Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
We officially moved back into the cabin last night for the summer... it was a beautiful evening and such a peaceful one as we ate on the porch and watched the evening gently close.
Hello Summer 2025…. I can already tell you are going to be the best one yet…it is so good to be back at camp…Sitting on the 1899 porch that has held stories, sacred conversations, people, gatherings, a few “broadway worthy plays and concerts” (hahaha- yes, my friends and cousins even charged our parents money for those hahaha) and even a Model T at one point *smiles* over the past 5 generations reminds me gently that even in every generation there is so much beauty and hope to be found in everyday.
Come for an early morning row on the lake with me...
One of my favorite things to do for a simple and slow morning is to wake up early and row on the lake... join me for this sweet morning simple and slow living adventure HERE. Take a moment to share with me your favorite simple and slow morning routines in the comments on IG- I would love to hear!
Happy Wednesday friends- I hope you have an incredible day!
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Some of my earliest childhood memories involve my love of water and swimming, boating, and fun adventures in the lake. A fun childhood memory was having a "competition" of who could get into the water first. Admittedly, it was never me. *smiles*
I remember though one summer where the weather was exceptionally warm and getting in the lake before June 20th. I thought that was amazing.
Last night after work I was in for another surprise and simple delight. I had gone down the shore to start work on opening up the shore, carrying beach items down, and preparing for opening up the dock, etc. I also wanted to work on our pathway and needed to start throwing some rocks. As I bent over in the water to throw rocks, I was amazed at how warm it was. I was so hot that I decided to go in for a spontaneous swim.
Y'all. It was so much fun. Earliest swim in my life now on record (June 4th).
Hello summer. You are going to be beautiful!
Water Activities
It probably goes without saying that the water activities to do on the lake are endless. From boating to tubing to sailing to kayaking to skiing, the lake is a water lovers dream. I shared a couple of years ago about a typical day on the lake for us - especially as I was growing up. We spent hours upon hours from dawn till dusk skiing, tubing, and boating. If you love playing on the water than you will find tons of different activities to do.
Visit the Beach
Walk Around One of the Adorable Towns on the Shores of Lake Champlain
There are so many different things to do on Lake Champlain during the summer! What are your favorites?
Visit the Beach
There are so many beautiful spots along Lake Champlain and with over 50 public beaches there are gorgeous areas for families and friends to gather for a day at the Beach or even have a picnic. Some of you may remember my post on the New York Marshland and Valcour Island from years ago. That New York Marshland is a perfect example of how gorgeous these beaches are!
Walk Around One of the Adorable Towns on the Shores of Lake Champlain
I love all of the cute towns along Lake Champlain, including one of my favorites, Essex, and all of its adorable charms. A couple of years ago I shared some of my favorite towns to visit along the New York side of Lake Champlain, including Fort Ticonderoga, Westport, Essex, Crown Point, and Valcour. These, and many other towns along the lake offer adorable New England charm, quaint and yummy dining options with beautiful lake side views, a rich and cultural experience, and unique shopping.
Biking
All along Lake Champlain there are tons of different bike paths that you can choose from that will take you around the Lake, or by the Lake (like the beautiful views that the Burlington Vermont Bike Path offers), and some that even "cross the lake" using one of the ferries or bridges.
National Museums and Landmarks
Throughout the Lake Champlain area there are tons of National Landmarks due to the incredible American History that was fought in this area and also lots of National Museums for those who are interested in seeing those during their visits.
Diving
Many people think of diving as something solely found in the more tropical parts of the world but may be surprised to find out that Lake Champlain offers fantastic opportunities for those who love diving. There are nine known shipwrecks and most of them have been very well preserved due to the cold-water environment. What divers will also be pleased to discover is that beyond some of the boats that are from the 1800s, there is actual parts of the Horse Ferry (which was featured in National Geographic) which is the only known wreck of a horse-powered ferry in the United States!
Finally, beyond the shipwrecks that are found in Lake Champlain divers will be able to experience vertical cliffs that are extremely dramatic and often only found in the Bahamas. Interested in finding out more? Click HERE to go to the Waterfront Diving Center website in Burlington, Vermont!
Fishing
Fishing competitions, including the Bass Competition are huge parts of the community here on Lake Champlain. But whether you just enjoy casting your net out in a leisurely manner (with someone else who will do the worms for you *smiles*) or you are one who likes to fish for competition, Lake Champlain offers several different options to explore.
Sailing
I admit that sailing when I was a kid was not one of my favorite activities. Those of you who grew up with me and are reading this are laughing because it was actually quite comical how many different circumstances happened when we would sail. I won't bore you here, but suffice it to say that it didn't become one of my favorite activities until I grew older. My mama loves to sail and has often joked that she is praying that I will marry a man who loves to sail too. She loves to be up at the crack of dawn, sailing in her baby sunfish, and would spend hours upon hours in our sailboat if she had the opportunity. As the years have passed I, as I have mentioned, have honestly grown to love it. While financially we have not had our "bigger" sailboat in in years it is still one of my favorite activities to recommend to people.
