I've been battling a cold every since I got back from camping. I'm not sure if it was the smoke from the campfires, or the wild flowers that were in bloom.....maybe a combination of both. I haven't been on the computer much simply because the week has been incredibly busy. The big camera wasn't out at all, except for scheduled shoots, so all I have from this week are pictures from my phone.

 

I have another pot of lilies blooming. If I can keep Kendall away from them, we get to enjoy their beauty for awhile (she likes to pick them).

 

  

Sunrise on a morning drive to work.

 

 

We had a couple of nights where the neighbor kids were all out playing. Fortunately, I live in a quiet cul-de-sac, so letting the kids run around isn't too stressful as a mom. I introduced the kids to corn hole and it was a huge hit! They played for hours and shared lots of laughs.

 

 

I also took in a big beach print of mine to be framed. I can't wait to see the final product. We walked by these velvet color pages and talk about a flash back to my childhood! I let the kids pick some out and they had a great time coloring.

 

 

Kendall. Oh, Kendall. So many time-outs lately. The struggle with this one continues.

 

 

Morning cuddles before work.

 

 

I also got a new lens for my camera. It's rather different than anything I have, so I see lots of practice sessions with my kids to get used to it.

 

 

Saturday was a ridiculously busy day. I had a shoot first thing in the morning, which ran long and was quite difficult due to the kids involved. Then I had six hours of wedding coverage later in the day/evening. It was a gorgeous day!

 

 

 

 

Sunday, I had to venture to the mall, which I hate. Fortunately, it was a quiet Sunday morning at the mall. My brother's wedding is quickly approaching, and I needed to get the rest of the kids' stuff. I decided to take the kids in to Build-a-Bear. They had an absolute ball picking out their animals - a Spiderman bear for Carter and a Golden Retriever puppy for Kendall.

 

 

I also went in for my monthly massage, which really capped off my weekend, and was very much needed after all the photography work the day before.

 

 

My parents are out of town for another week, so my mom invited me to go pick all of the raspberries I wanted. There were quite a bit, though I had to battle the bees to get to them.

 

 

While watching Sunday night baseball, I prepped for the upcoming holiday. I have blue on my toes and red on my fingers. I picked up the kids' festive outfits from Old Navy, and we are set to enjoy a wonderful 4th of July up in Coeur d'Alene with Dana, Veronica, and Easton. I can't wait to see the parade and the fireworks show over the lake!

 

 

I will have pictures from all of my shoots (currently, four to edit) up this week, so stay tuned!

A Camping Adventure

With a busy summer planned, including lots of photography stuff and planned trips, I wanted to get the kids up to the mountains for some camping before the summer got away from us. Instead of venturing up to the normal camping areas we frequent, we decided to head a different direction and ended up near the Boiling Springs area where I spent many summers as a kid. There were TONS of people and literally no open camping spots. We happened upon an area that already had two trailers set up and were about to bail on that spot when we saw a hidden fire pit. A fire pit means an established camping area. So we stopped the truck and checked it out. Sure enough, it was totally unclaimed. We pounced on the spot as there was nothing left in the area. It turned out to be a great little spot right on the river. Let me tell you, there is nothing more peaceful than falling asleep to the sound of water (whether it's the river or the ocean).

 

We had to get camp set up rather quickly since we wasted quite a bit of time roaming around for an open spot.

 

 

This kid LOVES to camp!

 

Kendall is still learning the ropes of camping. First thing out of the truck, she was complaining that she had dirt in her shoes. I laughed and told her to get used to it, it's a matter of life in the mountains. Once she let go of that, she did great!

 

 

 

 

Some dripping sap on a nearby tree.

 

 

Foil packets cooking in the fire.

 

 

Saturday was a very busy day - we had so much we wanted to do! Eric and Carter got up early and spent a couple of hours away from the camp site fishing. Kendall and I went for a little nature walk. She loved picking the mountain wild flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also practiced some baseball with Kendall, which was by far her favorite thing. We played a modified round of corn hole as well. I say modified because Kendall just walked up and put the bean bags into the hole. Hey, rules are different when you're only three! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the afternoon, after naps, we all hopped in the truck and took a drive to gather more firewood. It was a gorgeous afternoon!

 

 

Once we got back to camp, the kids played around in the shade tent while I prepped dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was followed by more marshmallow roasting. The kids loved this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We packed up camp this morning and headed back home. We stopped at the Boiling Springs cabin, but there were people there so we didn't get to walk all the way back in to explore the cabin and grounds. Might be time to rent that old cabin again!

 

 

 

The Quiet Before the Storm

Life is about to get super busy - wedding season is kicking off, starting this weekend, along with several travel weekends (both for fun and for work). My new job started this week and has been really great thus far. I truly couldn't ask for a better place! In the meantime, I've been enjoying the quiet because I know it is short-lived.