true boy tales: a winter walk

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

a winter walk

Inspired by my family's visit and their willingness to brave the elements in favor of a little fresh air and exercise, in addition to a glorious sunny day (not to be taken for granted this time of year), we ventured out in the late afternoon last weekend for a walk in the snow. The sunlight streaming through the trees was beautiful. It was pretty cold but we were (nearly) all bundled up enough.

I love how Channing's breath caught the light:

Always smiling, this one:

Nothing brings me more delight than seeing my boys using their imaginations out in nature. "Mom, we found the home of the big bad mouse!" Do your kids know the Gruffalo yet? They should.

Jon tracked this turkey and brought it home for dinner. Not really. But he could've. If he wanted to. Cause he's amazing like that.

Ah...sunsets in Iowa are so....cold.

Checking out Dad's deer stand:

And what the pictures don't show is Dawson's boots slowly filling with snow and eventually becoming so wet and freezing he couldn't walk (or stop crying)...45 minutes from the car. We had to swap his boots and sopping wet socks for my gloves. Ideally you don't take three kids under five on an hour and a half hike in the freezing snow. But it was a good adventure nonetheless. A very arduous adventure. I was seriously so worn out on the way back, carrying Channing in the backpack. Bennett and I were counting steps, just to distract ourselves. And I was telling him about soldiers and prisoners in WWII who had to walk for days in snow like this. Without boots. Or food. Cause, you know, perspective is everything. Jon's like, "you said you wanted exercise, right?". Um, yeah. An army workout wasn't quite what I had in mind. It really was wonderful, though. Time well spent. :)

1 comment:

Iowa SunshineMarch 6, 2013 at 8:28 PM
great captures (and beautiful sunshine with your photos!!). it's nice to see outdoor Iowa photos, even in the winter : ). i always have good expectations of this kind of stuff and they result in the snow-in-the-boot moments ... good you have some effective distraction tools and that you enjoyed the hike!!
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.