We took the boys on their first camping trip and our first family camping trip since Summer 2020. Ya, it's been a minute. Camping with two little ones is really daunting, but I'm pleased to share the boys did really well! They slept great, which is kind of what matters most. No one was hurt by the evening fire. They liked the water. And obviously our older kids were super pleased to be outside camping - they love it! Priest Lake is so gorgeous and it's such a gem. I got lucky and snagged a campsite cancellation. Just wondering, what are our thoughts on saving beach space with 10x10 tents? Is that rude, entitled or totally okay? I'm mixed. The beach was basically a wall of reserved space. We just set up a little bit in front of a couple beach spots. Here's the kicker for me, only about half the beach set-ups were occupied on Saturday. So is that fair? Does it matter? I dunno! Just some thoughts and questions.

Our second day swimming was interesting. The boys were hanging off of me (see last pic) and Enoch surprisingly fell asleep on my lap for a good hour. In just a few days we discovered those yucky feelings were the beginnings of Hand Foot Mouth Disease. SO... that makes sense. Still, I'm calling this camping trip a win!

Day two was a clearer day than the first - the smoke and clouds were gone and the lake was glittering. My girls did great hauling all their gear out despite still feeling tired and a bit sore from the first day. The trip was just the right amount of challenge were the girls were ready to be done by the end, but could still finish it. We made sure to stop for one last dip in the lake before our final push to the car. Swimming in the water was dreamy! Molly (the dog) swam from person to person entertaining us all. I took some time on the shore to reflect on this trip. I was so grateful to be able to do this with my daughters and my best friends. My body felt strong, no knee pain (!), and seriously to be a bunch of women camping and exposing our children to this was very empowering. My mind felt calmer, I left feeling restored. Stepping away from the busy day to day and the household and family and baby demands was something that really helped to revive me. I'm looking forward to more adventuring with this crew!

I took Holly and Greta on their first backpacking trip (and actually only my second!) and we had so much fun! We went with our friends and a dog - so fun to have a dog with us! We went to Bead Lake, which is about an hour and a half away. It was a there and back hike, about 12 miles total, and we probably did around 2/3 of the distance on the first day. The girls were so strong and total troopers! I was really proud of them. And they want to do it again! I'm hoping this will become an annual thing. All 4 of the kids shared a tent and I think that was a dream come true for them. They've always wanted to have a sleepover (and they basically had one in Banff last month), but all the giggling was adorable.

Gotta say, the girl power vibe of this trip was strong. How awesome is it that all 4 girls first backpacking trip was led by 3 woman? I'm kind of bursting with all the "hear me roar" feels. Here are a bunch of pictures from our first day!

Our one and only camping trip this year was to Round Lake for our annual camp with friends trip. It was a lot of fun, even if I slept poorly. We forgot the pillows. And I took close to no photos with the exception of the ones below of Maeve playing with fire. We got in a lot of really fun lake time and everyone had a wonderful time!

Gotta catch up on the old blog! First things first, on Thursday, we became licensed foster parents and on Friday evening we welcomed our first placement, a little boy. He's sweet and I feel like I'm in over my head but also like we have a handle on this too? I dunno, it's really strange to have a child dropped off at our house who we don't know. Lots of kisses, hugs and cuddles around here!

Right after we arrived home from camping at the Fire Lookout, we showered, re-packed and went camping in Idaho with friends. It was lovely. Just what I wanted!