Camping - Part 2

Alrighty, part 2.  If you haven't read "camping - part 1" scroll down and read that post first.  This is Saturday and Sunday...

On Saturday, we drove back up to Big Lake, this time with sunny weather and a Forest Service map in hand.  We trekked back on some dirt roads and found a 6-mile round trip trail that lead to a river at the bottom of a canyon.  It was a GREAT hike!  Such beautiful country and hardly anyone around!  Java especially had a great time.  And Greyson loved his pack.  Here he is getting a snack on the trail :)

On the way down to the bottom of the canyon...

Enjoying the water

So pretty, and so worth the climb

On Sunday we packed up camp and headed home.  It was time.  We were tired.  We were dirty.  But, it was such a great time.  Here are some shots we stopped on the side of the road to get.

Thanks for reading!  :)

Camping - Part 1

Well hello out there...its been awhile!  Sorry about that...we've had a crazy busy June, which I totally wasn't expecting.  This is my first real summer off with a baby.  Last year, Greyson waited until the end of summer to be born, and then it was the whirlwind of having a newborn.  But this summer, its non-stop going going going, and I realize how much I loved being able to work a few mornings a week and let someone else take him for a few hours!  (haha does that make me a bad mom?!)  Anyway, this month I've been super busy with photo shoots and we shot a wedding a couple of weeks ago, so that editing has been consuming me since.  Also, I am completely re-doing my website because I am really frustrated and disappointed with the site I currently have.  Its going to be awesome when its done, but its taking time, time, time!  Also, two weeks ago, Dan was laid off and had his last day last Tuesday.  Big time bummer.  But, for some reason, this time, both of us have this strange peace about it.  I think Dan was relieved because of how much he hated his job.   And for some reason, I just know things are going to work out.  God has always provided for us in the past, and He's not going to stop now.  ANYWAY, so that's been our June.  And then, hence the title of this post, we took off and went camping for 5 days last week!  It was so great to just get away and have family time together and it turned out really great.  We went up to Springerville/Eagar and it was beautiful the entire time (well except for the torrential downpours on Friday).  We took so many pictures that I decided to break them up into two posts.  So here we go with the first bunch...

On the way up...we were wondering if there would ever be any trees...

But we found them!  Our campsite was beautiful, the best one in the whole campground.  There was tons of woods around it and a creek running through.  This is Greyson trying out his new backpack and going to find some firewood with Daddy.

Studying their handiwork...

Hiking our 6-mile hike on Thursday.  The trail left from our campground and followed the creek.  We enjoyed the COLD water too!

Chillin' like a big boy

Making dinner

Thursday evening was kind of drizzly, so we ate in the van :)

After dinner Thursday, we were a little stir crazy from being cooped up in the tent all afternoon, so we took a drive.  Thanks for the beautiful rain, God, it was awesome!

And beautiful rain clouds make for amazing sunsets!

Pancakes Friday morning :)

Greyson and Dan played in the creek by our site, throwing rocks like all good little boys should do :)

Then Friday morning we drove up to Big Lake hoping for a picnic and hike.

Once we got there, the downpours started.  Let's just say that thunder, lightning, hail, and rain don't make for the best lake picnic day ever...Here's our view of Big Lake:

Cows crossing the road on the way back down the hill

After spending the afternoon in our tent, sopping up puddles, the rain finally stopped and we had a great evening.  Greyson loved hanging out by the fire.

And of course, his first taste of roasted marshmallow :)

Stay tuned for Saturday and Sunday!

Milestone Update

I realized its been a really long time since I've posted an update on how the boy is developing, and my oh my has he been changing!  He is definitely keeping us on our toes!

Physical Milestons:  As of 9 months, Greyson weighed 22 lbs 9 oz and was 29.25 inches (both 75th percentile).  Now, he is 10 1/2 months and I'm guessing he weighs around 24 lbs and probably is closer to 30 or 31 inches by now.  He is growing so fast!  He has 7 teeth, 4 on top and 3 below.  I think he's getting another one, just not sure where yet.

New Skills:  waving hi and bye-bye to everyone (even in the stores), saying "words" (mama, dada, dog, and ball), crawling everywhere, pulling himself up with no problem, deliberately putting objects in containers or on shelves, choosing favorite toys and books against other ones, eating finger foods for pretty much every meal, drinking from a straw, and probably tons of other things that I'm forgetting right now.

Likes:  bananas, tomatoes from the garden, playing peek-a-boo, reading books, watching the dog from the window, going swimming, cheese, taking showers, anything that has buttons and lights up, when daddy gets home, playing outside, and just life.  Seriously, he is such a happy, easy baby!  I can't complain!

Dislikes:  being left alone, the snot sucker, being still, waiting too long to eat, and the hot car.

I have to tell you a story about last night.  We decided to eat outside since it was a nice evening and we had grilled some chicken.  Greyson was sitting in his chair and a bird in the neighbor's tree caught his eye.  He stared at it for quite awhile and you could see the wheels turning in his head.  "Look, Greyson, its a bird.  Do you see the bird?"  More wheels turning.  Then he says, "Daw!"  (That means dog).  "No, Greyson, that's a bird.  Not a dog.  A BIRD."  Wheels turning again, still staring at the bird.  "Bir!"  "Yes!  Good job!  A bird!"  "Bir!"  We were so proud.  :)

Tonight we had some fun trying out a new photo prop I got at Goodwill a few weeks ago.  Pretty darn cute, right?

Road Trip!

Greyson (and us) made it through his first road trip over the weekend when we drove back and forth to Modesto (12 hrs each way) for my sister's graduation party.  We are so proud of you, Amy!  And, thankfully, Greyson did pretty awesome.  We split the trip over two days each way and stayed overnight in Bakersfield Thursday and Sunday nights.  That definitely helped, and made the trip much more do-able.  It was so much fun to see my family again, and Greyson definitely had a good time!  Here are some shots of him enjoying the family...

Thanks for such a great weekend!