The Hiking Adventures of Gadget & Goose

On the Friday before Labor Day, we packed up the Tundra & headed to Black Rock Mountain State Park for our last "long" camping trip before little Tallulah makes her entrance into the world. Maternity leave will take a big chunk out of my paid time off, so I have to use my leave days wisely. On this day, I learned that not only am I sharing a belly with our new tiny resident, but I am also apparently sharing a brain with her. We arrived early to the park so that we could get first pick of our campsite, since you can't book particular campsites in advance -- it's first come, first serve. We checked into the Visitor's Center to get our parking pass & were informed by the ranger that we had the handicapped campsite booked.... which is the least private site in the whole campground. It sits right beside the bath house & at the bottom of the hill, which all campers must walk past to maneuver between the restroom, their car, & their campsite. I was a

A Hello The past five months have been an absolute whirlwind. Gadget & I have had so many life changes, and while we haven't been hiking or camping a whole lot, I want to finally write about how our lives have been flipped upside down in some crazy ways & begin to document this journey more frequently.... mostly, so that I myself do not forget these days, when life inevitably speeds up even more over the coming months and years. I know there will be tears as I write this recounting of events; some happy tears & some sad. Since May we have experienced massive gains & losses, and now our hearts have healed enough to reflect on what all has happened, and to realize the net gain we have been awarded. Gadget & I decided earlier this year that our roots had peacefully settled in our careers, our home, and our marriage, and it was time to build our relationship in a new way: we wanted a child. After a few months, I became prematurely impatient with the process, a

It was a pleasant warm Wednesday in the middle of May.  When the clock struck noon, I changed my email Away Message at work and giddily said my goodbyes to work friends, as they ushered me out the door with cheers & some much needed "Good luck!".  As I sat in the salon that afternoon getting my hair dyed, I fidgeted helplessly, as finally I received what I'd been begging for since November -- for May 20th to be within reach. Now it was closer than I could bring my mind to realize, and there was so much left to do. Waiting for my hair dye to process in the salon, I scrolled through the checklist I'd been building since November to figure out what empty boxes needed check marks. Pick up the cake and cupcakes and wine, finish the wedding programs, assemble the lavender packets for guests to toss, pay the officiant, wrap up our vows, cook beans & coleslaw.... with so much to do, when would we have time to actually enjoy the wedding?  When the sun rose t