Camping

All summer Mike asked to go camping. I wasn't about to sleep on the ground at 8 months pregnant when I could barely sleep in my own bed! And going camping right after having a baby didn't sound like too much fun either! Well, September came around and I figured that if we didn't go camping soon we wouldn't go at all this year since it would start to get too cold for Claire. So, we went camping last weekend for one night at Vail Lake in Temecula. It was nice because it wasn't too far from home and the weather was perfect! We camped with the Brown family. Their daughter Carlee goes to Mike's school and has developed quite a crush on him! We had a good time swimming and swinging on a tree swing that Daryl, Carlee's dad, set up.

I was really worried about Claire being too cold, so I bundled her up in two pair of pajama's and a fleece sleep sack. She was plenty warm! It didn't get as cold as I thought it would and I ended up taking the sleep sack off in the middle of the night so she didn't get too hot! We brought the top part of her bassinet for her to sleep in. She did great!
A camping trip would not be complete without enjoying smore's by the camp fire. I think Carlee was more interested in what Mike was doing than her smore!

A frog got in our tent as we were packing it up! Mike was able to catch it and play with it for awhile. The frog was eventually released back into nature with no injuries!
Here is Mike getting ready to settle in for the night! We brought an air mattress with us this time. Mike and I slept on the mattress and Craig slept on the ground next to us. I am always amazed how someone so small can take up so much room when sleeping! Mike got a good night's sleep, I'm not so sure I can say the same for Craig or me!

All in all, it was a great time! I'm glad we were able to get a camping trip in this year. I was a little nervous to go with a 2 month old, but Claire did great and was very easy! Next year will probably be a different story since she will be mobile!

Project 365 - Day 2

9/15/11

Claire has been fussy today, I think she is still not feeling well from yesterday's shots. However, I snuck into her room while she was sleeping and got a picture of smiling in her sleep. I wonder what she was dreaming about!

Project 365

It is 10:30 Wednesday night, for most people that probably isn’t late. For me it is very late. Claire is going to be up in a few hours to eat and Mike will probably be up a few hours after that ready for the day. So I should be sleeping. I should have gone to bed right after I got the kids in bed, but I have been up looking at photos that I have taken the past few days of the kids. I am taking an online photography class right now and it is completely stressing me out! I am taking the class because I enjoy photography (even though I am not good at all) and because I want to document my children’s lives. I think it is safe to say that my new hobby has pretty much consumed me. When I should be in bed sleeping I am up on the computer looking at pictures I have taken, trying to figure out how to make them better. Mike is so tired of having his picture taken I have resorted to bribery in order to get him to somewhat cooperate! Thankfully, Claire is still unaware of my incessant clicking, although I snuck into her room today while she was napping to snap a few pictures and the shutter woke her up. As if this photography thing hasn’t consumed me enough I am thinking about starting a new photography project. Project 365. The idea is to take one picture everyday for a year to chronicle your life. It sounds simple enough but to actually stick with it will be challenging! I am trying to figure out where to post the pictures. I don’t know if I am going to post them on this blog or start a new blog strictly devoted to my Project 365. What I do know is that I really would like to stick with this project. The kids are growing so fast and what better way to see that growth than through daily photos!

For now, in an effort to just dive in, here is the first picture for my Project 365!

Mike at the doctor 9/14/11

Mike was worried about getting shots at his 4 year check up. Yes, I realize his 4 year check up was about 9 months late! I'm not sure who was happier when the shots were over, Mike or me.

Apple Picking

Traveling with children is always an adventure, this was proven true on our apple picking trip to Julian this Labor Day weekend! The road to Julian is a very windy, hilly road. We found out the hard way that on windy, hilly roads when sitting on the side seat of the car instead of the middle seat, Mike gets car sick! As we were getting ready to pull into a picnic area to enjoy the picnic lunch we had packed we hear from the backseat, "Mommy, my belly hurts. . .bleegh." Needless to say, Mike had thrown up all over himself, his car seat, and the backseat of the car! Thankfully, I had a change of clothes for him in Claire's diaper bag. We stripped Mike down, pulled the car seat out of the car and got to cleaning seat and child! Once we got everything as clean as we could (about 45 minutes later) we scarfed down lunch and proceeded on the Raven Hill Apple Orchard for our day of apple picking!

Julian is hot in September! It was in the mid 90's while we picked apples and when you are used to 70 degree weather, 95 is hot! As a result, we didn't last too long at the apple orchard. After about 30 minutes we were all ready to get back into the air conditioned car and head home. Of course we couldn't go home without picking up an apple pie to enjoy after our apple picking adventure!

All in all, it was a wonderfully, chaotic day! I wouldn't have it any other way! Throw up and all!

Mike taking a break from picking apples to pose for a picture!

Daddy and Mike