Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The rest of the camping pics

Here's a couple of totally cute beach pics. I was buttoning her jacket in the first one (another Thank you, this one to Annette for the hand me downs!) and the other just shows a nice close up of her in the wind. It was chilly enough she even left her hood on, which she HATES to have up normally.
Having fun with her Daddy, a nice snuggle between trips to the ground to find rocks! ;)

Camping

A word of caustion, I wanted to catch a lot of memories here, so it's pretty text heavy. If you want to just skip to the pictures I won't be offended... ;)

Our Church has an annual camp out every year, where we reserve a bunch of spots together in a state park on the beach (used to be South Beach, now we do Nehalem Bay) and have a grand old time with organized campfire events, a sand castle contest, organized games, a potluck, and of course a fireside worship service. We've gone every year since we joined the church, altho last year with little Ru we just ended up making a day trip out of it. So this year was officially Ru's first camping trip. She had a great time! During the days...she was teething and the nights were fairly tough on all of us. Thankfully some good friends (who weren't able to go, and we did miss them--but Thanks Rose and Bob!!) loaned us their pop up trailer, or we may have bailed after the first night.

Of course, even that didn't go without a hitch...literally. We couldn't get one put on our van in less than a week, so at first we told them we couldn't do it, then some other friends offered to pull it for us. (Thanks Don and Judy!!) So we were able to work it out. Ru actually LOVED the beds. She thought it was totally fun that they were mostly encased in canvas, and she could stand up and touch the ceiling and bang on the walls, etc. She got excited every time it was time for bed. You may notice a problem with that situation there... Anyway, we put her on the outside edge with one sleeping bag laid out flat under us, and used another for a cover. I slept in the inside edge so she couldn't roll off the bed and into the trailer. the first night was ok, the second she woke around midnight crying and crying, it took us 20 minutes to get her calmed down enough to take some tylenol and get her back to sleep. And then she insisted upon sleeping ON me. I still have a sore neck three days later. But enough whining...

Friday night was the campfire songs and story telling, which eventually broke down into telling blond jokes and making endless smores and marshmallows. There was no way to put Ru down safely at her regular bedtime, so she stayed up (after a brief nap in the wrap) and enjoyed the party, too.

Saturday's events started at 10:30 with the sand sculpture contest. (while I'm thinking about it, our neighbors provided us with three meals at their table, including sat breakfast of pancakes with homemade raspberry sauce. Thanks Sharon and Bill!) I walked down with Don and Judy, and we took turns carrying Ru. She's getting heavy! She ended up spending quite a bit of time on Don's shoulders. She wasn't actually sure she liked it up there, he's pretty tall, but she didn't cry or protest, either. As usual, she mostly just played with the rocks. I'll post the beach pics separate because this crazy thing only lets me post 4 pics each time.

After lunch we did games near the playground. I was beat after that first night, so I actually napped thru the games and Brian and Judy took care of Ru. The playground had pea gravel as the cushioning. Little, tiny, ROCKS!!! Ru likes rocks. She played with them, grabbing handfuls, pushing them around, and stacking them on the swings. Yay, rocks!


Saturday night we had the potluck. Judy took Ru for pretty much the entire time, fed her, etc. So Brian and I got a much needed break to relax and eat. I managed to bang my head pretty good on a low tree branch, and had already had a headache all day. So i snuck out after dinner and took a shower (man did that sting, I obviously broke the skin on my head when I hit it!) and then laid down in the trailer til the tylenol kicked in. I caught the last bit of the worship service (I actually listened to much of the rest, since the extra campsite we reserve each time for a meeting space was across from ours) and took communion. Our little family didn't stay up much past that, we were beat and ready for bed. Thank goodness for Judy!


Sunday morning Brian took Sammy out early, and without his morning restlessness Ru and I were able to sleep in til 9. Yay for much needed sleep! (altho that's when I was off the pillow and tweaked my neck) Anyway, I kept Ru busy visiting folks while Brian broke down camp. We had the usual organizational meeting where we discussed ideas for improvements the following year, with a couple of great suggestions we'll follow up on. We didn't stick around for lunch. We were exhausted, Ru was fussy, Brian sunburned, my head still hurt, so we headed home. The good news is the drive home went much better than the drive there (we stopped twice on the way there because she was so upset. On the way back she actually slept the last hour) and we arrived home safe and sound Sunday afternoon.

