Jimmy

So, Warren found a baby squirrel a few weeks ago.



My reaction? I said, "If you leave town, I'm not taking care of that thing."

At first, he kept Jimmy (as named by the kids) in a big bucket and fed him with a dropper. Then he transitioned him into a cat carrier.



During the day, he either hung out in the hood of Warren's hoodie or played on the punching bag that now hangs from the dining room ceiling.




Warren's desk is nearby, so when Jimmy started jumping from Warren to his nest and back again, he decided it might be time to let him outside.



So, he set Jimmy free and gave him the option of coming back to the carrier and coming in for the night.



After a few days, he didn't come back one night. The boys were all worried, but the next morning he showed up.

He needed a little more hoodie time.



And that's the story of how Warren became the crazy old squirrel guy.

Thanksgiving Break

So, we had our first major holiday as a two household family. The monkeys had a cousin sleepover at Gigi's Wednesday night and got an early start on the festivities.

Left to my own devices, it soon became clear that I am an extrovert.

I started Thursday day off with my running buddies.



Then I went to an early morning party with my buddy, Ross (who has escaped my lens), where I made new friends like Sheri. Sheri makes Kool-aid pies for awesome hosts like Michael & Kelly. (I love that they had a party that started at 10am!)




Ross had to leave early to help his dad cook a turkey so I caught a ride with Brantley & Jim. It was a close call as to whether to have them drop me at Warren's house or take me to New Orleans.



Warren and I drove out to my mom's to meet up with the rest of the family. We were late. Tracey was mad. Thankfully she had vodka.



Warren's penance was carving the turkey.



Satchel & Scarlett nabbed the wishbone.



Food was eaten. Naps were taken. Games were played.




Satsuki was also in attendance. We had just gotten her this time last year, so we brought her to Thanksgiving. Now we just bring her every time.



We left around 7:00pm and headed back to Midtown. The boys went with Warren since they planned to go camping on Friday and I went home. Alone. It was a little sad. I was asleep by 9:00pm.

Friday I stayed busy. I had lunch at Dan & Ashley's and then we took their dogs to Shelby Forest.



It was a perfect day for a hike.



We saw lots of cool stuff and stayed far, far away from the shoppers. We joked that we'd rather get shot on accident in the forest than at a Wal-mart.

After the hike, I met up with my friend, Colleen, at the Memphis Made taproom. There were lots of people there and it was fun to check it out. Then Ross picked me up and we had dinner at The Second Line. It just happened to be the one year anniversary, so that was super fun--especially when the owner sent bourbon shots all around.



Saturday, Ashley, Katie, Elizabeth and I drove out to Shelby Farms Park to run the Yellow Trail. I freaking love the Yellow Trail. We had a great run.

Then of course we rewarded ourselves at Tart.



I did some housework and then went to see "The Theory of Everything" where I ran into my buddies, Margot and Gary. Margot and I giggled through the whole movie. It was fun. And the movie is awesome, p.s.

Then I met Seamus at the Growler to talk soccer and wait for my babies to return.



They got back around 7:00pm and we had a quick family dinner so I could hear about the camping trip. They were not very full of details, but judging from the two photos I have seen, looks like they had a fun time.




I'm glad Warren got them out of the house and that they got to get their nature on.

But I was really glad to have them back home and all to myself. Saturday night and all day Sunday we pretty much holed up in the apartment and recharged for the week ahead.

Shelby Farms Park

When the kids were out of school a while back, I decided to take the day off too. It had been awhile since I got to spend the whole day with them, and they were desperately in need of some outdoor activity. I had been wanting to take Satsuki to the Shelby Farms dog park, so I thought adding in a little hike would make for a perfect morning.

Shannon and I ran the Wolf River Trail several times in preparation for Sylamore earlier this year and I thought I was pretty familiar with it. In my mind, the dog area was pretty close to where we started our runs.

There is a lot of construction going at the park, especially near Patriot Lake. It was very disorienting! The monkeys and I had to do a little unexpected loop to find the trail head, and by the time we were there, they were already kind of over the hiking portion of our day. But I kept them going!



I did allow a few breaks.



After a mile or so, we still hadn't found the dog park. We did find a ranger, though. He pretty much said we were nowhere near it. (Note to self, a six mile run with a friend is not at all like hiking with kids.) Since it was super hot, we decided to double back to the car. Then we drove around the perimeter of the park to the off leash area.

It was well worth the wait. Satsuki was stoked.



She didn't swim so much, but she ran around and around and had the best time ever.

The off leash area is super pretty and it was nice to just hang out for a bit.



We definitely have to go back.

Dinkey Lakes Wilderness Area

The highlight of the boys' trip was visiting the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness Area in the Sierras. We went backpacking there as a family three years ago. The monkeys fondly remember it as "mountain hiking."



They are using the same backpacks that we bought for the original trip, only they fit a lot better now! Satchel did report that they seemed just as heavy though!

Dinkey Lakes is beautiful. Warren used to work at the campground as a Forest Ranger and spent most of his time off hanging out in the wilderness area. He has a special spot on one of the peaks where we always stay. (I went once with him before we had kids.)







Lots of exploring, swimming, and fishing to be done.



Look closely and you'll see Warren and Jiro out in the middle.



And there are lots of surprises too...



As I mentioned, Warren loves cooking at camp. He already recreated the Spam nori rolls they tried in Portland.



And they caught fresh trout for dinner another night.



However, it was the promise of In-n-Out Burger that got the monkeys to manage the hike out in record time (Their placentas may or may not be buried by that small shrub.)




Satchel ordered his entire lunch off of the secret menu--mustard grilled burger, cheese fries, and a root beer float!

On the Road (Still!)

So we left off with the boys heading towards Seattle. Their first stop--Bruce Lee's grave!



Warren has a thing about visiting famous graves. Glad he got to see this one!

Next, the boys hit the Pike Street Market, where Satchel insisted on purchasing a dungeness crab.



And of course they visited Bubble Gum Alley. Yes, that is chewed gum stuck to the walls.




I actually think it's awesome. It would never work in Memphis because of the heat! (They went back later with their own chewed bits to add.)

They finished off their big day in the city with some Vietnamese food. That's always Warren's go to comfort food.



They slept in a hotel for only the second time in two weeks then hit the road to Portland. I insisted that Warren take the boys to Voodoo Doughnuts and tell me all about it. As an added bonus, they also had lunch at a food truck pod. I was terribly jealous, but they sent me lots and lots of updates so I felt like I was there with them.

After lunch and doughnuts they drove down the Oregon coast. When they stoped for the night, Satchel tackled his crab.





Obviously that last one is staged, but I think the fact that the sun has set gives you a good idea of how long it took him to eat it! Warren said he helped and there was still a whole leg left. I love that Satchel loves crabs. When I was little, my uncle used to have giant crates of blue crabs shipped in from New Orleans. We'd spend hours around the table eating them. I loved it.

Anyways, that night they camped on the beach at Oregon Dunes Park. See the tent?

Jiro confirmed that Voodoo doughnuts taste almost as good the next day. Based on this photo, I can only assume Satchel was eating pickles for breakfast.



They continued down the coast checking out tide pools and what not. Looks beautiful.



Dad of the year.



I LOVE this picture of Satchel. Look at my baby!!



They made it to California and camped in the Redwoods. Warren didn't send any pictures of the campground or redwoods, but he sent these fun ones from the road.




They made it to Warren's brother's house in Folsom that night, where they had a couple of days of RNR.

Plenty more to come...