Line Creek Nature Area

This month, for one reason or another, has been kind of a roller coaster. However, since the countdown has officially begun (I'm technically in the "any time now" zone, though I'm expecting Little Boy to come later rather than sooner), I'm a little more motivated to record stories that will disappear into oblivion once we add a very tiny and very demanding new member to this family.

So you'll forgive me if I write about this little family excursion that actually occurred way at the beginning of the month. It was just that fun.

Since we arrived in Georgia a year and a half ago, Patrick and I have driven past the sign to the Line Creek Nature Area about a bajillion times. "We should go there!", we'd exclaim, with all the earnest and sincere intentions of a well-meaning and kind-of-forgetful couple.

Well, after a year and a half, we finally planned the mini family excursion. I made coffee cake muffins, and we set out at 8 am to be sure we'd beat the heat.

Breakfast was muffins, grapes, and orange slices. Easy to pack, easy to eat.

The verdict? We love early morning family adventures.

Mmmmmm muffin.

How's this for a family breakfast? Where better than at a picnic table, near a pond, with the early morning sun filtering through the trees?

Cambrie had a lot of fun. She threw us off just a little, though, when she announced, "I'm going to hug a tree," and then proceeded to do so.

Yeah, she didn't learn that from us.

We aren't really the tree-hugging type, but when I asked her later who else hugs trees, she replied, "Belle. And she walked around the tree, then she put her hand on the tree, then she hugged it. And she had a bird."

No longer a surprise. Cambrie could (and does) quote Beauty and the Beast from beginning to end. Anyone else remember that scene?

In any case, after we ate, we began to explore.

This is where we met the fish and several turtles.

Cambrie was very excited to dance in this little pavilion. I'm pretty sure she was singing "Tale As Old As Time" as she danced, too.

We spent around an hour exploring the trails there. We learned, among other things, how little girls go potty when there are no potties nearby. Luckily, the experience went fairly smoothly. I do look forward, though, to having the process be a little more convenient when it comes time for kiddo #2 to take his first tinkle in the woods.

Cambrie learned how roots are different than sticks. She then spent a good portion of our walk telling us how this root was attached to that tree, over and over again.

There were several pretty wildflowers. They got a little less pretty after being plucked, thoroughly "observed," and thoughtfully replanted in a pile of sand by a two-year-old. 

It was truly a beautiful morning and a fun outing. Its good for Patrick and I to have these little reminders that we love doing things like this. Sometimes it's so hard to remember in the hustle and bustle of life that we're the type of people that are refreshed by a small, nature-oriented break from the routine. It doesn't take much. Only about two hours on a weekday morning.

And the return is definitely worth it.