A Member of the Wolfpack...

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
-Anais Nin

The best part of the weekend for me was hanging out with the girls. (And, when you ask Rob what his favorite part was, he'll say, "catching up with the guys.")

I've been around this group several times, but for the first time, I really felt like I was one of them. I finally felt comfortable enough to be myself. Which, I realize says a whole lot more about me than about the group itself. Making close friends for me takes time. It takes similar ambitions. It takes shared experiences. It takes a good bit of confidence. It takes putting myself out there. It takes letting my guard down.

This weekend all of that converged. I'm already looking forward to the next time we're all together (we've got the Color Run in Charlotte planned for October) and am hoping we keep in touch in the meantime. Even, if it's just an update on our C25K progress!

As much fun as we had and as much as I adore each and every one of the people we were with this weekend, there's nothing like hanging out with a bunch of different couples to remind me how grateful I am for my relationship with Rob. For our shared expectations. For the family dynamic we've created. For the routine of our little life together.

Camping with the Wolfpack...

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...” 
-John Muir 

We couldn't have asked for a better camping weekend. The weather was perfect... warm during the day, a little cool at night, overcast skies with the sun appearing every now and then, and most importantly, it sprinkled just long enough for us to put up the canopy and then was dry the rest of the weekend.

 

There was gossip around the campfire, paddle boats in the lake, and Catchphrase after quiet time. There was lots of girl talk and plenty of male bonding. There was chips and salsa, wolf sauce for the veggies, peach cobbler, and even butterfly cookie s'mores.

 

 

The highlight of the weekend was the highly organized double-elimination couples ladderball tournament. Rob and I were the first team eliminated, but not for lack of trying. Afterwards, we had the privilege of spectating (and building a trophy for the winners from beer bottles!). Competition was fierce and nerves became tense as the tournament neared the end. More than once the final throw of the round seemed like the last of the game, but miraculously landed on a rung to continue the match a little longer.

currently...

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."
-Anthony J. D'Angelo

Time: 7:30 pm
Location: armchair in the living room
Eating: waiting patiently for sweet potato fries and grilled chicken
Drinking: a glass of water
Listening: Dr. John station on Pandora
Loving: that my husband seems especially tuned in to "us" this week
Enjoying: the wonderful feedback from my new email campaigns (freelance)
Celebrating: I ran for 20 minutes straight this morning (Wk 5, Day 3 of C25K)
Wanting: to dig into the snacks and drinks for our camping trip tomorrow
Needing: a break from freelance work
Preparing: our bags for camping
Thinking: about what extra supplies we need in case of rain
Making: butterfly sugar cookies all afternoon

Week in the Life: Day 7

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” 
-Dr. Seuss 

I made it through the week! Rob and I were exhausted after our overnight trip, simply counting down the hours and minutes until it was dark and we could legitimately go to bed. So, unfortunately, Sunday got the short end of the stick. Very few photos... however, those that I did take bring the week full circle.

Now for the fun part... what to do with the photos (and journaling that I've been dedicated to recording in Evernote)??? I've been super inspired by Nettio Designs' WITL templates, but I'm not sure I want to commit to those. I'm anxious to see how other participants are tackling this challenge... hoping that all of those ideas will inspire me to do something awesome with mine.

I would totally recommend this project to anyone, scrapbookers and non-scrapbookers alike. If you don't think you can manage a whole week, try a weekend or even just one day. I think that it's so cool to see the image and text merge to form the full story. And, I know that years from now, I will be so grateful to have these stories of everyday life.

Here's Sunday in photos...

Week in the Life: Day 6

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.”
-William Feather

As it happens, the last time I did Week in the Life, we went to a bike race... this time when I'm doing Week in the Life, we went to a bike race.

For the past three years, Rob and I have looked forward to the Twilight Criterium in Athens, GA--a professional bike race around downtown Athens. [2011 & 2009] This year we got to bring along some new cycling fans and meet up with some old ones. Always lots of fun!