If you don't own a sailboat or don't know how to sail you can easily learn how to at the Lake at the Community Sailing Center in Burlington. You can find out more on their website by clicking HERE.
Burlington, Vermont Jazz Festival
Every year Burlington hosts a Jazz festival that is so much fun. If you enjoy live music (especially jazz music) then you are in for a treat and I definitely recommend planning your trip around this event! You can find out all of the details for the upcoming year on their website by clicking HERE.
Hiking
Both the Adirondack Mountains and the Green Mountains surround the beautiful Lake Champlain. If you love hiking then this area of the United States is a hikers dream. If you are interested in hiking the Adirondacks and want to hike all of the "46 peaks" for the "46ers club" you can find out more about this HERE. If you are interested in finding out more about hiking in the Green Mountains you can join the "Green Mountain Club" and find out more about it HERE.
Looking for waterfalls in the Adirondack/ Lake Champlain Area? Consider joining in on the #adk50falls challenge (you can read about the falls I have visited HERE!)
Looking for waterfalls in the Adirondack/ Lake Champlain Area? Consider joining in on the #adk50falls challenge (you can read about the falls I have visited HERE!)
Island Hop
There are many islands scattered through Lake Champlain. While some are privately owned or protected by the state there are several islands that you can go to by boat for a picnic or to camp out on. Don't have a boat? Consider visiting Burton Island which is a Vermont State Park that can be accessed (for free) by ferry!
There are many islands scattered through Lake Champlain. While some are privately owned or protected by the state there are several islands that you can go to by boat for a picnic or to camp out on. Don't have a boat? Consider visiting Burton Island which is a Vermont State Park that can be accessed (for free) by ferry!
There are so many different things to do on Lake Champlain during the summer! What are your favorites?
Happy Monday friends! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! It is good to be back with you! These past ten days have been filled with so many lovely moments as we have been moving down to the cabins for the summer and slowly moving in and getting settled.
Since getting back from my trip to Georgia and California we have been spending the weekends cleaning and getting prepared to move in. It is a lot of work, especially for the two of us as women, but we are grateful for this place more than words can express. Our motto is that it might take longer but we just spend our time and it will get done. There is lots of vacuuming, cleaning, and preparing, but as the window above shows, it is absolutely worth the views.
We live in a cabin that is not insulated, so there is a lot of cleaning to do each summer as you set up, but grateful for the warm and cozy corners that welcome us as we set the camp up.
On Friday after work two weeks ago we brought down a load of items from the house (about an hour away) and then the next day, on Saturday the 27th we spent the day packing up last minute things and making a last minute grocery stop before heading down. We try (especially with gas prices) to not go back and forth a lot during the summer so we try to move as "permanently in" as possible. We obviously go back and forth and are so grateful for people who stay at our house and watch it for us, but again we try to move in and enjoy the summer without a lot of trips.
Over the course of last weekend and week we spent the time enjoying moments of quiet, deep reflection and tender moments as we hit the milestone of my precious dad's fourth entry into Heaven, and treasured the quiet and beauty.
This past weekend we spent the weekend continuing to open up, starting the process of opening up the yellow camp (really after four years if we are honest), and many other things.
I have been doing so much weed-wacking, trimming, feeding our new trees, and items around the cabin outside. The weather, which was extremely hot (in the 90s) dropped to the low 60s, so while it has been chilly, it has made working outside really nice!
One of the major projects of the summer (we have many) is to self repair the driveway. On the left of this picture is an area that I did five years ago that has held up really well, so we started the project of doing the entire thing ourselves this past week. It will be slow going (as we are financially spreading this project out throughout the summer) but I am excited to share the process with y'all and hope it might help others.
Another project that we are working on this summer is painting the cabin. It will be a LONG process also as the two of us tackle this and we have decided to do one wall side at a time. Our hope and goal is to get half the cabin painted this summer and finish this project next summer but we will see.
We were SO grateful yesterday that "M" was in town and came down to help us as he did with several things last year. Honestly, we couldn't do it without him. Working with him (mainly him honestly) we had entire wall of the cabin done in under 2 hours. SO grateful for him!!
We have also been experiencing a lot of movement and walking as mom continues to heal more and more and it has been the most lovely thing of all. We have enjoyed nightly walks and the skies have been gorgeous. We are praying for some HUGE and impossible feeling prayer requests this summer and are grateful to be in this space as we trust the Lord for some miracles.
Thank you for all of your love and support and your prayers as we settle into the cabin for a beautiful summer. Thank you friends! I am so grateful for this community! I hope that you have a wonderful start to your week!
Happy Wednesday friends! First, THANK YOU so much for all of the love, support, messages, comments, and kindness on my instagram reel today! You have NO idea how much that meant to me! Thank you so much... I am so grateful for your support! If you missed it, you can watch it by clicking HERE!
