Summer Trip Number 2 - Camping!

Talk about milestones..... some people love walking, or talking, running maybe. But me, I love things like first beach trip, first time making a mud pie, or first camping trip!

I have been trying to get my husband to get us out camping for a while now. He talks a good game, but actually getting him out the door is hard sometimes. Finally it all came together.

We decided that for our first trip we would stick close to home in the event something went terribly wrong. We picked Oxbow park, as it was only 20 minutes from our front door.

 I had no expectations, no notions of perfection... just a propane powered cookstove to heat milk for my almost two year old who still takes a bottle to fall asleep (shhh, don't judge me! She has a sleep disorder, I will do anything to get sleep) and being over prepared for two nights out in the wilderness.

We packed up the car, dropped the dog off with our friend (no pets allowed at Oxbow! I am glad about this. Means more wildlife to see) and headed off to the park.

 We arrived at the park and the kids spent the first little while just exploring. Touching everything, running all over, just being in awe of the world. I snapped a few pictures and then put away everything in the interest of just spending some family time.

 In the morning we had a little squirrel come and share our muffins with us. Liam was finally quiet for the firast time in weeks, just long enough to watch the squirrel eat. Dan headed home to grab somethings we had forgotten and decided would make our second night easier, and I kept the kids amused getting them ready to head down to the river to play.

After getting slathered with sunscreen, putting on swim suits and packing the bag for the beach, Dan still wasn't back, so we took a little walk down the path. The kids looked out at the river and I found some wild huckleberries to nibble on.

 On the beach was another time where I promised myself just one time taking pictures, then put the camera away and enjoy time with the family. So we found this fallen log and the kids explored it. Then we looked at rocks for an hour, Evie fell asleep and I put her in the carrier on my back to walk back to somewhere semi shaded for a little rest. Liam and Dan and I dug in the sand and played with rocks and water for the rest of the time until everyone was hungry and ready to go back.

 As we were prepping for dinner we saw a mama deer and her twin babies coming along the path behind our camp site. Evie saw them and screamed "DOGGY" and took off crashing into the underbrush after them.

 Liam got cranky and fell asleep, Evie got a few marshmallows (she preferred them un-toasted, but still on a stick) and finally fell asleep.

After Evie dozed off, I got a few pictures of the sunset and the pretty things around the camp. We fell asleep and then woke in the morning to RAIN! it was pouring rain. We ditched the idea of a leisurely morning slowly packing up, made a wet mad scramble throwing the kids into the car and then the gear and a soggy ride home. I would totally do it all again. Well. Maybe not the rain. It wasn't supposed to rain!

Starting the Garden

Finally the worst of the storms have come to an end here in the great Pacific Northwest. Spring is in full swing here and heading into summer.

I decided to try to make a new seed starting tray this year. I saw something online about using old toilet paper tubes cut in half, so I saved all of ours through the winter. Ended up only using a few because I am not going to make a big garden this year.

We had a little downpour expose the seeds, I need to put more dirt over them.

I am lacking the funds to put in raised beds, so we are just doing containers this year. I bought 8 tubs from a store and while 7 of them ended up in the yard, one of them ended up in my living room filled with yarn. Hmmmm.... I wonder if I can grow yarn!

I am keeping it small and going to try sharing space. This coming weekend I am buying tomatoes from the tomato guy at our local farmers market. He has all kinds of fun types. I started green beans, cucumber and yellow squash. I put my carrot seeds in a container and once the tomatoes are in I am going to put in lettuce to share the space with them.

I am super excited for the growing season. My apple trees are already making little tiny furry green apples, my cherry trees might actually give me a few cherries this year and my pear tree is once again infected with rust. Which  makes me sad and I am thinking I may need to tear it out and put something else in. I do not want to spray it with all the toxic chemicals needed to kill off that fungus, but the rust gets so bad it eats all the baby pears.

Blueberry blossoms

Cherries

 There is a robin nesting right outside my bedroom window, my friend wants to turn my rhubarb into jam, the kids have been enjoying the sunshine and I am glad to be getting outside. Finally.

We got out the dehydrator and did bananas and apples for snacks, but they didn't last long. The kids ate them all up in 2 days!!!!! I will have to make more.

 
And we emptied out our rock tumbler and then loaded it up with some new stones. I am just tumbling the ones that came with the rock tumbler. I think the kiddos will enjoy having them to look at.

My grandma is doing well, her physical therapy is progressing and she is working hard to get back to being able to walk. I am working on a gift for her that I finished the main part of but still have the details to work on. Glad to know that she is on the mend though.

Got to meet with Liam's teacher at his school and talk to her about his progress and what we need to work on over the summer. I am excited to hear how well he is doing in school and how far he has come since September. I will be glad though to have a few months off where I do not have to get him dressed and out the door every morning!

Yay for SUMMER!