Phew! This morning was rough. I subtitled this post, “Keeping It Real” because I was going to post about how much I enjoy our morning walks (and i’ll get to that), but instead of starting there, I’m just going to say that we went on a walk this morning because we all needed to get out of the house asap. Between the thrown bowl of cereal, the fighting over yesterdays birthday presents, the dog pee on the floor, and the baby pulling all the trash out of the bathroom, some fresh air was all but a necessity.
I did a post a couple weeks ago about how much our family enjoys sailing together, and someone commented that it looks like i’m a “perfect” mom. I cringed reading that, and it even grieved me a bit, because it’s so far from the truth and I have tried to be intentional when it comes to internet stuff to not paint a overly rosy picture of our family and our lives. The truth is, life with 3 young kids is anything but perfect, but I don’t think it was ever meant to be. Most of our days are messy, noisy, and full of the mundane things that never make it onto the instagram feed or the facebook wall. The kids argue, the baby cries, the hubby and I have our differences, but at the end of the day when the kids are sleeping and Mr. Bean and I are sitting on the couch enjoying the hour of quiet, it’s all worth it.
So, the walk this morning, while beautiful and refreshing was not taken because I live some fairy tale family existence where i buckle up the three kids for nature walks every morning. Far from it. We went for a walk because it means Biggest Brother could ride his bike and get some energy out, and because Big Brother and Little Sister were buckled into a stroller meaning no arguing and crying about her taking his new toys. Sigh! By the end of the walk, everyone was in a better mood, she was ready for a nap, and the brothers were ready to be amicable again.
About our walk, now. Let’s see……well, when I was in high school I used to come for walks in the neighborhood we now live in many evenings. My best girlfriend lived not far from here and I would drive to her house and we’d walk and talk for a couple hours. When we were living in Hawaii and found out we were going to be getting transferred back to Elizabeth City, I knew that I wanted to find a home in this part of town. It’s far from the nicest area, and it’s not like we have sidewalks or anything like that that makes it super walkable, but it’s right by the river and it’s one of the older parts of town, which, in my opinion, makes it the perfect place for the Bean Family to dwell. Most mornings, after breakfast and getting dressed, I like to wrangle up the Tres Frijoles and get a little 30 minute walk in before naps.
I feel compelled to take a picture of them together any time they are all clean and all happy.
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This beautiful home is just around the corner from ours. It’s actually a B&B, “The Pond House Inn.” My in-laws have stayed there when they visit us and it’s so beautiful. When the little pond isn’t full of algae, it’s even more lovely.
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Mr. Precious and his favorite snack. So glad that Big Brother taught him to eat it like this. Much easier than cutting it up every time. 
Loves her stroller, this one
“Mommy, we never take pictures of you and me together.”
My kids love these colorful flowers. I think they’re called Lantana.
The Pasquotank River. The water may look blue, but don’t be fooled. It’s brown. Dark brown. Can’t see your knees when you’re waist deep brown.
Noa’s favorite part of the walk is when I let him ride ahead to his little beach. It’s just a 10 foot stretch of sandy shore behind these weeds, but’s to him it’s an adventure waiting to happen.
So many pretty homes around here. We are so thankful that we get to live in this part of town. God blessed us with a great neighborhood, amazing neighbors, and His gorgeous artistry.
Cracks up our kids every time.
Cicada shells. We used to cover our clothes with these things as kids. I love that the boys do it now. It’s the little things.
The biggest mushroom i’ve seen around here. He couldn’t wait to squash it.
His favorite fishing spot.
Home, sweet Home <3
