Summer Catch-Up

I have so many things I want to blog about from our summer.  But sadly, our iMac crashed last week, taking our hard drive and our pictures with it.  We believe we will be able to restore the lost data (please, Lord) for about the price of a small car.  I would sell an organ, though, to get the last 18-months of pictures back. 

Side note:  don't procrastinate on backing up your data...even if you believe you have an unbreakable Mac.

Here are some bullet points that I want to touch on from the past few months.

-  Our summer started off slow, as we were done with school around May 23rd and the weather had not yet consistently warmed up.

-  I started a job at the end of June.  I work for my dad's magazine publishing company, from home, as much or little as I want.  It's a pretty great arrangement.

-  I started training for a half-marathon, that I will be running in October.  Brian is doing it too - yay!

-  We had three amazing camping trips with friends.

-  Emma, Isaiah and Noah took swimming lessons and did so great.  I was completely amazed at their progress over four weeks.

-  Braxton started wearing Thera Togs.  It's therapy grade compression clothing that helps stimulate his muscles and helps him work on controlling his movements. 

-  Braxton finally cut his first tooth at the end of August - a top molar!  He has since cut another molar, and just this morning, his lower front tooth.

We finally started the new school year late last week, and are still getting used to our new schedule.  We have some new activities I am super excited about, like horseback riding and violin lessons. 

I can't wait to get my computer and all my pictures back so I can get back to some regular blogging. 

Happy Fall!

August Camping Trip

What a fun weekend we just had!  Some friends invited us to go camping, so at the last minute we packed up and headed out for a long weekend.  We thought we were meeting them at a campground on a lake.  But, the campground was full and our friends set up camp - in the wilderness - on the river.

I'm not gonna lie...I was a bit nervous about not having a bathroom.  But, I put on my big-girl panties and got over it.  And it was so much fun!


Biniam had to work so he stayed home, but the rest of the kids were excited.

The nice drive up the mountain.

We got stopped for some road construction so I got a nice picture of the river.

The kids quickly made themselves at home in our little oasis.

Our home away from home.

Setting up the fly-fishing gear.

The beautiful scenery.

Intently watching the fishing from shore.

My fly-fishing lesson:  learning how to cast.

I started getting the hang of it!

It's a rough life.

Working on his survival skills.

My little book-worm.

Heading out on an exploration.

There were huckleberries galore!

The water moved just enough to not be stagnant, but was slow enough for the kids to safely play.

Sweet Braxton even had a great time!

We apparently intruded on some deer, and they let us know by constantly circling our camp.  That bright spot in the bushes in the center of this photo is "Rosie" the deer.

Noah was content to just sit on this rock and ponder life.

Up a few miles from our camp was a beautiful meadow that the kids got to explore.

Such great family memories, and good times with friends!

Brotherly Love

4th of July Photo Dump

 Our neighborhood may be small....but we know how to do the 4th!