I’ve always hated the expression “sleeping like a baby”. It never made any sense to me. Newborn babies are unpredictable at night, often waking frequently and sometimes just not returning to their slumber. Harper’s been a pretty good sleeper from the start. We’ve had our rough nights and days but overall he sleeps great, especially now that he’s older. He’ll sleep a solid 12 hours at night with 2 good naps in the day – very predictable. The only thing is – he doesn’t sleep well when we’re camping. For our 4 camping trips this summer, he woke at least 4-7 times a night, often needing to nurse in order to go back to sleep. And just because he goes back to sleep, doesn’t mean I can get to sleep easily in a cold tent and unfamiliar place. …continue reading this post »
Changing course: heading into Leelanau
We had a fantastic breakfast Saturday morning at Bob and Laura’s house and then headed out into the wind around 10:30am. Soon it was drizzling again and we decided to put both kids in the trailer, a first for this trip as I haven’t been strong enough to pull them very long before this. It was an incredibly empowering experience for me to climb hills and traverse so much ground with my stronger legs pulling both kids. Despite the cold and rain, it was a rush. …continue reading this post »
Short trip homesick
Friday morning I felt miserable. We had a difficult night of sleep (read our account) and as soon as we got on our bikes, it started raining again. Out came the rain gear and away we went. We were about 20km from Traverse City and with both kids sleeping (they both had gotten up so early) we were all riding in silence. The rain kept coming and going, and there was lots of debree on the roads from the storm. We felt cold and uncomfortable and tired. The wind was still really strong but thankfully at our back or side for the morning. When we rolled into town, both kids woke up and we found the tourist’s information office where we asked for the best breakfast place in town. It was 10:30 when we walked in The Omellette Shoppe to eat and warm up. We were so thankful to be indoors out of the cold and damp weather. …continue reading this post »
A night to remember
The gentle wind was still breezing swiftly as we crawled into the tent last night. It was a warm dry air that swept through the tent, allowing us to sleep with little use of the sleeping bags. A couple of sleepy hours must have passed by the time I woke up suddenly to gusting winds knocking the tent about. Everything remained secure for now so I tried to get back to sleep. You could hear the gusts coming 10 seconds before they hit the tent. My body seemed to brace itself for each blow, wondering if the tent could hold fast. I drifted in and out of sleep; in and out of prayer for safety. …continue reading this post »
The joy of enduring weather
While making breakfast/breaking camp it started to sprinkle lightly. Then it started to come down harder. After throwing the kids in their rainsuits and putting ours on over now-wet clothes, we realized that some of our panniers were open and drinking up the rain! The Ortliebs are great at keeping the water out, but they also excel at keeping water IN. We grabbed all that was remaining of breakfast and threw in the trailer quickly to keep it dry. We looked at each other hesitantly, and then got on our bikes. Despite the rain, the kids continued to ride on Reuben’s bike, decked out in their rain gear, with plastic baggies on their feet and rain hoods stretched wide around their helmets. They both fell asleep quickly which was surprising since Eden hasn’t taken a morning nap since she was a baby! Fortunately, the road was flat — but the rain did not let up. …continue reading this post »





















