We spent Friday evening at the ward campout. James was lovin' the hot springs in his Shrek underwear. He's our little nature boy.
This was an awesome little half mile trail from the highway, through a lush forest down to the beach. This was not far from Seaside, Oregon. We were gone about a week at the beginning of June.
I love spring! I especially love the temple grounds in the spring. I love how much care and work goes into the temple grounds to reflect the beauty of what occurs inside the temple. If you haven't visited your local temple in a while, I urge you to go now because, sadly, tulips and daffodils and tree blossoms only last a couple of weeks and then they're gone for another year. The temple is James' favorite place right now. He wants to go to the temple every day to see 'all of the beautiful flowers and angel Moroni.' How can I deny him? I feel guilty if I say, "No, let's not go to the temple today," so we go nearly everyday. One day, we even went twice. I'm sure the security guard thinks we don't have lives, which we don't. But, just look at these beautiful blossoms! Love it! The air is so fragrant and the colors are so vibrant and happy. James says daffodils are Angel Moroni's favorite because they look like a trumpet. He also says Angel Moroni comes down every night to lock the gate. He also asked me if I got baptized in the temple fountain. Where does he get this stuff?
Riding the range.
Yes, this is my little boy pretending to breastfeed his doll. He's going to hate this picture when he's a teenager.
About a month ago, me, Adam and Ruby went to Chicago for a few days. It was a pretty fun trip and Ruby did really, really well. It was an all-expenses paid vacation with EF Foundation for Foreign Study, the non-profit organization I've been working for since November. Ruby hardly ever cried even during the long hours of training. Everyone commented on how good she was-- that she was the best baby they'd ever seen. This was my third trip to Chi-town and Adam's first. We really didn't too anything all that exciting since we had Ruby and not a lot of money to spend (like none!). But it was fun to get a way for a while. It was hard leaving James. This was the first time we've ever been away from him for longer than a few hours. He was crying on the phone our first night and wanting us to 'come get me.' It was pretty sad. I wanted to fly home right then and pick him up.
I started reading this book a couple of weeks ago and I am completely sucked in. This is a fascinating book about how this generation is starved for experiences with nature. Page after page, I am saddened to think about children who aren't free to roam their neighborhoods and streets actively participating in free play. It seems today that kids are busy with structured play- sports, dance, etc- or they're in front of the television or playing video games. I am so thankful that my parents allowed me and my siblings to enjoy childhood freedom. My fondest memories are those that centered around nature or natural settings-- playing hide-n-seek in the summer evenings until way past dark and then lying in the grass and watching the stars; swimming in the river and canals; making mud pies in the backyard; helping in the family vegetable garden (although at the time I hated it!); running through the sprinkler and then laying on the hot cement to get warm (I can still smell the scent of wet, hot cement and the sound of my breath against the rough sidewalk and feeling the warm summer sun on my back); jumping on the trampoline at dusk at the height of spring time surrounded by apple trees in full bloom; sleeping on the trampoline and gazing at the stars; going fishing with my dad and brothers; driving to the mountains and having a picnic by a stream and spending the day playing in the water; catching river minnows; climbing my grandpa's tree; riding my bike for hours... and countless other memories.
As an adult, the moments that I relish most while at 'play' have been and continue to be my interactions with nature--a sunset in Nauvoo; jogging through Hyde Park; swimming in the river in Zurich; riding my bike past fields and fields of sunflowers in France; pulling a handcart through 8 ft' sagebrush; night hikes in the Sawtooth mountains; basking in a natural hotspring while watching the stars; bushwacking a trail to a ghosttown in the middle of nowhere under a full moon; watching a lightning storm at the edge of the Grand Canyon; working in my yard; watching my son as he delights in a simple flower or watching him get so much joy from throwing a rock into the water.
This is random picture (above). Since Adam's been laid off, he's been working on some projects around the house. We found some super cheap granite tiles on clearance at Home Depot and decided to remodel the bathroom. He also refinished the hardwood floors last weekend while we were on a youth snowmobiling trip. (That's a whole other story). Adam's definitely a good man to have around. It amazes me how he can do just about anything around the house. He's never put in tile before or used a tile saw but he figured it out on his own and they look great. (Adam's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his work) Amazing!
Brotherly love. Ruby will giggle and giggle whenever James is around. He won't even be doing anything and she'll still laugh. It is the cutest thing. She won't really laugh like that for anyone else, including myself. She is absolutely enamored with James. She gets so excited when he's around and she won't take her eyes off of him. I can already tell that she's going to follow him around and mimic everything he does. Partner's in crime waiting to happen. James loves me to put Ruby in his firetruck bed and then he 'drives' around putting out fires with Ruby as his sidekick. This is the reason we had another child-- so we wouldn't have to entertain James all of the time.
On a side note, the handcart trek has been canceled and moved to next year. Bummer. I was totally ready- had my application and check in and everything. Oh well, at least Ruby will be a little older next year.
