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.

Life lately...and deal of the week

Yes, it has been a while since my last post, and yes, I am not so good on keeping this blog consistent, but I do my best with the time I've got. We have been pretty busy here in the Hanson household, potty training Ruby, sleep training Shepherd (which is long overdue!) and attending quite a few birthday parties.  Which brings me to my deal of the week. This deal is the best kind out there...you know, the FREE kind? Jeremy and I put our skills to work to make two little twins very happy for their birthday, at least I hope they were happy with the gift :-)
       I had the idea of making bean bags out of some Heather Ross fabric and Jeremy was more than willing to make a wooden stand with three holes in it for the bean bags to be tossed in. The morning of the party Jeremy went down to the shop, gathered some wood scraps and was done an hour before we needed to leave!
       We also are getting ready to take the kids on their first camping trip of the summer! I just hope it doesn't mess up the work we've put into getting Shepherd to sleep through the night!

HOMEMADE GRANOLA FOR OUR CAMPING TRIP

grow grow grow

Our credenza and window sill are slowly being taken over by plants. Many of them were given to me from a friend. I love having that splash of green everywhere I look, especially when I get to find glass jars and other containers for them to live in :-) I think one of my favorite containers that I used for a recent succulent is my cow that had an original purpose of pouring creamer into a morning cup of coffee.

Mail for Ruby

Ruby recently celebrated her birthday...it still is hard to believe that she is three now! Just last week she got two special gifts in the mail, one from Jeremy's older sister, and one from my older sister. It was great to see her face as she opened the packages. She got a beautiful handmade doll quilt and pillow from her Aunt Molly. You can check out all of her other amazing quilts here. She raced upstairs to get her Brave doll, Merida, and tucked her in with the blanket and pillow. It was pretty darn cute. Her present from her Aunt Maria was a cute vintage dress, and a book made from elephant poop, which she found pretty fascinating since it didn't smell like poop...good thing too!

     

      

Ruby's new game

Ruby has created this game where she acts as different girls performing on stage and I have to ask her three specific questions before she performs. The first is "what is your name?"  The second, "how old are you?" And the third is "what are you going to do to today" or I have to pretend to cue the music. When she finishes she bows and I give her a huge applause! This can go on for about an hour, all different names with different ages, it's pretty cute if you ask me. Here is one of her performances, enjoy!

June passing by

Sorry for the absence of posts happening these days. June is one busy month for this family. There is fathers day and three birthdays to celebrate! I am pretty wiped out from today and can't muster up the mind power to write, so I will leave you with pictures that have filling up my cameras.