A river runs through it

A week or so back, we were randomly (not just another popular, overuse of this word - truly) invited to our friends' neighbors' cabin. Did we know these people? Yes. They go to our (five location) church. Have we ever hung out with them? Yes. They were at our friend's August birthday party and Kurt and the Mr. went to the summer Dad's Bible Study. Did they know our last name before they invited us to their West Virginia cabin via shouting out their car window as they were exiting and we were entering our local Trader Joe's? No.

And so began our West Virginia adventure.

Ask the girls - that's what they call it.

After confirming with our friend (aka their neighbor) that this was a for real invitation and that they love nothing more than to invite and have people at their cabin, the girls and I threw our sleeping bags and swimsuits into the van and were headed for West Virginia less than three hours after our grocery store parking lot invitation.

The cabin in the mountains. What mountains? I'd have to have something more than my HS Geography to answer that question.

We were there for three days. And for three days, we did not:

a) cook any meals. Noemi loves to cook and had a cooler large enough to be my resting place filled with food that, guess what, she had purchased at Trader Joe's.

b) play with a single toy. There were none. Not a single one. In the whole place. Significant for both me (no Internet? Whoa, slow down.) and the girls.

d) shower. There's a river. What?

c) spend any time indoors where we weren't preparing for a meal or sleeping. Wait, I'm not counting the carpentry the girls got to do. That was indoors. But really? Are we going to count that as "inside time"??

e) ever. feel. bored.

My favorite example of the "cabin life" was our first morning, getting up with the girls and Noemi, walking down to the neighbor's garden and Noemi saying, "Well, we're going to have eight people for lunch, so we need to pick enough green beans for eight people." When was the last time you picked up your produce from the ground for the meal you'd next be eating? Exactly. And this was followed by strolling over to the raspberry patch this same neighbor planted and picking berries that we ate for breakfast when we got home. I'm not sure, but this was close to the most productive I've ever felt at 9 o'clock in the morning.

Noemi (yep, that's Spanish for Naomi - how 'bout that?) was amazing at engaging the girls in the cabin lifestyle. One of my favorites was Noemi and Naomi washing dishes after dinner on our first night there. The "big kids" were all out riding bikes, and Naomi was happily rinsing dishes. When we weren't down playing in the river, we were simply doing what needed to be done. And it felt good.

The chil'ens - Jonathan (working hard at a "hot tub" dam they successfully built)

Sophia
and Katherine, aka Katarina

(Note the beautiful bouquet on the table, composed of the flowers the girls collected on their flower walk the night before.)

Love this look on her face! (She's making a Barbie teeter totter.)

Kurt's dream house. All the children are working on bicycles. Competently.

The view of the river from the path above.

Teaching the chil'ens about the virtues of laying out for a splash ball in three feet of water. They now know the definition and appropriate use of the phrase "Nice bid."

Crayfish, aka mini lobsters. Seriously, they look exactly the same.

Not too different from another of our summer adventures, eh?

Naomi was completely in her element playing. with. rocks.

But City Girl managed to find a Blackberry shaped river rock. Not kidding. It may deserve its own post.
This photo isn't that high quality of a shot, but I love the hugeness of the hammock and how I caught her alone outdoor element.

Perfect end to a perfect day.