Cousins Come to Play

It's not often that all these cousins get the chance to play together, so last month when the mid-western faction of our family came to visit, the kids packed as much outdoor play into one sunny afternoon as they possibly could! Complete with pirate sword fights and lots and lots of mud, thanks to the previous week of rain.
This is the gang after chowing down at Mom Mom and Pop Pop Barr's. My how times have changed! It used to be six adults at the table and now six kids have taken our spots! :)


My boys so enjoyed their cousins that it took a few days for the sad faces to disappear after they had gone. I'm sure by the time they have another play date, they will all be a few inches taller and be interested in different things. But for now the boys have great memories until then! :)

Just Hikin' Around

One of the things we love to do as a family is take a long drive and go exploring! The hubby usually has a place in mind and me and the boys just ride along and see where we end up. It's lots of fun! This past weekend we spent some time checking out a state park and campground area. Great scenery, beautiful weather, and so relaxing just to be outdoors!

Swimming Fun!

We had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a friends' pool the other day, and the boys had so much fun! I have a feeling their little kiddie pool at home will not provide as much excitement for them from now on! :)

Camping in the Rain

For being relatively new to the whole camping thing, I'm pretty proud of myself and my little guys for having a really enjoyable time outside in the rain all weekend! Thankfully it was mostly a gentle, warm rain. We remained in sandals and rain jackets most of the time, and Jeff was able to keep our tent and eating area quite dry. :)


Now Jeff is an amazing cook at home, so of course we were treated to yummy camp food all weekend!And we spent some time roaming a lumberjack museum...


playing on the little beach area in the rain...

meeting some cute critters..

a chipmunk who parked under our table for every meal...

a baby snapper turtle...a little fawn who was stuck on one side of our jeep and its mother across the road on the other side...

and just really enjoying some down time away from it all!


I must say, if I didn't have such an experienced outdoorsman for a husband, the rainy weekend in the woods just might have ended sooner than planned. Thanks for making a wonderful memory for our family, sweetheart!

Where did summer go?

So, August is now gone, and summer is officially over. And with the rain and wind of Hurricane Hanna blown northward, I am enjoying the low humidity and perfect temperatures. My boys are very excited to see leaves falling, although I'm pretty sure they're falling early due to previously dry temps. and this past weekend's wind and rain. But, nevertheless, there are leaves to rake into piles for jumping, and that makes Garrett and Carson giggle with excitement.

Another adventure that has them giggling in delight is our camping trip planned for this weekend. This will be their first time, and they are anticipating all sorts of new adventures in the woods for three whole days. They don't even know the half of it. So, I will have camera in tow, following them around for the duration documenting their every new discovery and experience. I, as well, will be experiencing new things, as I've only done this one other time in my life, and it was before children. Needless to say, this will be a new endeavor for all of us. Even Daddy, experienced wilderness outdoorsman that he is!! :)

So, I'll be back next week with lots to share. Enjoy your week, everybody!

So, it's summertime...

I'm just realizing that the date of my last post was May 31st. Somehow I've missed a whole month! But then I thought about how little time I spend indoors in front of a keyboard when it's warm and sunny outside!

So here are a few photos of what me and my boys have been up to...

Some backyard fun...

An evening stroll at a nearby lake...

Beatin' the heat in the river...

Seeing some local wildlife...

Finding a baby birdie that fell out of its nest...

Hope you are enjoying summertime as much as we are!

Pool Time!

This is where the boys will be all summer!

My Boys in Trees

This is my boys' idea of a weekend well spent...







helping Pop Pop and Daddy cut up tree branches and stack wood piles. Does it get any better for little boys?


. . . and big boys? :)