Camping Trip #2 in the Books

Monte took a few days off work earlier this week and we decided to sneak off with our family for a quick camping trip. This was our second trip this summer and the kids had a blast.

Seriously, don't they look so happy? 4 year old girls are meant to run around in a princess dress any where they go and remind everyone that life is really about being who you truly are.

We snagged a spot right next to the camp playground and I think my husband and I both questioned how that was going to go. On the one hand, they may beg to go constantly and take off frequently for the slides. On the other hand, they may do really well and only go with permission. We were in luck as the latter happened.

 We weren't super close to swimming, which is the one thing I don't love about our local camping area, but we did make the drive over to swim once with the kids. They had so much fun.

The rest of our time was spent close to our camper. The kids loved the hammock we have, frequent walks, and playing badminton together.

Unfortunately, like the first trip, bedtime did not go over very well. We fought the kids to sleep for several hours and then Riley only slept a few hours before trying to get up again. He kick started his day at 5AM. We were so tired. I'm willing to overlook that though as the kids are seriously in their element when we camp and have spent the rest of the week pretending to camp around the house.

I'm currently on the lookout for good, easy meals to make while camping. We've done walking tacos (made the taco meat before hand and then reheated in crockpot with a liner) and hamburger meals in foil (just take raw burger, veggies of choice, butter, and a bit of water and then cook on fire). I like to take cinnamon rolls already made or cereal for easy breakfast choices. We just tried campfire dump cake and that was really good but I'd suggest adding more liquid to the cake mix (like maybe a diet soda, water, or milk). I just want to have some more variety when we camp. What are you making when you camp?

Another great camping trip in the books and we are so looking forward to another trip, possibly this weekend.

A Little Bit of News

I have a tendency to feel like life moves too quickly. Several of my mom friends talk about how the days are so long, but the years are short. I don't quite know if I agree with that personally. My days are too short and my years feel even shorter. I'm trying to enjoy every second I have with my children, especially while they are little.  It's amazing to think about how life really started for me with this little girl:

She changed my world as I knew it and made me a mother. In so many ways, she has taught me more about life and myself than I have taught her. I balanced full time work and motherhood in the beginning and then switched to part-time work so I could focus more on my beautiful daughter. Then this little one arrived and my world got even busier:

 But, my heart multiplied with love. I had a hard time balancing work and motherhood and eventually, my husband and I decided it was in the best interest of our family for me to end my part-time work and focus solely on our family. This one keeps me on my toes and is the total opposite of his sister. Yet, we all blend together and my children are the best of friends. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Sometimes, we make our own plans for life but God shows you he had other ideas in mind. He likes to constantly remind me that I don't really have control over everything in my life. So, for our little bit of news, which came as a complete surprise to us:

Baby #3 will be making an appearance December 2017. After letting the initial shock and surprise wear off, we couldn't be more excited. Our children are ready for the baby to come home today and I feel like I could wait until February or March!

As of tomorrow, I will be 16 weeks. I really have no complaints about pregnancy and feel blessed to have a mostly smooth ride. I had morning sickness initially that was as bad as my first pregnancy but it ended with the first trimester. We do not know the gender and are hoping to find out at about 20 weeks. We are mostly just thankful to God for entrusting us with another life and praying for a healthy baby and smooth transition as we become a family of 5!

Celebrating our baby turning 2

It's official. I now have a two year old baby boy. As many will say, time goes by so fast when you're raising children. We feel like the time just keeps going faster and faster.

We did a party a few weeks ago with my family when we were camping with them since we didn't know when we would see them all again. So, on his birthday, Payton and I took some extra time preparing for his party (just the four of us) and making his day extra special. 

 I helped the kids color birthday hats, which never actually made it to the party. A certain female didn't want to let me cut the hat out of the paper once the decorating was done...

We also made cupcakes together and I let the kids decorate them. It's so fun to see how much they have grown with their decorating skills. I'm loving that my kids still want to play a role in getting ready for their own parties! There may come a time where that isn't the case.

Because I had procrastinated wrapping the birthday gifts (bonus points for not procrastinating buying the presents this time around), Payton helped me wrap the gifts while Riley took his daily nap. She was so excited to give him his gifts and "assist" him with opening them. Once Monte came home, we sang to Riley, opened gifts, and shared a few cupcakes!

It seems that when you have an older sister, she tends to monopolize all aspects of your life. Riley, did okay with this though, for the most part. Overall, it was a great 2nd birthday.

We kept the party going with Grandma coming for a short visit over the weekend and then we spent Sunday and Monday camping at our local lake. Tomorrow we will be home and I hope to get caught up on everything I'm behind on.

Riley turns 2!

Happy Birthday to our Riley bug. Your "cheese" face, waking up to you saying "hello, it's me, Riley," and watching you take on the world has brought so much love (and laughter) to our lives. This place became so much better when you entered it.

This morning, we went outside to play and I took a few pictures of Riley with a #2 balloon. This is the face he loves to make when he says, "Cheese."

Today has been so comical because Riley has never been our shy baby but he is playing that role as family calls him. He's having a hard time having so much attention on him when he's used to his sister stealing the spotlight (and we all seem to let her). 

Oh Riley bug, may you always know how valued you are to this family. Your love shines through you and shows in all that you do. Don't ever lose that. Happy Birthday my baby!

Our 4th of July and the rest of our week

After wrapping up dance camp last Friday, Payton brought home a cold. Unfortunately, she shared with all of us. This has made for a quiet week and a half. We cancelled our plans with friends for the 4th and spent a very low-key day at home instead. Most of the day was spent resting, but we did get outside for the evening to let the kids do a few festive activities: fireworks and s'mores.

 Riley loved the sparklers while Payton loves the pops you throw on the ground. Before ending the day, we asked the kids to name their favorite part of that 4th of July:


Dirty faces, tired babies, and nothing but love for the holidays.

The rest of our week has been spent recovering. We are on day 10 of being sick and still not feeling quite like ourselves yet. This has meant we've spent a lot of time inside so I've had to rely on several art activities I had laying around.

One of the grandmas had sent canvases for the kids to paint, so we worked on that one day. As part of our library's summer reading challenge, we got worksheet packets that the kids have been working on. Most of the worksheets involved coloring but one project was to make a house. The kids loved this! Payton asked to make a few more houses the next day. They have played with their houses since. They have used them for puppet shows, made cities, and today Payton was using them as part of her farm.

This afternoon, Payton begins her second dance camp and she is so excited. We are excited for her and hoping she doesn't bring any more germs home with her!

Have a great Monday!