Fall break

She loved taking a nap in this hammock.

 For Bryce's Fall Break we went camping down in beautiful Brown County. The trees were probably a little better the weekend before, but it was still pretty amazing. The weather was great the days we were there and the ground was dry so Daphne's rolling around in the leaves wasn't a problem. We were joined by our new friends the Dawsons, and had a really fun evening with them. Even though our darling girl decided none of us should get any sleep that night, it was still a good time. We didn't hike this time around, but we drove to some of the good vantage points, played with leaves and sticks and enjoyed the beauty of fall.

 On the way home we stopped at a pretty fantastic pumpkin patch. It was just on the side of the road, there was no hay ride or hike to get your gourd. Just plenty of beautiful, (and beautifully priced) pumpkins right there to choose from.

check out all those colors!

 

We also hit up Zaharakos Ice Cream parlor for lunch and made a stop at the outlets. I continue to be disappointed in the options for baby boy clothes. Every time I go shopping for little brother I come home with a new wardrobe for Daf.

Red, White and very blue

My little Brother Ethan has been visiting for the last couple weeks, and for the culmination of his visit this weekend we planned a big trip to Michigan lake and Chicago.

It was perfect beach weather, and Daphne ate less sand than I anticipated.

But she didn't like Bryce burying her
We had wanted to camp, but it was 4th of July weekend. SO we camped in a trashy motel. I say "camped" because we definitely used our sleeping bags, and considered putting up the tent.
We went into Chicago to see the Cub's play. This is the only picture I got of Chi-town, the train.
On the way home we stopped in some tiny town for a freedom festival. A few rides and some funnel cake makes for a celebration in my book.


This slightly disturbing looking picture is of Ethan helping me by getting Daphne dressed while I worked on other things.
Such as: treats for the families Bryce Home Teaches,
And treats for the party we went to.
We went to an awesome party at our friends the Henricksen's house. Amazing ribs and lots of fun people.


And of course lots of things for Ethan to light on fire.

Now my little buddy has gone home, and I'm feeling pretty blue about it.

We miss you Ethan. Come back soon!

Labor Day

For the long weekend we went up to Lake Michigan. I can't believe we haven't been there until now. It's amazing!

Check out those waves. Who knew you could surf in Indiana? And no salt water in your mouth! it was a little windy, but we spent hours floating in the waves and enjoying the beach.

Preggo Campers

Bryce napping on the beach with his best girl. Hazel had the time of her life swimming all day, and let's not forget all the delicious scraps people were tossing her right and left.

Last chance to camp without a baby. Only slightly uncomfortable, but I slept better on the air mattress than in my bed.

All the girls at the campfire. It was so fun to kick back with friends.

I was actually hoping that all the activity of this trip would put me into labor. But if hiking around, lugging 40 lb. coolers and body surfing didn't jiggle the baby out, I think she's going to stay put for a while longer.

Spring Break

No, my last post was not an April Fool's joke. I hate April Fool's. I don't like to think of myself as gullible, I just don't usually realize what day it is and end up getting all worked up by someone else's prank. We really are having a baby.

This week was so wonderful and went by way too fast. My week off from work included lots of house cleaning that I have been too sick/busy to do for the last three months, actually making dinner (which also hasn't happened in a long time,) going to the gym, taking long naps, enjoying the nice weather and going to the doctor to hear baby's heartbeat;such a happy, reassuring sound.

And this weekend was the best of all. How often do you get 85 degree weather in the beginning of April? Not a lot in parts of the country where I've lived. So we took full advantage and went camping in beautiful Brown County State Park with our friends the Turners (two pregnant women camping makes for lots of snacking and bathroom trips.). It was such a nice weekend with only a few hours of rain and lots of fun. And we made it home just in time for Conference Sunday morning and our traditional Easter dinner of Easter Bunny Poo (meatloaf.)

Sigh, having a week off definitely makes it hard to go back to work.

HAPPY EASTER!

No pictures you've noticed? Yeah, our camera is pretty worthless. Maybe some nice husband needs to get me one for my birthday!

I'd even be okay if anyone besides my husband wanted to get me a new camera!

The car didn't end up in the lake

We defied the weather reports and went camping this last weekend. We drove down to Starve Hollow state park in Brown County and tried not to look at those dark ominous clouds all the way.

It was a beautiful place to camp, write on the edge of an almost flooded lake. I didn't get any pictures because the camera was out of batteries. It didn't rain at all in the evening and the dogs had so much fun swimming and chasing geese. The best part of the trip was when Hazel tried to eat a giant frog on our night hike. One of a frog's defence mechanisms is to secrete a nasty chemical through its skin. It was hilarious to watch her foam and spit for the whole rest of the hike.

After the frog incident Bryce asked what are the differences between frogs and toads. As-a-matter-of-fact, I can tell you the exact differences between those two animals. Apparently it is crucial for 2nd graders in Indiana to learn them. Ask me sometime so I can impress you with my wisdom.

The rain did come sometime in the middle of the night. Not just a little trickle either. It was the simultaneous lightning and thunder that woke me up. I was able to go back to sleep, but I kept dreaming that our car was sliding into the lake and I wouldn't be able to catch it in time. So I kept waking up every few minutes to see if it was safe and still. It pored and pored all night, but we didn't get wet and fared better than our neighbors. In the morning all the surrounding campsites had sleeping bags and blankets hung out to dry.

We had smores for breakfast...obviously it was a perfect camping trip. We plan on doing lots of camping this summer. Anyone want to come?