Growing up...

The other day, the kids and I were playing in the living room while waiting for daddy to come home. The photographer in me could not pass up the great light coming in from the window and just had to grab my camera. As I was looking over the photos I took I couldn't help but pull up Shepherd's baby pictures and see how much he's grown. I can't believe he is going to be one in twenty one days! It has been such a blessing to see this little man grow and I have to admit, I kind of miss the newborn days. On the other hand, I sure do love this new concept called sleeping through the night!

Oh and there has been lots of bread baking going on in this house. Still trying to find a good recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread. Anyone have any suggestions?

jumping is a funny thing

As we were eating lunch last week, Ruby began jump roping by the table, and out of nowhere came this great laughter by Shepherd. Every time she jumped, he would laugh. It was the cutest thing.

Okanogan National Forest

       As long as I can remember, my family and I have taken camping trips every summer. They always included hiking, picnics at the beach, walking through the small towns nearby, and roasting lots of marshmallows! Now, as a parent, I finally have first hand experience at how long it takes to plan for a camping trip, especially with two little ones in tow. Yes, we might of had to listen to Shepherd screaming and crying for the last hour in the car, scare off a rattlesnake that Jeremy was tempted to kill (and eat), play with my dear boy from 2:30am to 8am because he wasn't tired, and fight off the urge to vomit when Jeremy cut his finger from carving wood. But I wouldn't change our first family trip for anything!
             Other than the first night of no sleep with Shep, the kids adjusted into their normal sleeping routines and were in heaven just playing in the dirt and going on multiple hikes around the campground. I asked Ruby what her favorite part was and she said "drinking the hot cocoa." With how well this trip went, I can say that Jeremy and I are very relieved and excited that we can now do what we hoped for and that is travel around camping as a family! We definitely will go on many more trips before the summer ends!

This was a Father-daughter talk about the dangers around our campsite (rattlesnakes) and what the safety rules were.