounds pretty cool, especially since I hear all you need to do is make racket to run them off- unless you leave food out - a big no-no I don't intend to make!

They drop us off at Woody Gap, 28 miles from our car, and leave us there.

And into the wooded bliss we submerge.

Summer TIme -an update on us

I haven't been blogging much -

I've been making a transition in my life.

Less time on the computer.

No more Facebook - not much, anyway.

Consolidating work and emails into larger time chunks - not spread throughout the day. You won't believe how much time that saves!

Eating healthier - trying to get high fructose corn syrup out of our house

Less TV, more reading

Deciding where to put my time not chewed up by my computer -

currently on the kids and de-stressing my life.

I'm working on a few more things, too:

Exercising harder and wiser (still not there - I'm wimping out before interval training).

Watching my reactions to my kids - working on showing my love more.

Living out my faith more - once again, like with the kids, it's a heart issue.

We are still doing school as well. We are working hard to finish by next week. We will continue with a few writing assignments, spelling, and math.

Our summer plans?

Two family trips to Texas

Mark and I will start hiking the Appalachian Trail (Woohoo! Yes, that is as cool-I mean hot- as it sounds!) Our goal? To go back with the kids once we have the hang of it.

Various camps for the kids. Currently it's swimming lessons.