Back to our camping trip...we continue to talk about how much fun we had 2 weeks later. We'd love to get another camping trip in this fall but with the soccer schedules, it will be hard to make happen!
We hiked on Saturday - went to Old Man's Cave. It was beautiful but crowded.
I love this picture of Silas - big blue eyes and his toothless grin :) And of course, another bug bite on his forehead!
Managed to get a few pictures of the 3 together...that is very hard to do these days!
Silas was trapped between 2 rocks :)
Ella and Silas in one of the caves
I love this picture of Silas but he looks like such a little man. I asked him to smile and he gave me a pose too.
This was a strange little creature that buzzes around Tara and Steve's farm down in Logan. We looked them up after getting home. They are Hummingbird Bees which are actually a type of moth. Very neat to watch them fly around - their wings really make them look like little hummingbirds.
Mason needed a challenge while we were hanging at the campsite. He climbed the big tree and then started trying to get one of the dead limbs down (the one jutting out on the right side of the tree he's in).
He ended up spending about 45 minutes with a rope (with a scrub brush tied to the end for weight) trying to lasso the branch and then pulling on it. He did finally get it!
We took a little walk down by the river that ran beside the campgrounds.
The inside of the condo tent - Silas is burrowed down in the black sleeping bag. Our 2nd night of sleeping was much more comfortable than the first night. The air mattress lasted longer and it didn't get as chilly that night.
After another yummy JP prepared breakfast, we started tearing down camp and packing up. Amazing how much stuff we had for just 2 nights! Seemed a lot harder to get it all back into the van!
Though we were all looking forward to getting home to a nice hot shower, we wanted to take the kids on another hike to Rockstall - the spot where we hike when we go on our couples' weekend. It's beautiful and MUCH less crowded than Old Man's Cave. In fact, we only saw one other person on this hike.
Ella took this picture of me and Justin. Yay! I'm finally in a picture! :)
And a rare picture of me with all 3 kids!
Miss Boo taking a breather at we finish up the hike.
Here is a video of the kids swinging on the vine.
We had so much fun on this little camping adventure. It was great to get time with the kids, unplugged from the TV and Wii games. Can't wait to do it again!
Busy week for the OH Youngers! While still recovering from the fun but tiring holiday weekend, we had to get back in the swing of things pretty quickly with Silas' graduation on Wednesday night. It was so cute and made me cry (or course). He was so excited and proud of his cap and diploma.
They sang a graduation song
and he got his preschool diploma.
It sounded SO crazy for his principal to say that he will be the Class of2024 - and yet, (not) so long ago, I remember thinking that Mason's class of 2013 was forever away...and now it's just around the corner!
I love seeing my little guy still holding hands and looking little. I know those days are numbered.
On Thursday night, Ella had her All Star soccer game (the one that got canceled with all the storms last week). It was a great game! Ella scored an awesome goal and her team won 4-3. She is so competitive on the field. It's so fun to watch.
I love when she sits on the ball and watches the game.
She and her Cheetah teammates (Avery and Alice) had fun playing together one last time. We get new teams with the Fall season :( We will really miss the Cheetah girls that we played with the past 2 seasons!
I'm already looking forward to the next soccer season. I hope to get E in a summer soccer camp so that she can learn some new stuff over the summer.
Tomorrow morning, Justin and I will set out on our own competitive adventure - it's FINALLY Warrior Dash time! Really, the only competition is between me and death. I'll be happy with crossing the finish line in one piece so that I can sit (or lay) and enjoy my Warrior Beer!
I'm not sure why but there is something about this song that reminds me of the early days of JP and CK... :)
Florence explained the song's meaning on her MySpace:
"Kiss with a Fist" is NOT a song about domestic violence. It is about two people pushing each other to psychological extremes because they are fighting but they still love each other. The song is not about one person being attacked, or any actual physical violence, there are no victims in this song. Sometimes the love two people have for each other is a destructive force. But they can't have it any other way, because it's what holds them together, they enjoy the drama and pushing each others buttons... ...There was this one couple who were so cool, but so visceral and so intense. The guy never hit the girl, but I saw her lamp him a couple of times, and she'd always give as good as she got. But it wasn't really physical violence, it was more about the fact that their animal passion for each other was the thing that was attractive for them. It was how joyful destruction can be, and how alluring it is to be in a relationship so fiery. There was never a dull moment when they were around. I don't know how they do it! I'm a conflict avoider. I think I write about such intense things because I'm actually really bad at expressing anger."
Well, the "animal passion" and "joyful destruction" might be a bit of a stretch but otherwise, it sounds about right.
For our far away families to keep up with the gang, and so that I can look back at all the fun of life with 3 kids :) This is my rememberer. We are: Mason (20), Ella (12), Silas (9), Dad/Justin (old), Mom/Christa (older)
Words to Live by...
“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” Anna Quindlen (Loud and Clear, 2004)
Mom of three, wife, sister, friend. Love being with family and friends, having a cup of coffee with sunrise and a glass of wine with sunset. Life is Good.
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