Timberbrook

We headed north over the weekend with my in-laws for a mini getaway to the mountains. My mother-in-law and I drove up Friday morning to get unpacked and settled in, and Brad and his dad drove up that evening after they got off of work.

The cabin, an authentic, recently renovated log cabin, was absolutely beautiful and cozy. It was nestled in the forest with awesome wooded views out of every window. We were absolutely delighted when we turned the key and walked into the front door. I had previously spoken to Dave and Mary Rose, the owners, and I had a good feeling about this place, but it exceeded our expectations. It's always a delight when expectations are exceeded, you know?

We spent the evenings around the fire pit, roasting hot dogs and S'mores. The weather was just chilly enough Friday evening that Brad and I were able to snuggle up in front of the big stone fireplace for a while before retiring to bed. Saturday, we took a 3 1/2 hour hike up and down and through the mountains of Cook Forest. The kids were super troopers. It was a hard hike, and they did it with minimum complaining. It felt awesome to climb in the car and sit down when we got back to the Ranger's Station. And it felt even better to take off my hiking shoes when we got back to the cabin!

We were blessed to be there the same weekend that the French and Indian War Encampment was going occurring. We had gone to it last year, but this year was even more meaningful since we had studied this war during our history studies this past year.

I bought two skeins of homespun yarn from a sweet little elderly lady who also gave me a vast amount of helpful information regarding spinning and processing my alpaca yarn. I actually missed part of the reenactment because the two of us were chatting away while I admired her homespun yarn. I have no idea what I am going to make with the yarn I bought, but it was too beautiful to pass up. Any yarn enthusiast would understand this.

Lily got an impromptu dulcimer lesson from a wonderful elderly gentlemen who has been playing the instrument for over 30 years. We found out that he doesn't live very far from us, which immediately set Lily off on wanting to take dulcimer lessons from him. I actually wouldn't mind her getting lessons. The dulcimer is a beautiful, simple-sounding instrument. We bought one of his CD's and took a business card. We shall see.

We returned home yesterday afternoon. It was a great, relaxing weekend, but it was nice to get home. It's always a wonderful feeling to arrive home after a vacation. Once we checked on all of the animals and made sure all of the flowers were watered, we spent the rest of the evening watching a movie and playing Go Fish. It was a delightful weekend, indeed.