Camping at last

A year ago, I was VERY pregnant with Anders, so although spring and summer were arriving (albeit very late in Wisconsin) I wasn't really keen on the idea of going camping with a newborn. By the time Anders was 5 months old and I was more willing to go camping, it was fall, and our weekends were consumed by Saturday soccer game. We even scheduled two camping trips, but had to cancel at the last minute due to rainy weather...not something we wanted to endure with 4 kids under the age of 6. So it was that 2014 passed with no camping trips.

So last week, when the forecast was actually projecting nice spring weather, we figured we should start the season out right (hopefully starting spring with some camping will help us go more all year). We found a state park about an hour away and had a quick little camping trip. I honestly don't know if I could camp much longer than 1 or 2 nights with little kids, especially a baby who crawls around in the dirt and doesn't know what is/isn't edible/dangerous yet. We had a great time and the kids are already asking when we are going again. 

Niels loved his new sleeping bag...and Anders actually slept in a pack n play in the van, with the windows cracked, giving us so much more flexibility.

Doesn't he have the most beautiful eyes?

Someone else had been climbing this tree just a few moments before them, and she fell out...needless to say, the girls weren't too anxious to climb very high.

This was probably the kids favorite part of the trip. Paul would slooooowly slide down by tucking his knees in close to him, while singing, "Slow-mo sliding, almost in reverse," sung to the tune of Star Trekking Across the Universe for you Dr. Demento fans out there. It became the theme song for the entire weekend...the kids are still singing it days later. Heck, I've still got it stuck in my head! They loved to get stuck behind him, all going slow-mo.

 And this is all Niels ever did with his s'more...just look at it, and think about eating it. He really doesn't like being messy....he's missing out on a lot!

And one final trip to the slow-mo slide as we drove out of camp, still in our PJs.

Busy

Hattie just asked me if I knew how to post stuff onto this blog. It's our homescreen on our web browser and she is tired of seeing "C-section Soap Box" for the last 11 months. Understandably so. Sadly with homeschooling, certain things get neglected...laundry, clean house, this blog. At least on not neglecting my kids, right? So in order to change things up, here's some pictures from the last 7 months. (and Len, I have partially started this up again for you :)

Anders has been our sweetest, easiest baby

Niels is generally smiley and loves to make us happy

He likes to snuggle in my bed

Laura and her kids came to visit last summer

And we had to stop at the zoo train

4th of July (with friend Savannah)

Northern California coast for a Dame reunion

Loved the sand (with cousin Sophie)

The boys and I hung out while Paul took the girls kayaking

I think this was Anna's fourth birthday to be celebrated at Grandma Dame's house...and she is only 5. She associates her birthday with cousins at Grandma's house

Fun with sisters...minus Laura

While on a trip to the Oregon coast, Paul hiked Mt. Saint Helens...

While I took a day hike with the kids

Rose gardens in Portland

Awesome Iverson reunion t-shirts

Paul did another Tough Mudder

And I did a lot of homeschooling

He's become obsessed with trains...anything with an engine actually

Hattie turned 7

Anders just got cuter

Anna lost her first tooth

We visited beautiful Door County in Wisconsin...gotta go back again

And our Lego Movie Halloween

Believe it our not, this was actually part of a history lesson...yes, homeschooling is great :)

The first snow of a very snowy winter

Family pictures!!!

Entertaining Anders while we try to do school

And a very cold, fun Packers game in December

With any luck, I'll post again soon...knock on wood. 

Catch up: March

March was a month of fun...we had to stick around Milwaukee (baby coming soon, and although it didn't snow, it was about 20 degrees all month), so we went on a few field trips:

The Milwaukee Public Museum...Anna loved the butterfly exhibit. Hattie was to paranoid she would accidentally smash one, and Niels thought...who knows what he thought but he kept running away from them. But Anna could have held that butterfly all day.

 But Niels did enjoy dressing up like a butterfly...

 ...and sitting on a huge dung beetle.

 We also went to the zoo...

...and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Glad I did all these things before the baby came...and before it gets warm and they'll want to be outside all day.

The art museum is right on the lake. They have a great kids exhibit that lets the kids do lots of hands-on art.

Hattie lost tooth #2

 The kids snuggled Paul whenever he was home.

And of course, St. Patrick's day. Honestly we didn't go all out this year...no trap building party with friends or making green bread. But we bought Niels some fancy green suspenders for church...

 ...and the girls, who had been planning our trap for months, spent the entire afternoon decorating it.

 They filled it with beautiful green and golden things...

 ...and then placed a golden marshmallow on the floor and glued it there. They then placed Glue Dots on the floor all around the golden marshmallow, so that when the leprechaun tried to pick up the marshmallow, his feet would get stuck and we would trap him.

Sadly the next morning, we had no leprechaun. But we did have his shoes! Glued in place :) Despite having not caught the real leprechaun, the girls were pretty thrilled to have some shoes out of it.

 We also did swimming lessons...again, something to do while it's still cold and before the baby comes.

And Paul got the goose-egg of his life while playing Marshmallow Wars in a friend's basement. He ran into a basement pole.

 Immediately after

 Day #2 morning

 Day #2 evening

 Day #5

 Hattie lost tooth #3

And the best purchase of 2014: A king-sized tempur-pedic mattress. We have talked about getting a new mattress for the last 6 years, when our queen-sized one got moldy on the bottom when we first moved to Texas. But we've procrastinated and postponed, and now, almost 3 pregnancies later, I finally said we had to do it. And we love it. I made this quilt almost 3 years ago in anticipation for the day we had a king-sized bed and I love it. I've been sleeping so much better, and that's coming from a woman who is 9 months pregnant.

 Coloring, iPad, headlamp, and fort-building.

 And I ran into a friend that I haven't seen since I was 10 years old! She is in my stake, but moved about 2 weeks after I ran into her. Strange to run into someone from my past - from 22 years ago! I'm getting older...

And the kids favorite part of March was going to the park again! Ready for spring!