Thirty-Seven

Daniel and I both turned 37 this year. Thirty-seven feels a little anticlimactic. Just a little closer to 40, which is hard to fathom... my brain still feels college-aged but almost two decades of experience as an adult reminds me that I am well past those college years.

We didn't do a whole lot for Daniel's birthday – it was on a Wednesday and he was in the middle of long days and deadlines at work. But one of the perks of homeschool is being able to take the kids to pick up donuts and drop by Daniel's work to surprise him in the middle of the day.

For my birthday, Daniel and I were in need of a night out, so I texted our babysitter and cheekily said that we were due for our "quarterly date." Thankfully she was available on my birthday. Shortly after we made plans to have a sitter come, a college friend invited us to a chili supper at her house. So we decided to drop by as part of our evening away from the kids.

Our date started with being a little too early for the friend party, so we drove up Raccoon Mountain and took in the views of the Tennessee Valley from that side of Chattanooga. The leaves were slightly past their peak, but it was still beautiful.

We arrived at our friend's house in time for chili and visiting. Our friend found a cupcake and "?" candle and had everyone sing to me, which was nice. I honestly can't remember the last time I was sung to by a group for my birthday (my parents and siblings typically call and sing to me on the phone). After my cupcake, we enjoyed a little time around the campfire before continuing our date.

For our third stop, I asked if we could drive up Lookout Mountain to Sunset Rock for a different view of the city. It was a pretty drive up mountain #2, but the Sunset Rock parking lot closed at sunset and we didn't want to get a ticket, so we settled for driving down Ochs Hwy for a beautiful view of downtown Chattanooga. It was dark and the lights of the city were twinkling and the moon was full and stunning over the city.

We drove downtown to get hot chocolate and dessert #2 at The Hot Chocolatier. Thankfully it wasn't too busy and we were able to sip our decadent drinks in one of the booths in the back. When we left the Hot Chocolatier, I requested we make one final stop before heading home to our boys.

So we drove up Signal Mountain (duh), but stopped at one of the parking areas on the Brow to look at downtown Chattanooga and the Valley from yet a third perspective. Three mountains, three views of Chattanooga for my birthday. We live in a special place and feel incredibly blessed to call this area home.

Birthday Date: ATVs to Edwards Point

When Daniel and I were first dating, Daniel purchased his first motorcycle – a Ninja 250. It was a bike that was small enough that I could handle (I actually got my motorcycle license shortly after we were married), but big enough that we could ride on it together.

When I was pregnant with Jack, Daniel decided to sell his motorcycle. He didn't really have time to ride and I think the knowledge that we would soon be parents shifted his priorities. He likes to tell me that we made a deal before he sold the old one that if he ever wanted to, he could buy a new bike.

Fast forward five-ish years and he had an itch. Earlier this summer I took a road trip to visit my sister in Florida and Daniel took the opportunity to rent his dream bike from an outfitter in the Smoky Mountains – a dual sport motorcycle that he could use to explore the jeep trails and singletrack on and around our mountain. I thought he was having a mid-life crisis and just needed a ride to get it out of his system.

I came home from Florida and he was ready to buy a bike and he even knew which one...

He found it on Craigslist from someone in Knoxville and suddenly we were motorcycle owners again. Our little boys are both gaga over their daddy's new bike.

Daniel has been wanting to take me with him but free time is hard to come by, and dates are even harder to make happen. This weekend I celebrated my 36th birthday and Daniel's mom and sister came to town to watch Jack play soccer. They were sweet to offer to hang out with our boys (win win for everyone) so that Daniel and I could go out.

We felt like we were in college again, getting on Daniel's bike to ride to grab lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants. After eating, we picked up our four-wheeler and headed out to the trails that lead to Edward's Point.

We had tried to mountain bike to this view about a year ago, but missed a turn and didn't make it before the sun set. Daniel has since been back on his own (on his new dual sport), but I hadn't had a chance to go. So we hit the trails. And it was a ton of fun!

We spent two hours exploring, stopping at Edward's Point for a break and to enjoy the beautiful view. We love our little mountain and the access we have to such great vistas of the Tennessee Valley and the Tennessee River below. 

It has been years since I have driven an ATV and it felt good to discover that I still know how to handle myself on a trail. Maybe one of these days I'll give Daniel's bike a try!

