Camping at Lake Easton

This is my last summer-catch-up-post, I promise!  So the end of August was packed with a camp-out, huckleberry picking, the fair... and then we signed some official documents for closing on the house the same day we left for yet another camping trip! We spent the weekend camping with some dear friends at Lake Easton. The nights were slightly cold and there was a burn ban, which didn't help. On the camp website, they called it a "bun ban" which we thought was pretty funny. Aside from the cold, we had so much fun! We even got to take a dip in Lake Easton!  On Sunday we left early and went to my cousins wedding. The next day we closed on our house and began our three-weeks of packing and fixing up the house.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Breakfast of campions (haha, I'm so bad!)

Throwing rocks =)

Babies!

He went out pretty deep!

It was COLD - The daddys were brave and took a swim!

Kitsap Fair

After we went huckleberry picking, we came home for two days before going out camping again. Did I mention it was a crazy week??

On one of our days home, we went to the Kitsap fair. We got there kind of late, so we mainly just went on rides. I think next year, I will go in the morning with the kids to look at animals and then come back in the evening for rides with Daddy. There is just so much to do!!

Saved money by packing our own foil burritos!

Happy 1st Birthday, Peter!!

How has a year already gone by?! Today is Peter's first birthday! He seems so big now, but at the same time I feel like his is still my little baby.

We are going to have a party for him this weekend, so today was pretty low-key. I'm excited for him to be spoiled and the center of attention! He deserves it because he is such a wonderful kid! We love him so much and can't imagine life without him!

Our goofy guy!

Happy birthday, Peter!!!

Huckleberry Picking 2012

The pickin' crew!

After we had our camp out with college friends, we drove on to our next destination - Mount Adams for our annual huckleberry picking! I love this tradition so much! The berries make delicious pies and the company... well they are the real reason we go! It is so fun getting to know Andrew's extended family.

This year the berries were harder to come by. We came home with 3 pies-worth of berries, which is a record low for us. And that is including a generous donation from Andrew's cousin, who came from out-of-state (Thanks, Maria!!). 

John had a blast with all his cousins. He is old enough now that he remembers coming in previous years, and really looks forward to it.  

Here are some pictures from our lovely trip:

On our way to Huckleberry Picking!!

Peter in the car

Shhhhhh... Sneaking a cookie with his cousin.

Roasting marshmallows 

Dish duty

In search of berries

Berry picking - kid style!

Sleeping on the job!

Cousins

Best pickers ever!

Bench-warmers

All the kid cousins

Can't wait till next year!!!

Camp-out with College Friends

The week before we closed on our house was very busy! We had a camp-out with some friends from college, went huckleberry picking, went to the fair, and camping again at Lake Easton with friends. I was thinking of sharing pictures of all those things in one post but there are just too.many.pictures that I want to share. So I am going to do a post for each over the next few days.

Our fabulous roommates from college decided to host a camp-out in their yard and invite everyone!! It was so much fun! We had a great time reminiscing and reconnecting. We all pitched in to help with meals and it really worked out well. I hope this turns into an annual event!

Tune-in tomorrow to hear about huckleberry picking!

Peter is Walking!!

Peter has been taking a few steps here and there for a while now, but not officially walking. Last Saturday, October 13th (nine days shy of his birthday!), he took about 6 steps in a row!  He is still pretty unsteady, but making progress every day!

Here is a video that I took today:

Before and After (Pictures Galore!)

Our move has been quite an adjustment for me, as you can tell by my lack of posting!! We moved a little over a month ago on September 15th. I am really enjoying having our own house. The neighborhood and neighbors are wonderful. We live on a cul-de-sac, so there isn't much traffic on the road. There are still boxes and chaos in certain areas of the house, but we are settling in quite nicely. 

The computer is upstairs in a spare bedroom, which is both good and bad - GOOD because I spend way less time on the computer and more time with the boys and BAD because there are some things I'd like to do (blogging, making photo albums, emailing...) and it seems inconvenient now.

Before we moved in, we spent two weeks fixing up the house. New carpet, hardwood floors, and new paint were the major projects. Andrew has done a lot of little things to make the place even better. It is a work in progress though and I imagine we will busy for the next couple years with projects.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Living room - BEFORE

Living room - AFTER

Dining room - BEFORE

Dining room - AFTER

Kitchen - BEFORE

Kitchen - AFTER

Den - BEFORE

Den - AFTER

Kid bathroom - BEFORE

Kid bathroom - AFTER

Boys room - BEFORE

Boys room - AFTER

Master bedroom - BEFORE

Master bedroom - AFTER