Overall it was an ok trip. camping with an infant is a LOT of work. I am fairly certain Brian and I have no urge whatsoever to borrow Bob's trailer and go do it again next month. However, with the support of a loving church family around, it was quite doable and certainly had many wonderful moments, so we do plan to try it again next year. Even tho we may be back in a tent...

More birthday suit pics

We didn't stop to put our clothes on (well, hers, I had a swim suit on, if that counts) when Ru decided she was done playing in the pool. Instead, we moved to the front porch where she has a sandbox to play in. Of course, she didn't play in it. She preferred to climb up onto the Adirondack chairs all by herself. she is just getting into the whole climbing thing. She keeps me busy following her around with my hands stretched and ready to catch her if she falls, or give her a boost if she needs it. She's pretty much mastered getting on the chair...now if only she could figure out how to get back off...

I love this pic of her, she looks so serious. No smiling and clapping at her accomplishment, she's busy trying to memorize what she did to get up there...


When she tired of the chairs, there was the dog's water dish to play with. With water! I had to use a bit to splash on the porch when she peed (which was also pretty cute, she just stood there and watched somewhat fascinated as the liquid came out...but I did NOT decide to catch that on camera ;) and so then she decided it must be ok to haul it around and dump the water... She's not actually dumping it on purpose I don't think, but she is splashing it all over herself.

Playing in the bowl afterwards, Sammy seems a little saddened by the loss of the use of his dish.

And of course you gotta love the cute little baby buns. Not sure that you can tell from this pic, but they are quite grubby from the eternally dusty chairs she was climbing on. (I do hate my gravel road)

More to come, I've got camping pics to post, and today I took some fun ones of her attempting to feed herself, let's just say it got a little messy...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

more pool pics

Look at me, two in one day! Ok, so I'll let you in on a little secret. Everything I've posted the last two weeks has been older pics. Not ancient by any means, but I lost my camera after we got home from mom's wedding, so I've just been catching up on some pics I had already taken and not posted. I called all the places we'd visited, searched every room in the house, and emailed all my relatives to ask if they knew where it was. I really liked that camera. Last night we finally admitted defeat and I went and bought a new camera. I'm really happy with it, it's an ultra compact (Canon powershot SD 780 IS for anyone into that sort of thing) so I can carry it around in my pocket everywhere and never miss a cute pic of Ru again. At least that's the idea. Anyways, I like it pretty well and I'm keeping it. Despite the fact that I found the old one this morning. Yes, less than 18 hours after purchasing the new one the old one showed up. Either Brian or Ru hid it in my laptop bag, which was sitting unzipped in the corner on the living room floor.

Anyway, this evening I set up another new toy, a patio umbrella I scored at a garage sale saturday, and the new hard shell kiddie pool (which, btw, already has a hole in it. Oh well, it's a slow leak). Since we had shade, I was lazy and didn't bother with a swimsuit for Ru. And since I have a spiffy new camera, I took some nakey baby pics that turned out supercute.

No, the camera didn't provide the daisies, I did those myself since I don't want creepy ppl frequenting my blog. (or at least not any additional ones... ;) She has rocks in her hands, because those are her all time favorite toys. She's not picky, so it works out well whenever we are outdoors and bored.


Banging the rocks together for the clacking noise.


Isn't this the grooviest umbrella ever!?! I totally love it! And it is in excellent shape for its age, and a score at $15. Most importantly, it works great to shade our pool.


She's so cute! I love all her little folds and wrinkles; it was all I could do not to attack her tummy with zerberts the entire time we were playing. She did slip and go all the way under for the first time tonight (fear not, my obsessive picture taking didn't keep me from catching her, but she squirmed the wrong way and there wasn't anything I could do but haul her back out right away) and she handled it like a champ! She didn't even cry, just seemed a little shocked and appalled, and I told her what a good girl she was and reassured her she was ok, and she was alright to continue playing with her rocks. :)

Sexy Mowing Mama

I'll admit, while I am not like my friends in gushing out loud, I don't mind watching a muscular young man out mowing the lawn with his shirt off. I am generally quiet and reserved about such things, but I'm human, too. Of course, some of my friends can be downright embarrassing with the whistles and staring.

