{Camping Trip 2012}

Happy Friday! Surely I'm not alone in welcoming the weekend with open arms! This week was a tough one, getting use to my husband being at Raiders' training camp for a good part of the week. Phew, let's just say that I am not cut out to be a single parent! 

{But that said, I am beyond proud of him and incredibly grateful for his new job!}

 It might have been a bit easier had we not just come back from a weekend of camping! Though the exhaustion and extra laundry was well worth the precious time spent with my Dad, step-mom and sweet brothers and sisters!

We camped at a beautiful campsite in Sonoma Valley and took a drive to Bodega Bay on Sunday afternoon where the kids got to play at the beach. Great food, great company and lots of wine by the camp fire made for a lovely visit. Though, as always, I wish we had more time together. These trips just never seem to be long enough. But {sigh} we will take all we can get!

And as usual, here are some photos from the weekend

She's gonna love me for this one someday ;)

Silly girls, begging to sleep in our tent :)

Melt. My. Heart.

My favorite girls on the planet: my sisters and my daughter!

The spectacular view from our campsite!

Just chillin'

My sweethearts on the beach

Beach fun (even though the water was freezing!)

Taking in the lovely sights after lunch in Bodega Bay

The official picture of Claire with her Aunts & Uncles! I love this so much!

And a shot of the whole family. Not bad for attempting to get ten people to smile!

Weekends like these are definitely Summer at it's finest!

{Happy Independence Day!}

Happy Independence Day, friends! How are you celebrating today? 

We have fun plans to swim and grill out with friends this afternoon (who also have a little cutie!)  and then a family BBQ tonight - a pretty classic 4th! 

Though we kicked off the festivities this past weekend with a community festival called Celebrate America with our families, which included some wonderful patriotic events, a great performance by Danny Gokey and of course an awesome fireworks show (which our girl slept through!).

Hope you have a glorious day celebrating America's freedom!

{Weekend Adventures}

I can always tell it's summer by the way we spend our weekends. It's my favorite season because there is so much going on and outdoor activities are wonderfully abundant!

Saturday we packed up a picnic lunch and did some wine tasting at a few of our favorite wineries. Sunshine and relaxation were just the ticket to celebrate four great years of marriage!

 

Sunday afternoon we took a family hike along a local trail and we've officially decided to make this a weekly family activity! So fun, rejuvenating and Claire had a ball packed on her daddy's back!

We introduced our big girl to yogurt for the first time this weekend and she is a BIG fan! They seriously don't come cuter that this girl!!

And finally, Claire decided it was time to ramp up her mobility and started backward crawling! The little cutie can now scoot herself halfway around the house, which means that we have some baby proofing to do!

How about you-do anything fun, exciting, outdoors? I hope your weekend was wonderful!

{Fathers Day} In An Instagram

In addition to celebrating my husband's first Father's Day, yesterday also marked 9 years together. So needless to say, I wanted to make it a special one! 

I started the day off with one of the best ways I know how to show my husband love - with a delicious meal! I whipped up one of his faves, blueberry pancakes {heavy on the blueberries}. A perfectly yummy way to start the day!

{And Claire even left a sweet surprise for her daddy-much like the one she got me for Mother's Day}

After our tummies were satisfied we took his present out for a spin! Claire and I got Chris a bike for Father's Day, though if you follow me on Instagram you know that he's been enjoying it as an early gift for the last two weeks since it was too good of a deal to pass up;) We've all been enjoying it to the fullest with frequent family bike rides.

{My happy loves getting loaded up for our morning ride}

Once we were good and sweaty, we spent a few hours enjoying the pool together!

{Our little beach babe feeding herself mangoes}

And since my hubby has recently become a purist and gone back to a good ole' charcoal grill, dinner with our family consisted of a tri-tip cook-off...all were De-lish!! The perfect way to wrap up a wonderful day!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -- Billy Graham

To my husband - From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being such a loving, nurturing, Christ-like example for our daughter! I couldn't have dreamed up a better man to father my children. Thank you for loving us so well! ~ Your girls

{Sweet Finds}

Tis' the season for garage sales and antiquing! We're only one week into June and yet we've already scored some great deals over the past few weeks! 

 Recently painted and re-covered bench $10
Our first garage sale Saturday of the season left us with this lovely addition to our bedroom! I even thought Chris was going to need to haggle for a deal, but when it was marked at such a great price, we decided to snag it as priced.

Antique kitchen scale $24
Exactly the piece I've been looking for to add some vintage flair to our breakfast nook. Found at a cute vintage shop inside a local nursery.

Over-sized Mason jar $9.96
After borrowing one just like it from a friend for my baby shower, I was determined to get my own awesomely large Ball mason jar! After scouring Ebay and finding a few with outrageous shipping, my mom stumbled upon this one at an unlikely place: Walmart!  Who knew? While not exactly a garage sale or antique find, it's equally thrilling to happen upon that exact item you've been dying to find!

How about you, find any awesome deals lately? I love hearing about great finds!

She Wore an Itsy Bitys Teeny Weeny...

Sweet little ruffled bikini! Of course I'm talking about my favorite little girl and she completely rocked it this Memorial Day weekend! 

{Seriously though, aren't her little rolls the best?!}

Our long weekend was one of the best and most relaxing our little family has had in a long time. It was complete with garage sales, bike rides, relaxing by the pool, great food and lots of family time! We're feeling refreshed and excited for the summer festivities we have planned!!

She's got it made in the shade!

 `

Fun in the Sun!

We were graced with some exceptional weather this weekend! I'm talking 90 degrees in April, exceptional!! And so we decided to give Claire her first taste of the pool! Because she has loved each and every encounter with the water so far, we were pretty certain she would love the pool as well. Indeed, our little water baby had a ball! And I have concluded that there is nothing quite as delicious as a baby in a swimsuit!  Seriously. Nothing.

This particular "first" of Claire's was accompanied by many enthusiastic loved ones, hundreds of snapshots and plenty of excitement! We are thrilled that she enjoyed it as there are definitely many more days of pool fun in our future!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend!

My little Summer Sweetie!

Getting her first taste of the water with Daddy!

Staying entertained with her duckie:)

Just after Chris put her under water for the first time

Oh My!

 

Let me just confess that summer + pregnancy = Popsicle obsession! Though this summer, I've gone through them far too quickly to deal with making them myself, as I have in previous years. But these two intriguing combinations have me reconsidering my diy efforts! Excuse me, but Avocado and Blackberry & Greek yogurt? Are you joking me?? Pardon the drool...these are definitely on my list to make before Summer comes to a close!

And just in case you, too want a healthy dose of Popsicle nirvana, here are the recipes.

image/CupofJo

Family Fun!

Since early last week, my aunt and uncle have been in town, visiting from Illinois! It's been a fun family affair, filled with catching up, summer BBQ's, antiquing in Old Folsom and a lovely Sunday brunch at my parents' house. Thankfully, they don't leave until Wednesday, so the fun's not quite over yet!

And on a pretty note, doesn't brunch look amazing?!  My mom sure does know how to do it up right with flowers from the garden, my all-time favorite-creme brulee french toast and iced coffee!! Be still my heart.

Hope your weekend was delightful!