Road Trippin'

We just got back from THE most fun trip ever.

Last week Jeremy asked how we'd feel about heading over east to turkey hunt.
I'm going to be honest, I was a little skeptical.

*5 hour drive.
*1 little tiny who can't stand to be in the car 15 minutes.
*1 mama who stresses out at the thought of long car rides.
*Tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere.
You get the idea.

But.  We don't get out all six of us all that often.
So we packed.
And headed out.
 

And seriously had the most amazing time ever.

Taylor was super wonderful in the car.
I didn't even mess around.
 I started right out sitting next to her so that I could tend to her every need.
And other than a throw up episode about an hour in to the trip, it was smooth sailing.
 

We got to the cabin Sunday afternoon, and settled right in.
We got to explore on 8,000 acres of land.
And every single acre was gorgeous.
This poor little shack was right down the road from the cabin.
 

Once we unpacked, we headed out for a drive.
We saw some cows . . .
Miss Taylor thought they looked mean,
so all we heard for the next half hour was, "Mean Tow".
 

And then . . .
We saw some wild horses!
They were just beautiful.
 

The next morning Sierra and Jeremy headed out early to track down turkeys.
It was chilly! A whopping 12 degrees on our last morning.
 

And the rest of us relaxed, snacked, and headed out to explore on our own.
 

We found a little cemetery right down from the cabin.
 

And fell in love with the little tiny school house next door.
 

Later we went up on the hillside and found fossils.
Fossils, people.
It was the most amazing day ever.
 

This adorable school house was right next to the cabin.
I cannot even imagine owning this gorgeous land.
All the history here.
 

The girls loved the merry-go-round.
 

I think I could live there.
I really do.
No people for miles around.
The nearest grocery store, over an hour's drive.
No cell service ;)

 

But oh my it was beautiful.
And peaceful.
And perfect.
 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Family Camp 2012

We look forward to my family reunion camp-out each year.

If you asked the girls what their favorite time of year is I'd be willing to bet they'd say "Family Reunion!" {Either that, or Christmas.  It'd be close}.

We have been going over a few days early for the last several years.  A little extended camp-out.  It gives Jeremy more time to fish, the girls more time to play, and me more time to work my boot off keeping everything running.  Juuuuuuuust kidding.  Kind of.

Our trip starts the same way each year.  A stop at Safeway to pick up ice for the coolers, fuel up the truck, and pop in to McDonald's for breakfast.  {No McDonald's for me, though.  I think I mentioned before, but I have issues.  Lots of issues.  And one of them happens to be that I have the most nervous stomach ever.  I have no idea what I think might happen during our travels, but I get myself completely worked up over the most ridiculous things.  So. No food for me before a trip.}

Taylor, on the other hand, has no worries at all.  And she's loving this McDonald's tradition.

We caravan with my parents, and traditionally stop in Bend for lunch.  Gramps needed to pick up some batteries, and decided a little candy treat for the girls was in order.

Oh, I just have to mention.  Kameryn is the BEST TRAVELER EVER.  Best.  This girl has been a super star traveler for a long time.  Give her a book, or an iPod, and you don't hear a peep out of her.  She never asks, "how much looonnnggger?"  Not once.  She's our travel girl ;)

We pulled in, jumped out of the truck, and literally ran to the water.

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This year, we started something new {that I am determined to make tradition}.  The first full day of camping, when the boys went out fishing for the day, my mom and I loaded the girls up, and drove in to Bend for some shopping.  Or rather, looking.  We didn't have any money to shop with ;)

Taylor took a liking to one of the mannequins in Baby Gap.
{Can't say I blame her, there were some ADORABLE outfits goin' on in that place}



Then Nana took us out to lunch at Red Robin.

Shopping and lunch . . . I'm sorry, but for me, it beats out camping any day! :)

San Diego, Part 3

This is my last San Diego entry.  I won't bore you any further with our vacation pics ;)

Our last day in San Diego was spent at Sea World!

The girls {and boy} ran straight to the rides :)

We had such fun feeding the sea lions.  Those guys made such a racket begging for food!

Oh, hello there.

The Sea Turtles . . . oh how I love them!  

And, of course, we couldn't miss the Shamu show.

Our last morning was spent having breakfast, and taking one last stroll around Seaport Village, snapping a few more pictures.

I was so happy to grab a few photos of the whole family. 



Sissy's expression pretty much sums it up. 

 None of us were ready to go home.

Hopefully we'll be able to take another vacation soon!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Out To Dinner

For more WW fun, head on over to Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

We ♥ the Pumpkin Patch!

It has been a VERY looooooong couple of days around here. I will most likely be blogging about that soon. But I don't have the time, the energy, or the focus it takes to do much more than upload a few {adorable} photos. For the time being, anyway.

As you probably guessed, we went to the pumpkin patch this week! I ♥ the pumpkin patch. It is an outing I look forward to all year. I love Fall. The gorgeous leaves, the bales of hay, sunflowers {awwww, I just love those happy flowers!}, pumpkins, and apple cider. Ooooh, I love this time of year!

We set out for the patch on Wednesday. My mom came along and we met up with our dear dear homeschooling friends, the Kishpaughs. My dad even stopped by for some of the fun!

There was a gorgeous store with beautiful decorations, delicious treats, and the best apple cider you've ever tasted. Seriously, it's that good. I could have spent hours in that store.

But alas, the slides and swings and mazes were calling.

Kam made good friends with Amanda's youngest. Aren't they the cutest?

This little guy {Billy the Kid, if you must know his name} received much attention from the kiddos.

Kam LOVED the swings. She's not so sure about the swings we have at home, but these ones? She loved them. {And can we not talk about the fact that she does not even slightly resemble a baby anymore? Mmkay.}

Kenners liked the swings too.

And the slides were a favorite. But not for Kam. Lesson learned.

Yep, I'd say everyone had a pretty good time.

How about y'all? Any of you been to the pumpkin patch yet?

Sunshine & BBQin'

. . . Go hand in hand!

In honor of my sister coming up for a visit {and also for someone's 30th birthday, ahem} we invited a few friends and family over. And oh, what fun we had.

We only had one uninvited guest. This "little guy" came boundin' down the driveway, and once he saw the kiddos he didn't really want to leave.

Would you be wanting to leave if you were getting all that love and attention?

This is my friend, Mandy, and her two adorable babies. My mom used to take care of Mandy and her sister when my sister and I were little. We pretty much grew up together, and haven't seen each other since we were about 13. Yeah. It was quite a reunion.

The kids only had a teensy bit of fun. It was rather boring for them, actually. Can you tell? They were half asleep from the sheer boredom. Yawn. ;)

Guess who ♥ LOVES ♥ their cousin? Kam could not get enough smoochies from Mona. She kept chasing after her trying to give more and more loves. Precious, I tell ya.

My sis and my best friend from middle school and high school. Annie planned the entire gathering {with some help from my mom}. She is a party animal ;)

Ang & I met up again last summer after losing touch for several years. How precious friendships are. I'm so happy to have her in my life again.

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It was a gorgeous day.

Sunshine.

Blue skies.

Friends.

Family.

Good Food.

It doesn't get much better!