Emily's best friend Charley had her birthday party at the Girl Scout horse ranch. Emily was in heaven!
After making so many face masks to donate to the schools, and in need of purchasing more supplies, I decided to list some on Etsy to sell in hopes of making a little money towards supplies. I already had an Etsy shop from years ago, but the name left something to be desired. Rocketdog Crafts was born and has the cutest spokesmodel you can imagine. So far, I've only sold a few masks. Hopefully, I'll be able to sell some more or come up with some other cute things to make and sell on there.
Yesterday we went to Roaring River State Park in Missouri with the Wittenberg family. It was a much needed respite for Steve and the kids who have been stressed out with school and stuck at home or walking/riding the same trails over and over.
The autumn colors were breathtaking, and the day could not have been more perfect for outdoor activities. There was a crazy amount of people there - this pandemic has gotten everyone looking for outdoor activities. We were able to keep pretty separated from other family groups and we tried not to touch things like railings, so hopefully is was not only a fun outing, but a safe one, too.
At the park, the first thing we chose to do was walk the Eagles Nest trail. It was listed as a 2.4 mile hike, but Sara's tracking device showed us having walked 3.6 miles. It was a very enjoyable hike with only a small amount of somewhat steep uphill trekking, along rocky bluffs and among the fall foliage. The younger kids stopped and drew some leaves and snacked. Brendan enjoyed taking pictures during the entire trip, and Rod and Steve wandered off to look for critters hiding in the rocks and branches.
Finally, we called it a day and headed for home, tired, but happy and full of good memories!
Today Emily's Girl Scout troop met at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve for a beginner's mountain bike ride. Our family had never been to the Preserve, so Brendan came along to check it out with us. It is a really cool place! Even the benches for resting by the trail are artistic. Brendan struck out on his own and found a blue square rated trail to try. He did great and said it was a fun trail. Meanwhile, Emily and the other girls rode on some easy dirt trails, stopped for a break to swing on a big swing that is set up off the trail, and a few of them even tried a more difficult trail. They really had a great time. We will definitely need to come back soon!
The new bike trail we've had our eyes on is finally complete and open for riders! It's basically just a big, circular pump track, but for new riders it is a blast. Brendan got bored with it pretty quickly, but he still wants to go around on it a couple times if we happen to be riding by on our way to or from Crystal Bridges. Emily wants to stay and ride on it for an hour or two! It's wonderful how many mountain bike trails the town has put in, and nice that many of them are perfect for beginners.
