I spent the weekend prior to the Beloved Collective workshop in the Sequoia National Park.  The workshop was being held in in LA, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to experience a moment with the largest living things on the planet.  It was also the weekend of 9/11.  As I was wholly unprepared to revisit all that happened 10 years ago, a day alone in nature - away from everyone and everything else - seemed like the best way for me to get through the day.

I arrived late on Saturday night and found a nice little campground to spend the night in.  I got up early Sunday morning and headed straight into the heart of the park.  There is so much I  could say about the day... I made some notes about what I had experienced that day, which you'll see as the last of the photos.  I spent a lot of time soaking things in... it was so refreshing to have the time to just sit and absorb the world around me.  I had to leave early the next morning, but I did catch the sunrise over the mountains.  

There are a lot of photos here, so consider yourself warned ;)

I had a lovely trip up to Rochester, NY/the Adirondacks a couple weeks ago.  It is so nice to be in Rochester when it's only 75 degrees up there and 100 degrees here in Florida :)  All of the siblings managed to make the trip, including my very tiny and very cute niece.  I'm still getting used to being called 'Aunt Kristin'!  

We only had one or two days in Rochester and then we went up to work on the cottage my parents are building in the Adirondack Mountains for the rest of the week.  I did take a day to go into town to get some work done and to do a short hike.  I love it up there; I'm so glad that my parents are finally able to build the cottage they've always wanted.  It's going to be GORGEOUS when it's done... not to mention the fact that it will be special because of all of the hours that they, friends and relatives, and all of us have put into it.   Pictures of the cottage were taken by my brother :)

My adorable niece!  Those curls were out of control cute :)

My little hike:

"The Shed" - this doubles as a cabin complete with murphy bed, table and chairs, counter, propane camp stove, and wood burning stove

The main cottage

The loft - panelling almost done!  Every board was individually sanded and varnished (twice - by hand) before being mounted.

We got the bathroom and kitchen plumbing functioning this trip!  The first time we could shower, wash dishes, and flush a toilet since the property was purchased a few years ago made for quite an exciting weekend :)

And this is the view from the back porch.  Not bad, right? :)

In July, we threw a surprise party for my mom's 59.5th birthday.  Her birthday is New Year's Eve so her birthday is usually fit in whenever it can be managed around the holidays, and in New York State, it's also really freakin' cold.  Since she has never had a summer birthday party and a day just for her, we figured that this would be the perfect opportunity!

After the party, the family went up to the cottage in the Adirondacks for several days.  It's still a work in progress, but it's great.  It has been my parents' dream for as long as I can remember to have a cottage, and now they are finally able building one right on the boundary of the park.  It will be just beautiful.  During the days we spent up there, I took one day to go hiking alone in the High Peaks area.  Weather started rolling in before I could get to the peak, but that's alright... more time for photos on the way down!  It was a wet hike, but I still very much appreciated having the chance to be outside and on a mountain trail... I feel like I belong there.