Running Stitch

Sunday, despite the frozen valley and crunchy snow under foot, we set out on a journey. A somewhat belated journey because, cold, and frozen and did I mention cold? Right, well cold. Anyway, an hour or two late, we headed out, over the river and through the woods to Ecola State park in Oregon.

(Oregon side of Columbia River en route to Ecola)

Onward through the snow to Ecola State Park to meet some bloggy friends for the first time. I’ve followed Dallas’s blog for most all of my bloggy years (almost five!) When we first ‘met’ she was a student at Indiana State, then she moved to Roswell Georgia, a place that saw me through the formative years, and why I still use the word Ya’ll in conversation. She is a quilter, a photographer and lover of vw busses.

Potty break along the way

Dallas and her husband Thomas, moved to Belgium last year and I have enjoyed viewing the world through her very talented photo lens over the past year. Which is way easier then traveling with a 3 year old whirlwind and a five year old extrovert “hello, how are you, will you be my friend?”

While every blogger meet up I’ve had has been incredible! and has always strengthened my attachment to that blogger, every single one of those meet ups has a precursory freak out on my part, about stepping outside of my computer screen, meeting new people and actually trying to link words together in a sentence (this rarely works out for me and in many, many unfortunate situations I have just reverted to bad jokes-even though there is this voice in my head which is screaming FOR THE LOVE OF PETE STOP TALKING!! I’m rarely able to hear it through the stress).

still life with potty breakers

To counteract this awkwardness I generally bring my children with me and periodically throw them shamelessly in front of myself as an awkwardness barrier. When I want to make a particularly good (and sane) impression I take The Man.

Which is what I did on Sunday. We met up with the lovely Dallas and her delightful Thomas and it was, of course, fun. Thomas and Dallas were genuinely charming and good natured, leading me to wonder as I often do, why none of my blog friends live closer.

Though I find my children adorable and hilarious, I also find that I’m nervous in public that people will think they are ‘too loud’, ‘too rambunctious’, ‘too covered in …wait, what is that?’ Dallas took the new “in person with sound’ Stitch boys in stride and her husband was even gracious enough to carry a very tired Wah up and down the trails of Ecola.

The boys, had a FABULOUS time, Dallas taught them about geocaches that she ultimately summed up as ‘treasure hunts’ and we even found a book in a log, which I forget the name of now, but Moo was able to write his name in it for posterity.

can posterity take it?

I don’t have any pictures of this journey, I left the picture taking to Dallas and Thomas, whose mad photographing skillz are far superior to mine. Also they seem to know how their cameras work *cough*.

I do have this picture taken before we had even left the park on Sunday.

this photo taken with The Man’s IPHONE (you have to say that don’t you?)

Thanks, Dallas and Thomas for dragging us out of our Burrow on that cold Sunday and taking us on your journey for awhile. Next time you visit, my Moo will be ready, gps in hand.

The final highpoint for me? was moving For the Journey from my “daily” category on bloglines into my ‘posse’ category.

*I think your Crazy-Gnarls Barkley