Camping with the Stanhopes

The first weekend in June we went camping with some good friends of ours - the Stanhopes.  They have three kids - two of which are close to Jenna and Grant's age.  Their oldest, Tristan, is 9, Grace just turned 5, and Travis is only 3 weeks younger than Jenna.  Even though Grace is 1 1/2 years older than Jenna, they're the same size, so they tend to buddy around together and Travis hung out some with Grant when he wasn't with Jenna and Grace.

We had a GREAT time camping and couldn't have asked for better weather!  It was a perfect in-between - not too hot, but not too cold.  Since we were on an electric site, we brought along an extension cord and space heater in case it got too chilly in the evenings.  We're so thankful we did that because otherwise I think we would have been miserable at night.  Plus it didn't rain at all that weekend (even though there was a slight chance of it), which is always a good thing when you're tent camping and when your tent tends to leak like ours does!  ;)

All packed up and ready to go!

You can't go camping without making some smores!

Jenna loved sleeping in her sleeping bag on the blow-up mattress.

Grant did great sleeping in the pack-n-play.

Family bike ride.  We did a lot of biking around the campsite that weekend.

Grant loves his bike rides

Our tent

Going on a hike - Jenna, Grace, and Grace's grandma, Nina

Tristan, Grace, and Jenna on the hike

All the kids.  They did a great job hiking.  Grant needed to be held a few times, but for the most part, he walked on his own.

Exploring a creek

Drew found a low hanging branch and held it down for the kids to hang on.

Even Grant was able to hang on for a few seconds.

Love this picture of all of them

Grant giving me a smile - I love how he leans in when we ask him to smile for a picture.

The kids biking

Grant and Mommy having some quality time together

Such a sweet picture of them

Grant and Daddy smiling for the camera

Reading a story together in the morning

This time they actually got to play in the water.  They had a blast!

Grant picking up a rock.  He loves his rocks!

A vine the perfect shape for a swing

Meal time

We look forward to our next camping trip in mid-September.  So many good memories made!

May

May was a fun month for us, so I just had to update the blog with some pictures.  The biggest event for May for us was the arrival of my sister's twin boys, Aiden and Bentley!!  Jenna and Grant just LOVED holding the boys and do a great job being gentle.

They're definitely proud cousins!

Grant enjoying time in the dirt pile

He was covered in dirt, even around his mouth and in his nose from sampling it.  Yuck!

Our first family bike ride with Jenna riding her own bike.  She looks like such a BIG girl!

I love this picture of Drew and Jenna!  She did really well for her first "long" bike ride.  A little slow, but she got quicker as the bike ride went on.

My mom happened to drive by, so she snapped a picture of all 4 of us.

Friends of ours gave us some tomato plants.  Since we don't have a garden yet, I thought the kids would enjoy planting them in a planter and watching them grow.  Here Jenna's helping me put dirt in the planter.

Such a good helper!

Now to water our plants.

Jenna loves dress-up and usually gets Grant involved too.  At least he's wearing a cowboy hat...that keeps it a little masculine, right?

I love her smile

Grant adorned with all the beautiful bracelets and necklaces...and fairy wings and tutu, of course.  ;)

Jenna found my fairy wings from when I was teaching and had a fairy tale ball at school.

Swim time!

Jenna actually snapped this picture of Grant and me.  She's becoming more interested in taking pictures with a real camera.

I don't know why this one turned sideways, but I had to snap a picture of it.  Jenna got into the closet and dressed herself in a raincoat, rainboots, hat, gloves, and a scarf....in May. 

I think we need to work on proper clothing for the different seasons.  ;)

Loved this picture of the kids.  It was raining outside and they both wanted to watch the rain.  Then Jenna put her arm around Grant...and melted Mommy's heart!

Another one that's sideways - Jenna dressed herself.  Not too bad except for the fact that she's wearing a dress and skirt at the same time.  Who knows though, maybe it is fashionable and I just am not up on the latest styles.  :)

B's Visit from May

I think I need to resign myself to the fact that I'll most likely ALWAYS be behind on pictures.  :)  But, to me, the most important thing is just posting pictures when I can so our out-of-town (and even in-town) family members can watch our kids grow up as well.

So back in May, B came to visit us!  We always enjoy our visits with B.  This visit she even let Drew and myself have a little "get away" for a night.  She let us stay in her hotel room Friday night and then Saturday we spent the day shopping at Ikea.  It was so nice to have that one-on-one time together and I know the kids enjoyed their time with B!

I love my sweet Grant!

Helping B with dinner

Oh how they love swimming with B!

Messy face

Popcorn and juice with B

Acting silly

I love this picture of them.  Beautiful smiles on both!

Grant would get so excited to jump into Daddy's arms.  And he would ONLY jump into Daddy's arms - no one else.

Another great picture of B and Jenna

Enjoying the outdoors.  I'm pretty sure this was during their phase of putting rocks in the mailbox.

Story time with B