Camping Trip #1 - Deception Pass

Earlier this year I decided that by-golly we are going to be a camping family! Luke and I both really enjoy camping and did it every summer before we had kids. So, this year I decided that we'd go on at least 2-3 camping trips. But, since we were dealing with varying schedules, pregnancies/births, etc. it all ended up being planned for the end of August. So starting this last weekend we will be camping 3 weekends in a row. :)

Our first is at Deception Pass. After stopping by during the Tulips Festival we decided that we HAD to go back. We got together with 2 other couples from church and did a Friday-Saturday thing. It was a bit chilly but no mosquitoes!

Now, back when I planned all this I didn't really think about being 6.5-7 months pregnant and sleeping on the ground with little foam pads. Let me tell ya, I don't recommend! This next weekend, I will definitely have air mattresses, even if it does have a small leak!

Luke, Lily and our friend Marty.

Our cute girls waiting for breakfast.

Arya wanted me to take a picture of her on the rock. :) We also had a croquet set and a few other lawn games that the others brought. It was quite fun for our girls and the adults.

Luke and the other boys had wet suits and took a dip in the really really cold ocean.

Boys being silly and jumping off rocks.

Girls picking up rocks and throwing them in the water.

Cranberry Lake - they have this really nice lake area for swimming. I thought it'd be way too cold to swim so didn't prepare for the girls. Live and learn! they got in the water carefully at first, but then eventually just got all wet in their clothes and played and built sand castles. Next year I will definitely have to bring all the swimming gear. This place is definitely going to be on the annual calendar! It was so pretty and so much fun!

Craft Project #2

When I was pregnant with Arya I got the "nesting instinct." I was super clean and prepared for her arrival about a month and a half before she was born - I mean 2 months worth of diapers stocked, everything laid out, etc. Well, I think the "nesting instinct" has kicked in again, except instead of just cleanliness/readiness, I got this whole art/craft thing going. I've been painting the babyroom and the girls' room AND decided I was going to make most of the decorations in those rooms too. Call me crazy.

So here is project #2. I've seen things like this at Deseret Book for a price tag that seemed too high for something so simple. So, I went and got some scrapbook paper, ribbon, and a frame and viola! I was able to print the lettering off of our own printer and it was a couple hours of pure fun for me. I'll be posting more projects as I finish them!

A Moment of TOTAL and COMPLETE Immaturity

Our stake had stake conference today. The church building was packed and the meeting was spiritual and wonderful. Our children were amazingly good and did very well during the whole session.
Since we were sitting in the gym we had our hymns printed on paper for us. One of the rest hymns that we sang was #89 "The Lord is My Light." There was a typo on the paper in one of the verses and it read "The Lord is my light, the Lord is 'mu' strength." Luke and I both made the concious decision to sing what was typed. Haha, we thought it was funny and hilarious that we made the same decision.
What followed after, was complete hysteria on my part where I could not control myself for the life of me. Luke recovered just fine and was able to sing perfectly after his momentary chuckle, but me, no, I could not control myself! I kept thinking about the phrase, "the Lord is MU strength." MU STRENGTH! I was so bad that I could not sing anymore for the life of me and tears flowed as I tried to bring my laughter under control.
I chuck this whole thing up to a moment of total and complete immaturity, insanity and hysteria on my part. But, it really was kinda funny. :)

Copy Cat

After seeing my sis-in-law's finished product in action, I just had to copy her. These carseat canopies are cute and easy to make. What can I say, it called out to my creative genes. I have to admit though, this took a LOT longer for me than for Mags - probably a good 4 hours on my end but that's partly because I had to remember how to use my sewing machine again. :)

It was really hard to find uber cute boy fabric! This was the best I could do at Joann's, though I really wish they had a better selection for boys!!!

One a side note, my girls LOVE this thing and have been putting dolls and stuffed animals in the carseat and rocking it and singing to it. Fun all around!