One day while pinning, I saw a great idea. Track your travels on a big map. So behold Our Destinations! With a map from National Geographic (great magazine), a cork board and some sewing pins, our trips and the world fit with a 3-by-2 rectangle.

On the board so far is a smattering of locations. But we decided to differentiate between travelers. Cole has blue pins, my are, you guessed it, purple, and our combined travels poke with yellow. . . .

Hiking, waterfalls and mountains definitely count for Green Speak Monday. I observed nature, went to a national park and interacted with the earth, even if it didn't always play nice. On our Sunday Funday adventure, we traveled down the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is America's favorite drive, and ended up at the Crabtree Falls.

. . .

From our balcony, I see and hear rain pour from the sky daily it seems like.

Today, the alarm clock, okay, my phone, jangled in my ear telling me Cole needed to get ready for class. In my groggy morning state, I hear a familiar sound. But just the pitter-patter sound. No flashes. No rumbles. Just the light ping of water hitting the window ledge. I prop myself against my pillow and bend the blinds just enough to see a cloudy sky crying at 7:30 a.m. . . .