Camping Trip 2014

Last weekend we packed up just about every inch of our SUV and headed to Wisconsin to go camping with my family.  We planned the weekend trip near my brother and SIL so we could spend some time with Baby JR while enjoying some time outside too.  The campground was nice, right along the Wisconsin River, with a pool too, and a playground (and bathrooms) close to our campsite.

The girls loved camping, as they have in past years.  Lots of family around, running around outside, swimming and s'mores... what more could they ask for?  They both slept well in our tent at night, and Little J even took a nice nap on Saturday.

I think the highlight of camping for the girls was swimming in the river.  Daddy makes it extra fun!

 

The girls loved seeing their baby cousin, of course.  E says we all came back a little baby crazy.  Good thing we've got one coming to our house soon!

A quick shot of the belly at 35 weeks at the playground.  Both girls are getting pretty adventurous, wanting to try everything at the playground.  We could see the playground from our campsite, but their was road between the two.  Miss A thought she was so big when we let her go over to the playground by herself a few times.

Last Week...

Last week was a hard week here.  Nothing major.  Just a my kids are totally crazy and won't listen to anything I say kind of crazy.  As in, I asked Miss A to help Little J get a dress to wear while I packed lunch for our picnic, and instead both girls took everything out of the closet and found window coverings to use as skis.  And that was Monday.  By Wednesday I had taken away almost all of the toys after the girls dumped toys all over the floor and Little J's bed, then refused to clean any of them up.

A long week for my first week off work.  The first week in my 14 months off and it was not what I had hoped for.  I had to cancel fun plans because the girls were not following our rules.  I started feeling really anxious about adding a baby to the mix in less than two months.  I know that our schedules have been thrown off, and I'm tired so my patience was down, but it was a hard week.

Friday was better.  Not perfect, but better.  The weekend was better still.  I remembered that the first week of summer break was rough last year too (Little J was climbing EVERYTHING) but the summer got better from there.  We're all starting to get on a summer schedule, so I'm hopeful that our summer will still be great.  And even during the crazy week, they still had some moments of super sweetness and cuteness.

Happy Father's Day!

I have a really wonderful husband, who also happens to be an amazing daddy.  Miss A and Little J LOVE Daddy.  He does such a good job taking care of us and showing us how much he love us every day.  I feel lucky that my girls have such a great man in their lives.  

I've been asking Miss A a series of questions about E each year for Father's Day, and this year Little J answered a few too.  Below are some of their responses.

How old is Daddy?

Miss A: 8

Little J: 2

What is Daddy's favorite color?

Miss A: orange

Little J: blue

What is Daddy's favorite food?

Miss A: burgers  

Little J: watermelon

What does Daddy like to drink?

Miss A: beer  

Little J: orange juice

Where does Daddy like to go?

Miss A: to the children's museum with us  

Little J: the zoo

What is Daddy's job?

Miss A: to take care of us

How does Daddy take care of you?

Miss A: he helps our ouchies go away when we get hurt

What makes Daddy happy?

Miss A: hugs and kisses

What is your favorite thing about Daddy?

Miss A: that he takes me on adventures

Below are a bunch of pictures of Daddy and his girls from my June photo challenge.

Happy Father's Day E!  

Happy Father's Day to my dad, stepdad and the rest of the dads too!  

I hope everyone's having a great day!

June Photo Challenge: Week 1

So far I am loving my June photo challenge!  This week was the craziest of our June weeks.  My students finished up classes on Thursday (meaning I taught my last class for over a year... wow!) and I had a lot of school work to wrap up.  Even with the craziness, I managed to get some cute pictures of my sweet little girls!  It takes a minute for me to remember to grab my big girl camera rather than my iPhone, but it is well worth it.  (Full disclosure, Friday got a little crazy, and I didn't get any pictures, but I'm okay with that.  I have more than enough from the rest of the week to make up for it.)

 On June 1st I took my camera with while Miss A and I walked to church to snap a few photos of her.  I love that our church is only half a mile from our house, and we've been having beautiful weather so we can walk.

 My little monkeys climbing around on the deck.

 Such a big girl!

Miss A and our neighbor Miss L.  On Wednesday afternoon I sat on our deck doing some school work, Miss L's mom sat on her deck doing her work and the two girls ran back and forth having so much fun being "sister fairies."

Bath time!  Much needed after a day of playing in the dirt.  I think Little J brings a pound of sand home from day care every day.

 Backyard campfire and s'mores!

 Little J helping me make pancakes for breakfast on Sunday morning.

I think these might be two of my favorites of Little J right now.  E found a caterpillar crawling on his shirt, so he gave it to Little J to hold (if you look closely, you can see the little guy crawling on her).  She LOVED it!  She smiled and laughed the whole time the caterpillar crawled up and down her arms.  Miss A held the caterpillar too, but she wasn't quite as excited as the little one.

Hello June!

I love my iPhone camera.  I love how easy it is to grab my phone and snap a shot of whatever cute or silly thing my girls are doing.  My phone is light and easy to carry around.  And I'm a little bit addicted to Instagram.  But I love the pictures I get with my DSLR even more.  I did a 366 project back in 2012, so I had my DSLR out every day.  I have many great photos of the girls from that time.  Since wrapping up the project (over a year ago!) my DSLR hasn't gotten nearly as much use, and I'd like that to change.

So, I'm giving myself a June challenge to take a photo every day.  30 days of taking pictures of our everyday life and little adventures.  I figure if I post about the challenge here, it will hold me at least a little more accountable.  I'll share my favorites along the way.  Anyone else want to join in?

For now, here are a few shots of my girls "helping" me weed in front of our house.  Both insisted on wearing butterfly wings while they worked.