Tag: family

what do totem poles and cat statues and dragons have to do with the amish?

Posted in Home, PennsylvaniaTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

“I am not a tourist”.  This is my main statement in the About section of this blog.  I prefer to dig deep and really get to know a location.  Look beyond the chain restaurants and gift shops that pop up in well traveled places.  Travel to any natural wonder in America and next to it you’ll find mini golf and go carts and ice cream stands.  It’s as if the beauty of the Grand Canyon is not enough.  We need man-made forced fun to truly be entertained.
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Yet no place is more bizarre to me in its relationship with tourism than Lancaster, PA…Amish Country. 
Continue reading “what do totem poles and cat statues and dragons have to do with the amish?” →

the indian cave

Posted in About, New JerseyTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

In the early 1900’s archaeologists surveyed a small cave known as the Fairy Hole.  In it they found pottery pieces, flint, and arrow heads; evidence that the cave was once used by the Lenape Indians.  The Lenape were the native people who lived in Northwest New Jersey.  The cave is thought to have been used as a resting spot for the Lenape as they traveled or hunted.  It is also in close proximity to several burial sites, so it could also have been a religiously important site. Continue reading “the indian cave” →

back to reality or (I hope) how to avoid it

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Well, it’s Monday and it’s truly back to reality.  The holidays and vacation are over.  This year they seemed to stretch out forever thanks to a longer than usual break from school, vacation days, and a snowstorm. Winter Storm Hercules.  That was the name given to Friday’s storm.  It left our world covered in a blanket of white and, by Saturday, the sun was glistening off the snow like a thousand diamonds.    The sky was a crystal clear blue; the kind of clear that you can only get on cold winter days and the picture it created was a whitewashed world where anything is possible.  I was ready to move into 2014 holding onto that viewpoint.  Yes 2014 will contain many highs and lows, things that I cannot even imagine right now, but the blank clean slate before me held the magic of possibility.

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But today rain has washed away the snow and the promise of the coldest temperatures in decades has everyone talking.  Continue reading “back to reality or (I hope) how to avoid it” →

adventure on snake hill

Posted in Home, New JerseyTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The space between Christmas and New Years was gloriously empty! Nothing on the calendar, just empty days waiting to be filled.  So I decided it was time to take the kids on a little adventure.   But, our outing ended up with a little more adventure than I attended it to!

Secaucus, New Jersey.  Located in Hudson County just miles from New York City, it’s not exactly the wilderness.  Yet it is located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, a large area of wetlands.  Our destination was not the marshes that surrounded the town nor one of the factories that we passed.  Our destination was Snake Hill (aka Laurel Hill or Graffiti Hill or Fraternity Rock), a massive hill of diabase rock jutting 150 feet into the sky from the banks of the Hackensack River.  It’s a familiar sight to anyone who travels the NJ turnpike as it protrudes out over the eastern spur of the turnpike.

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Continue reading “adventure on snake hill” →

the dreaded kid’s birthday party…or why my parties will ever make a pinterest board

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My first mistake was opening Pinterest.  During my morning workout I suddenly remembered that I had not planned any games for my daughters 5th birthday.  A birthday party that was going to happen that afternoon!  So I cut my workout short (yea, an excuse) and went to Google “mermaid games”.  What appeared on the screen in front of me made me realize that 1) a mermaid party theme must be a common request for a  5 year old girl and 2) I was failing at the birthday party component of parenting. Continue reading “the dreaded kid’s birthday party…or why my parties will ever make a pinterest board” →

back in time

Posted in About, TennesseeTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

We were completely alone.  I don’t even know how that was possible given how crowded the park was, but here we were alone.  All was quiet except for the birds, wind in the pines, and of course, the river.  The river,never quiet, just tirelessly moving forward.

Craving a day without crowds we had hiked back to a schoolhouse in the middle of the woods.  The drive was a bit out of the way and then the hike required a climb up a steep road still closed off for the season, but it was worth it when we realized nothing was around.

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Continue reading “back in time” →

my big naming fail

Posted in About, TennesseeTagged , , , , , 6 Comments

My name is Heather.  My mom swears she had never heard the name before and named me after a song from Brigadoon, but everyone from my generation is named Heather.  Either that or Jennifer, Michelle, or Melissa.  My roommate in college one year was named Heather as well.  People would call our room and ask for Heather!  It drove us crazy so we would just start talking to whoever it was until they realized it was the wrong Heather (kind of awkward with the boyfriends!). Then, when I started working, my counterpart’s name was Heather.  It got very confusing for the doctors that we called on!

So, when I started having kids, I wanted to name them names that not everyone had.  I completely struck out with my first child.  Continue reading “my big naming fail” →

ski. new jersey?

Posted in Home, New JerseyTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Going skiing seemed like a great idea at the time.  There were two snowfalls within a week and all of the local resorts were finally open.  It sounded great on December 30th anyway when we made plans with friends to go skiing on New Year’s Day.  It was another story on January 1st.

After not getting to bed until 2am on New Year’s Eve, morning came all too quickly.  We groaned as the winter sun began to filter into our bedroom and wondered if skiing really was such a good idea.  But, we were meeting friends, so we were committed.

We headed 15 minutes down the road to Mountain Creek in Vernon, NJ.  Yes, I said  New Jersey.  Please don’t laugh.  There really are mountains in New Jersey…kind of.

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top post of the year

Posted in Canada, HomeTagged , , , , , 6 Comments

Thank you so much for reading my blog this year.

Today is actually the one year anniversary of the start of this blog!  A year ago today I was struggling to get the site set up (so glad that part is over!).  I have had so much fun writing 7feetnorth this year and hope you have enjoyed it too!  I’m looking forward to more writing in 2013.

Look for more adventure and exploration in 2013 and how to incorporate it all with a family.  You can do all the things you love with kids, it just requires some creativity and, often, a sense of humor to survive it!

So, I wanted to share the post that was the most popular this year.   It happens to be a post about one of our favorite vacations:  Grand Manan Island.

I highly recommend taking a vacation here.  It is beautiful and still relatively uncrowded.  You won’t be disappointed.

Here is the post:  grand manan island.

this cookie party brought to you by Pinterest

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Pinterest.  Every once in a while I enjoy going on the site and checking out all the new pins.  So many amazing craft and recipe ideas.  The problem is, I’m not crafty nor do I enjoy to cook …at all!  So I look, admiring all the beautiful creations, knowing it will never be me.  I pin sometimes too, thinking just maybe I can actually create it.  I get sucked in by the pictures, everything looks so beautiful and, well, easy.

Then I actually make the item that I have pinned.  The result: Pinterest fail!  Why?  Because I still am not crafty and I still do not enjoy to cook!  Continue reading “this cookie party brought to you by Pinterest” →