Thank goodness for birthdays, lunch dates, and opportunities to spend time together doing activities we love! In other news, Daniel may or may not have laid his bike down after skidding on a thin layer of dust and leaves that covered slick clay...

On my actual birthday night (Friday), we went out with our boys to our favorite local Mexican place. Jack wanted to know if I was going to get whipped cream smeared on my face. I told him, "only if he told our waitress that it was my birthday." So he did. It's been a good weekend, a great way to welcome my 36th year on this planet.

Daniel is 35

Another year is in the books for Daniel. It is hard to believe that he is already 35 (and that I will be in a few months). 

The last couple of years have been a bit of a blur. Between Daniel's crazy work hours and raising little ones, the days are both long and short. We blink and another day, month, year has passed us by.

We have been desperately trying to find ways to embrace this stage and to take advantage of the short time we have with each other and our boys. Thankfully Daniel was able to have his actual birthday off (after the last year, I will never take Saturdays for granted again!) and we were able to spend some quality time with family.

We started our morning by sleeping in. Winning! Then went to Lookout Mountain for a 3-mile hike at Lula Lake.

After our hike we stopped at the newest location of Mojo Burrito (one of our favorite burrito joints) in St. Elmo at the base of Lookout. The food was fantastic (as usual) and we loved the outdoor dining space.
 

Daniel's mom and sisters met us at Mojo and then we all went back to our house to celebrate Daniel's birthday with delicious cupcakes they had brought with them from The Painted Cupcake in Nashville (this is becoming a tradition). 

After cupcakes and visiting, Daniel and I cleaned up and left our boys in the capable hands of their nana and aunts and made our way downtown to the Bluffs View Art District for coffee at Rembrandt's Coffee House (a favorite, and also becoming a tradition).

We savored our coffee and the much needed date (though we did end up talking about the boys a bit). The best part of Daniel's day (for him) was that when he was parallel parking our car, some young whipper snappers walked by and said, "That guy must have a back-up camera." Indicating that Daniel did such a good job parking there was no way he could have done it in one shot without a camera. Kudos to my husband and his proficiency at parallel parking!

The boys had a wonderful time with our family and it was nice to have an evening off from bedtime duties.

Sunday after church, we met Daniel's dad and his wife at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Abuelo's, in Hamilton Place. We discovered this restaurant while I was pregnant with Isaac and we love their chips and salsa.
 

We are so thankful Daniel was able to be home with us for his birthday and that we were able to see his family and pack a lot into our weekend.

Happy Birthday, Daniel. We love you to the moon and back and I look forward to many, many, many more years together!

Lula Lake Land Trust

For the first time in a very long time, we had a normal (to us) weekend. Daniel found out on Friday that he would actually have Saturday (his birthday) off. So we quickly made plans to take advantage of the fact that the Lula Lake Land Trust would be open.

Lula Lake is a conservation property that is open to the public two Saturdays a month. With six miles of trails for hiking and biking, and a waterfall, it is a perfect place for a family day trip. It also has trails that connect to Cloudland Canyon.

Jack can currently hike about 1 mile at a time. Our goal is to build up his stamina as we add more hikes to our hectic schedule. On Saturday, we chose to do a 3-mile loop. We started on the Middle Trail, making our way to the falls. Then after a snack break we walked back to the car via the North Creek Trail, ending with the Ford Trail. 

To keep Jack moving, we allowed him to pick up rocks (which he stored in his pockets), and we found him a sturdy walking stick. The stick kept him focused on the trail and helped him with balance (until he was too tired to walk on his own).

About a mile into our walk, Jack was tired so Daniel carried him the rest of the way. At almost 40 pounds, Jack made the hike more of a workout for Daniel (I was carrying 20-pound Isaac, so we both got a good workout). 

The falls were pretty. There are signs everywhere saying not to swim. While we were there, several people did take a dip in the water. Jack didn't understand why he couldn't get in while others were clearly getting wet. 

If we go back, I would consider skipping the Middle Trail and taking advantage of the Creek and Ford trails and letting Jack wade in the creek. 

There were quite a few people there, but the trails were not crowded. It was so nice to finally be back in the wilderness and spend some quality time together as a family.