This girl loves the great outdoors

I have been one grouchy, grouchy mama lately.

I’m not proud of it but I’ve got a good excuse.

It’s called

insomnia.

Yes, a week of very little sleep will leave a mama in a not so great mood.

It’s sad, but true.  (I’m only human.)

And how do you cure it?

Well, obviously get some sleep but

then we’re back at that insomnia thing…

vicious cycle, I tell ya.

For me, there is a great pick-me-up.

On the morning after the worst night of sleeplessness in history, I headed out to a place that brings me joy, peace, and energy.

The Woods

We all felt so at home in the woods as we

explored,

worked,

and played.

And even though I was bone tired, I lost my grouchiness (and I’m sure my kiddos were quite relieved) as we walked back and forth along the long road between the deer stands.

We had some great talks on that road about

temperate forests (what we’ve been studying in science and now we were walking in one.  How cool is that!),

animal tracks,

and

(we can not forget our talks about) scat.

That’s poop, by the way.

Evan pointed out every little bit of scat he saw along the trail.

And don’t worry, he’s not touching it above.

He’s hovering right above it and I’m saying,

“Evan, please don’t touch the poop!” 

But I do keep a little antibacterial cleanser around, just in case.

The guys worked hard getting the stands in place for the hunting season

and

building hopes of a season of getting some food for our freezer.  (Me too.)

I chased littles around and helped out when

one fell with his candy on the ground

and made faces while we listened to the radio and tried to escape the heat for a while.

(The girls took these two pictures of each other…)

We left the woods and we were

happy,

hopeful,

peaceful,

and

tired.

Tired, did I mention that?

And I think we all found the cure for insomnia

and

an escape from the cares of the world that sometimes lead to insomnia.

And that’s one (of many) reasons why this girl loves the great outdoors.