Recently our power lawn mower has gone on vacation (my mom needed it back when hers was kinda stolen), so I've taken over the lawn care with my little push-reel mower. It's been a while since I've mowed, since the power mower stirs up my allergies so much. However, now that I'm out and about, I've discovered _I_ am a sexy mower, too! and I must be REALLY hot, because both men and women stare while I'm out there doing my thing. I'm not imagining it. Cars slow down, neighbor men come out to chat with me (never mind that the majority of my neighbors are men), it happens too often to be my imagination. I do try to be humble, but obviously I am fairly irresistible despite the fact that I am fully clothed. I'll try not to let it go to my head. I had Brian take some pics so y'all could ogle me in the privacy of your own home.







Of course, I suppose it could be that folks have never seen a woman mowing the lawn with a baby strapped to her chest, but I doubt it.


Ru likes helping, and I'm all about getting her started on the chores early. Not that it saves me any effort, it actually takes a bit more with 24 lbs strapped on. Altho I suspect the more effort thing will hold true for all chores for a few years...

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Baby's blue dress

Ru's Aunt Liz in KS sent us this pretty blue dress. I kept waiting for nice weather to put her in it, and finally after a lot of cool sundays I just put a sweater with it. It's totally cute tho, and hopefully next time it gets warm again (raining as I write this) we'll wear it again! :)

I love her expression in this pic! (even tho you can't see the dress at all)




Yay, happy baby! :)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

wedding pics

I suppose I should actually post some wedding pics to prove I wasn't just messing around down there in Coos Bay.

From left, Me, Brian, Ru, my nephew CJ, SIL Nikki, older bro Chris, mom bonnie, younger bro John, John's girlfriend Misty, and Grandma Covey. (notice my daughter is again playing with a rock... ;) Misty was awesome at the wedding, mom just kinda gave us the stuff to decorate and said go to it. Misty jumped right in and decorated the arch, made an aisle, and just generally made the place look great with little or no direction from anyone. Thanks Misty!

This was an attempt at the four generations pic, altho it didn't turn out all that good. I have another one from after the wedding I'll post later.

The lovely Bride and Groom. :) They were both quite nervous, it was pretty cute. The ceremony was VERY short, prolly 5 minutes from the time the music started til the time they headed back down the isle as man and wife. But it's all about the party afterwards, right?? ;)

Speaking of parties, a couple other memories from the trip I want to make sure I remember that don't have pics to accompany them (so I'll jot down here): We had a grand time one evening at the hotel playing apples to apples. John, Misty, Chris, CJ and I played in John's room. It's a hilarious game if you haven't played it. I shall always treasure the spunky zucchinis and friendly kilts, along with all the things Misty finds "comfortable." With all his reading problems, CJ still did better playing without his dad, so much so that he wouldn't let dad help after and we had to deal Chris in his own hand.

Ru also enjoyed Mom's giant dog daisy, who we accidentally fed pine cones. (we were trying to play fetch. who would have thunk she would just eat them?? no harm done I guess...) Brian tried to catch mom's kitchen on fire while cooking hamburgers (ok, not really, but we did have some serious flames on the jenn air grill for a few seconds!) and john actually ate the mayo! The cranberry factory was fun, John ate the bright orange cheddar cheese fudge, too. It was like a buffet line of candy samples, dangerous!

That's prolly enough randomness to keep me from forgetting those good parts. All in all it was a great experience, primarily for the family time spent with Chris, John, and our families. (Marv was a bit "under the weather," so we didn't spend as much time with him and mom as we would have liked, but we had fun with them, too!)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

drinking fountain video

Pool fun


My brothers and I chose to stay at a hotel with our families, primarily so the kids could play in the pool some. We didn't end up hanging out at the pool as much as we thought we would, but we did spend one evening seeing how Ru would like it. Most of the pool pics didn't turn out well, as my mom was taking the pics and was sitting too far away, with the windows behind us so we looked very dark. Brian took some while we were in the hot tub that turned out fun tho. Ru liked both the hot tub and the pool, and the temp was pretty good in both places so I didn't have to worry about her overheating or getting too cold.
Daddy caught Ru mid splash in this pic!

Almost as much fun as the pool was this cool contraption they had mounted to the wall there. You push a button and a little stream of water comes out! Even better, mommy even let Ru drink some of this water! Altho really, Ru had more fun playing in it than drinking it.