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!

On Conor's last day of paternity leave (I'm fine!), we went to Fish Lake. It's so close and so easy. Maeve and I caught a frog and I loved watching all 5 of my children all focused in on the same thing and doing something together. The boys thought the frog was so funny! One of those delightful and rare moments when my kids are all engaged in something together. The little three loved the tunnels that someone else had dug. Can you believe that at the beginning of the summer sand made my boys cry?! Now they have no problems with it. And of course and little naked baby rinse at the end of play time before a dry diaper. I love me some baby booty!

I love our front porch. It's a mess most of the time, but I really love hanging out front with my family. The boys were very eager to eat popsicles and as soon as we passed Enoch one, he went straight outside and sat down on the top step. He knows how it's done!

Hayden Lake may be one of my most favorite in the area! The Honeysuckle Public Beach is so accessible and chill. The u-shaped dock is lots of fun and the boat launch gave the boys a ton of entertainment. I took Ira on the paddle board - he had mixed (mostly negative) feelings about it. He's a bit of a scaredy cat!

Also this summer has been all about practicing self-love of my body. Those tummy rolls are uncomfortable for me. Getting into a consistent workout program is really difficult with 5 children, two of whom are really little (and covid, damn covid). And... because my mental health has been leaps and bounds better post Ira's birth than my other births, I've been able to nourish and fuel my body adequately. After my other three births, my anxiety was so high and I struggle to eat when that happens to the point where I lose more weight than I gained during pregnancy. It's kind of one of those things, if carrying some extra weight means I can make it through the day without panicking (and crying and all those feels and living in darkness) then I think that's worth it. Still, I'm looking forward to feeling more like myself in my body. Working on it, and working on being okay with it all taking a little more time.

Anyways... here are some photos of my cutie family!