Farewell to the Blog

After fifteen years on this little blog, I've decided it's time to close this space down and save it as a sweet memory bank for our family. 

My recent battle with disappearing pictures ushered in a decision I knew was inevitable. It would appear that I've used up my memory space with this blogger account, and I'm beginning to have a problem with storage. 

No complaints here. 

Fifteen years worth of memories is a gift I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined this little blog would hold. This weekend I did my digital homework and backed up, downloaded, archived and downloaded some more. I have fifteen years worth of blogs neatly tucked away in a digital folder that I hope one day, when we don't move around quite so much, will make their way to a bookshelf for my grandchildren. In this new season, I'm making a less-public, teenage-friendly plan for moving forward with memory keeping. 

When I first started writing, David was working on his Master's degree in Louisville. We had a tiny apartment, full time jobs and no little ones on the horizon. I had dreams of four children and some adventures back then, but I was a long way from the reality of the life that we've built together, by God's grace. It's been a bigger adventure than I could ever have hoped. What a journey we've had between the lines of this writing space. 

 The truth is, I have a terrible memory. I'm really not just saying that. I forget a lot. Like, entire seasons of my life are completely wiped away from my mind somehow. But when I scroll through these pages to bring up someone's 5th birthday because they want to see pictures of that monster truck party, or when I click on the Christmas we were far from home, so many other memories and thoughts rush back to me. 

 I'm not sure I've been able to tap a deeper well than this little space to help me remember...and feel the steady surge of gratitude to God as I remember. When I look back, it's a big narrative of God's faithfulness to us. This has become the place where I raise my ebenezer year after year, little mundane moment after little mundane moment. God has been kind. He has been faithful. 

 In sickness and health, in joy and pain, sunshine and rain. 

 He has kept us. 

 To those of you who have read...some for all the years, others just popping in now and again...thank you. 

We've had some lonely seasons in far away places. I'll never be able to express to you what it meant that you kept reading. It built a bridge that helped us stay in far away places and helped us come home to places where we didn't quite feel we belonged anymore. I can see some of your faces as I write this, and I have tears streaming down my face. We needed you. Thank you. 

 Please, blog or no blog, keep in touch. 

 With a heart full of love, 

 Laura, for the whole Dawkins crew

Roller Skates, Chocolate & Lemon Cakes

When I went downstairs to lock up tonight, I heard a strange sound on the back patio. It was Asher, roller skating at 10:15pm. I thought he had already been put to bed. He was having the time of his life doing figure 8s in the cool of a Spanish summer night. 

In a nutshell, that’s how our summer is going. 

Kids everywhere. Roller skates on the patio. A morning at the Chocolate Museum. Lots and lots of reading. Walks to the nearby splash pad. A big trip to the water park by the sea. And an endless amount of food. Everyone is hungry, always. I am cooking in my sleep. 

Here are a few pictures to prove it. 

Happy Summer! 

Jan Mountain, Lake Juclar & Home

It’s time to wrap up the week and dive back into real life. Today, we squeezed in one final big hike up to Lake Juclar. It felt like I had lead in my boots, but we made it. 

The boys put the last piece in the annual puzzle, we played Ticket to Ride and stayed up a bit past bedtime. Here are the wrap up pictures from our cookouts on Jan mountain and today’s hike. My heart is full. My legs are tired. And I’m already dreading the steady rise of heat as we drive out of these mountains. It’s been a good week. 

Adéu, Andorra.

Ax-les-thermes & Man-Camp

My one request (besides good hiking;) for this vacation was a drive across the French border into a little town called Ax-Les-Thermes, literally “Thermal Waters.” They are known for their hot springs and have little stone foot baths built all over the town where you can pop your feet in and soak. 

David ate his weight in pastry shops and the kids picnicked in the plaza while David and I had lunch in a French cafe. I doubt it will be something we repeat often on our Andorra treks, but it was such a fun change of pace and I enjoyed the little peek into a French mountain village. 

We drove back across the border mid-afternoon and the guys packed up for a camp out on Siscaro. They headed up the mountain around 6:30pm and had the tents up by sunset at 10pm.  Sophia and I stayed contentedly in the apartment with warm baths and watercolors. Everyone is a bit more tired than usual today so we’re saving our last big hike for tomorrow before we head home. 

La Serrerra

Yesterday we planned our biggest hike yet to the top of La Serrerra. It’s ranks 5th in the 6 highest mountains in the Andorran Pyrenees. We’ve hiked close to it for years but never even attempted the climb as a family, though David has done parts of it without us. For our little family, it was a big accomplishment. 

It was windy at the top! There was actually a stone wind shelter stacked on the peak so you could sit longer and enjoy the view. The mountains on the other side are France.  I think peaking La Serrerra was seriously one of my favorite moments as a family, ever. It was a hard climb especially toward the end where it got steep and rocky. The boys were so determined and committed. I don’t remember hearing even one kid complain. 

We came off the mountain in late afternoon and jumped into the freezing pool at the bottom. Cold water never felt so good!

Today hubs had work and meetings so we took it slow, everyone needed a bit of recovery time. Up next is the annual man-camp-out, while Sophia and I remain contentedly in the soft bed at the apartment. We’re starting to wrap up and I feel the steady surge of gratitude for the gift of this week. 

Andorra 2023: Cabana Sorda & Salamanders Lake

Our annual hiking trip to Andorra is here and our muscles are sore enough to prove it. We hit it hard the first day with a hike up Cabana Sorda. The lake at the top is stunning and frigid. The cold never stops Asher and David. They jumped right in…and right back out. It really is unbelievably cold! 

We decided to try a crossover route on the way home and came down past the Salamaders Lake. We didn’t find a single Salamander. We did find the wild horses though and the littlest pony came over to greet Sophia.

It took us a lot longer to get back to our hotel than we anticipated on that route, but there was the perk of a wildflower-laden trail we’ve never hiked. Andorra just feels alive in July, there are little budding flowers and tiny critters everywhere. The boys collected flowers for their nature boxes. (I admit that there are Summer Bucks involved to motivate this little endeavour;) 

We ended the day with hot chocolate and very tired legs. Here’s to a week in the mountains!