so we did a little camping

a couple of weekends ago was the annual church campout. for the first time our schedules were such that we could attend. now i have to say that while i am a fan of the camping activities - i do not enjoy sleeping in a tent. part of this might just be because i am not used to it. in all the years that we have been married this was only my 4th time going camping. larry says it's technically the 3rd, but i'm counting the time that we went to moab, slept in char's unfinished house out in the desert with no electricity or running water moments after killing a rattlesnake and a black widow as a camping trip. that's getting up close and personal with nature folks. no way around it. anyway - back to the current camping story. since i decided in the middle of the night to forgo the tent and climbed into the car for a peaceful slumber many of you think that i am not into camping. that simply is not so! i really do enjoy it. i just can't sleep in that stupid tent!! so next time i'm just going to start out in the car, pure and simple! so don't judge me you sleeping bag snugglers and tent lovers. let me be one with nature in my own ridiculous and unconventional way ;)

one of my favorite pictures from the trip is this one of my friend olivia and her hubby packing up their car. how they managed to fit all that stuff plus 2 kids and themselves is still a mystery to me.

before heading home we went fishing with some friends of ours. the creek was cold but the kids loved it. right after this picture was taken brooke slipped and smacked her nose on the big rock over there causing a massive bloody nose. it's not camping unless there's a bleeder.

lily and her daddy hanging out by the creek

some crazy random ladies hanging out on a rock - otherwise known as: dana, jami and me

dan and lilsters playing squishy face

the roberts brought louie which was great for us because he can entertain lily for hours.

all in all it was a great camping trip. hopefully the next one will be sooner rather than later.

sunday art work

during church on sunday brooke was quietly drawing. as quiet as she ever is during church anyway. i looked down and noticed that she had done this.

me: brooke, you really shouldn't turn jesus into an indian. it's not appropriate.

brooke: but mom, he's not an indian. i was drawing him a crown.

me - a little embarrassed: oh sorry. of course it's a crown. my mistake. it's lovely. great job.

swimming lessons

our kids are like fish. if they could breathe underwater i am convinced that is where they would live. since they are so comfortable with it, we haven't really spent a lot of time doing swimming lessons. however, i had a little break from watching extra kids and a few of our friends were doing swimming lessons so i said "why not" and enrolled brooke. due to her amphibian skills, we skipped the first few levels. at first i was worried that i had made a mistake. but in the end i picked exactly the class she needed. she learned a lot and actually passed!
she loved going to class almost everyday and has really missed it this week. it was so much fun for both of us. we each got to hang with some of our friends for a couple of hours poolside. what a great way to pass summer days!

our little stingray!

just a SMIDGEY too small

bella was super petite when she was a baby\toddler. she still is on the small side if you compare her to her friends. when she was about two and a half her favorite pajamas were pink with blues clues characters all over them. now that lily is the same age she loves the pajamas just as much. can't say they fit the same though........

oh well - lily loves them anyway! and in the summer you need some air on your tummy and arms.

slugged

bella's allergies are out of control. currently she looks like someone has slugged her. which we haven't - i promise.
poor thing. they itch so bad she just can't stop rubbing them.

what's a little mud?

everyone in our family loves to go four wheeling. so why it's been almost a year since the last time we went as a family on a serious all day adventure is a mystery to me. determined to get a fix we loaded everyone up on saturday and headed for central city. not to gamble, but to ride.

lil's loves to ride as much as the rest of us. and even though it looks like they are going really fast in this picture they really weren't. it was a little windy and that's what is blowing her hair. not warp speed. just had to clear that up since the picture is a little deceiving and neither of the kids have helmets on. and we weren't on the trail. brendan was just taking her for a little ride around the parking area. we are very safety conscious when we ride I PROMISE!

our friends the wilson's went with us. joe was nice enough to take bella on a dirt bike ride. her first one ever. she loved it of course. i thought she might be a little bit scared, but no - she's fearless!

for some reason larry and i love to ride the little four wheeler. it's a ton of fun. of course i think part of the fun is just knowing how ridiculous you look on it. but lil's thought it was great that her daddy took her for a little spin.

brooke got to ride the little four wheeler by herself for the first time ever. she thought she was pretty cool. and yes she is actually driving with her feet up like that.

the trails were really muddy from all the rain. this was my favorite puddle.

that's me hitting the puddle at full speed. you could say that i got a little bit wet. but i loved every minute of it! i came back with mud everywhere. it was awesome! i look at it as my own personal mud bath without the cost of an expensive spa.