Camping Spring 2013

We decided to give camping another shot this weekend.  The closest state park to our house, Lake Mineral Wells State Park, recently imposed a two-night minimum on the weekends, so we haven’t been there in a while.  We really like the park but the kids just can’t quite handle a two night trip yet.  This week, I took off work on Good Friday, so we reserved a campsite for Thursday night. It really worked out well because we were able to get the single night campsite and the weather was really nice.  It’s been a long couple of weeks at work, so it was really nice to get away for a little bit.

Here are the kids hanging out by the fire.  Notice Nathan finishing his nuggets.  Since we went after work, we decided to drive through Chik-Fil-A instead of cooking at the campsite.

Camping buddies

We were ready for bed pretty soon and we all piled in the tent.  It was a nice night, clear and mild, the temperature was in the mid-50s.  I bought Nathan a new Spiderman sleeping bag, which he liked, but not for sleeping.  We finally got everyone to sleep sometime after 10pm, but about 1:00am, Nathan woke up screaming. We got him back to sleep, but he woke up again screaming about 15 minutes later.  It seems he does not like to sleep in a tent.  Part of the problem was that he wouldn’t get in his sleeping bag, so I think he was a little cold.  After another 5-10 minutes of him crying, Jennifer decided to take him home.  Hannah and I decided to stay.  She reminded me that she was good at camping and that sometimes babies that cry have to go home, but not her.  We were back to sleep in pretty short order and slept fine the rest of the night, except for some howling coyotes that woke me up later.  The next morning, this is how we found the campsite (Jennifer had left the food and some of the gear for us):

After breakfast, Hannah and I broke camp and left everything at the campsite while we took a short hike along the lake

We went down by the water for a bit

And Hannah did a performance for the camera

About mid-morning, Jennifer and Nathan returned from the house (it is about a 30 minute drive), and we went over to Penitentiary Hollow to play in the rocks.

We went through this “cave” looking for a bear……no luck

I scrambled around on some of the rocks

Nathan had a blast.  He loves everything about camping except actually sleeping in the tent

We had a great time and can’t wait to go back.  Hopefully Nathan will be able to make it a full night soon!

Super Heroes

Dresser Makeover

Hannah got a new dresser for her room, kind of. She had an old dresser that we inherited from Aunt Mae and we decided to paint it.  We made it a family project. Jennifer got the idea here and from many other pictures via Pinterest.

This is the closest thing to a before shot (we forgot to take one).  Here it is after some quick sanding:

Hannah was all about it

After a while, we let her just paint this piece of cardboard.  She said we could use it to decorate the garage.

The finished product:

The drawers are suppose to go from light to dark, but we didn’t realize that the two top drawers were different sizes than the bottom two. So this is what we got. I like it, but Jennifer says she might fix it one day…we’ll see.

Just Because...

The Theater

Anyone recognize this scene?

Once again, Mama Jo treated us to some fun over in Dallas. She took us all to a little Children’s Theater to see a precious production of Goodnight Moon. Scott and I couldn’t imagine how they could turn that little book into a one hour play, but they did and it was so cute! Hannah was on the edge of her seat the entire time and Nathan only got really antsy toward the end. Scott was able to stand up with him near the entrance so he could still see the stage.

Hannah found Pinkalicious during the intermission.

Nathan was right behind her saying, “Me too, me too!”

Thanks, Mama Jo! You know how to show us a good time!

Here We Go…

Once again, let the potty-training begin!

truck underwear- check

superhero underwear- check

treats- check

encouraging words from Hannah- check (she gets a treat when he potties too)

disinfecting wipes- check

carpet cleaner- check

excited little boy- double check!!

Digger, Dumps Party

Since Nathan loves heavy machinery, we thought a construction birthday party would be perfect this year. I got most/all of these ideas from Pinterest and it was really simple because you just decorate with lots of trucks and toys that little boys usually already have. Scott was such a sport and dressed up for the occasion:)

Home Depot just gave me these little aprons for free. They give them out during their kid workshops on Saturdays. They were a hit!

The cake was a Pinterest find and very easy. You just did a hole in the top and fill it with crushed oreos.

Thanks to a great friend for making this little road for Nathan. We love playing with it and it was a great addition to the party.

The Birthday Boy enjoying his cake!

The kids dug around in the sandbox with trucks and diggers.

All the cousins.

Happy Birthday, Nathan! We hope you had fun!