Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Meet the Erratic Hillbillies

This past Friday we went camping.

It was a modified repeat of a similar trip we took 3 years ago.

The two modifications being:

-the addition of a 7th small person whom we all adore

-the absence of the one voice of sensibility since my oldest daughter was gone for the morning when  the plan was hatched.


Something bizarre doesn't seem quite as bizarre when you do a re-run.

None the less we had a high time pulling all the details together in record breaking time.

By 2:30 pm we had all our supplies packed up and we were on the road.

By the time Amos arrived at the site we had camp all set up and a fire going.

Several people were lounging in their new hammocks.



Several people were digging in the dirt.

At least one small person was eating dirt.

Several people were congratulating themselves on the various successes of the day.

We all felt quite fortunate that we were able to reserve our favorite camping site at the local campground on the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend.

We really like this spot because of its seclusive nature.

We had fun watching the campers begin to roll in for the weekend from our little nook in the woods.

We were reminded that we don't fit into the stereotypical American camping scene all that well.

We were glad to be tucked back into a site surrounded by trees and glad that our vehicle mostly blocked any passerby from even seeing our camp.

I am happy with how comfortable we are with our family's personal camping style.

It's pretty primitive and just a little rough around the edges.

It sure doesn't fit the cute camping pictures that you see on pinterest.

No hot rod truck. (at least I don't think a Suburban falls in that category😊)

No sleek camper or massive grill.

No charming string of lights or other trendy camping equipment.

Fine cuisine is none existent.

Instead you will find:

- tarps, ropes, knives, hatchets, machetes and marshmallows floating around our campsite.

-loads of wet wipes and paper towels

-a stack of books for just in case there are a few quiet moments.

-a Pat McManus story to be read aloud after dark.

-barefoot kids and one wearing a straw hat

 -sticky and dirty little ones on the prowl.

-a family of nine making memories together




I decided a fitting description for our camping style would be The Erratic Hillbillies.










We may not be the stereotypical American campers and we may not be pinterest worthy, but I don't think it's for lack of style.😂





* these last two photos are simply thrown in because I think my family -and especially my baby who just hit the 6 month mile marker- deserve a better representation than the cell phone pictures that were taken during our camping trip.

Friday, February 15, 2019

meanwhile



Meanwhile, my life really hasn't been as quiet as this blog page.

Isaiah John came bounding into our lives one early morning in November with all 9 lbs 14 oz of himself.

We're all so thrilled to have this sweet little guy in our home.

All of life outside our home pretty much came to a halt and all our energy revolved around Isaiah for a few weeks.

While the rest of the family has resumed a fair level of normalcy, my life still revolves around Isaiah. I wouldn't want it any other way.











I already feel nostalgic looking back at these pictures.








Isaiah's trade marks are his funky stick up hair and his squishy 
chubbiness. 

He's a chill little guy and has been sleeping like a champ since his first days earth side.

Isaiah loves to interact with his family. It's easy to distract him from his momentary pains by engaging him in a happy conversation.

I call him my "Monster Baby" because he is just so big. I mean, really big. He outgrows clothes from the time they go in the dirty laundry basket until they get back into his drawers. (which by the way is usually a matter of a day or two)

In fact,  he is outgrowing everything except his blankets these days.



I blinked and he went from this just a few days ago

                                                                             to this today.


Happy 3 months, Big Boy.

You are our JOY BOY.