The reel is a compilation of pictures from the summer. I loved the creative aspect of showing these months with highlight pics in this way and with this music and particular song (from THIS album). Thank you for those who have checked in faithfully and supported me. Thank you for loving us through one of the most difficult summers...and one of the most miraculous.
If your summer was like ours... I pray that you have clung to the good and miraculous in the midst of the hard. My heart and prayers are with you right now.
ALSO... Thanks so much for liking, saving, commenting, and sharing my IG things! You may wonder why this is important, but it really is a blessing! Thank you so much again!
Happy Monday friends! I hope you are having a wonderful start to this new week! This past weekend turned into one of the most beautiful summer weekends of the summer!
On Saturday I had the most wonderful special brunch, then caught up with some dear friends who are such an encouragement, and did a short hike. There is something about spending time about these tall trees that just makes you feel small and inspired at the same time.
Saturday, while hiking, I finalized the last few details of our Alaska trip plans. There had been some debate (okay a LOT) internally about some places that I wanted to see desperately, but as wisdom was given it became quickly obvious that it would be impossible to hit everything. The hard part was that everything looks amazing so it is hard to give anything up. I am though excited about the final decisions and am so excited about the trip that is coming up! And I have already started an itinerary of dream places to visit for a future trip back. hahaha!
Some of my favorite times of the summer are spent on this porch... talking with loved ones, catching up with friends, and enjoying the beauty. The evening white lights make it even more cozy in the woods. *smiles*
Yesterday (Sunday) was a fun filled day on the water! It was a perfect water and boat day and was so much fun! I took the boat over to meet up with friends and we had a great time spending the day on the lake!
These ladies are seriously so amazing. While I would never choose to have gotten sick or have Lyme Disease or have had to walk the painful road to get to this point... there are these amazingly unexpected blessings of illness that show up if you look for them and these three ladies are definitely some of them. I don't know if we would have connected if not for Lyme. I love how our conversations travel from dealing with this journey to life, dreams, and the future. We had such a great time laughing and spending the day on the water.
I can't believe that we are already into the second week of July of this summer. This summer seems to be flying so quickly. I want to grab onto the moments and just hold time still in some ways, and yet it continues to march forward and with that I know will come new adventures and joys.
Happy Monday friends! I hope that you have a wonderful beginning to your new week!
for details on shopping the post:
Moon Guide Book (Anchorage & Denali)// Moon Guide Book Alaska // Fodors Travel Alaska // Rand McNally Alaska Road Map // White Porch Lights // Tory Burch Sandals (Poppy Orange) // Earrings (originally from Target in 2014, very similar HERE!) // Black & White Polka Dot Headband, very similar HERE // similar porch chairs HERE
As we marveled at the beauty before us and the stunning color depth and change that we saw in a matter of minutes, I was overwhelmed at the sight before us.
It was a precious and gentle reminder that beauty can be found everywhere, every single day. Beauty, truly, surrounds us.
As we approach this week, I hope that your week brings beauty in unexpected places and touches your heart where you need it most.
Most of all, I hope that you find beauty to inspire you. Happy Tuesday friends!
A couple of years ago I mentioned that I thought it would be fun to a have a party in the woods, inviting our friends and family and neighbors for an evening of fun and community.
We talked about it and logistically tried to plan it and last year we held the first one, celebrating the engagement of my sister Emily and (her now husband), Kenneth. It was a ton of fun and so this year I said that I really wanted to do it again and we decided it would be fun to celebrate my parents 48th wedding anniversary.
It was honestly a great excuse to have everyone together, and this little heart of mine that loves having people around and deep community, is already looking forward to the 3rd Annual Party in the Woods next year.
Once again we were blessed with perfect weather which was an absolute gift. Just like last year the weather forecast was for rain and storms and it went right past us. It was such a blessing!
For the "decorations" (besides my lights in the trees that y'all know I am obsessed with) Ba and I had so much fun picking out some treasured pictures. We strung them up between the trees and there were a few that brought such laughter!
It was a lovely evening with lots of laughter and lots of love and joy. We missed those of you that couldn't make it and we can't wait to see you next year for the 3rd Annual Party in the Woods. It will be exciting to see what we will be celebrating in a year! Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun! I realized in looking at these pictures that I only captured about 1/2 of the people who were here! That is what happens when you are having a ton of fun- you are definitely in the moment, forgetting to take pictures!
The party in the woods expanded this year and it was so fun to have so many kiddos running around, playing games and having a blast in the woods.
A huge congratulations again to my cousin Shawna and her fiance' Kevin on their engagement! We were so delighted to celebrate with y'all!
I shared on instagram a quote that I read last year... it said, "The summer night is like a perfection of thought." That was definitely true of this evening. Thank you again for a wonderful evening y'all. It was so incredibly special!
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