Traversing the State

I am quite un-inspired as I sit to write this blog. I suppose I will just list off our itinerary, so please forgive me for my lack of creativity. We took two weeks off to go to the mountains, visit family and see Andrea off in marriage. Since Andrea's marriage deserves a post of it's own, this entry is dedicated to the first week and a half.

First, we drove to Chico, and spent a night with Ryan's parents then drove to the cabin and spend four nights there. From the Cabin we went back to Chico for a night, then went camping up at Hatt Creek for two nights. After camping, we went back to mom and dad's B&B for a night and then over to Leemore/Hanford (to break up the drive to San Diego and visit friends and family). From Leemore, we drove to San Diego, celebrated Andreas wedding, then drove back to San Luis. When it was all said and done, we traveled about an hour from the Oregon border and then an hour from the Mexican border during the two weeks we were on the road. We had a great time. Every part of the trip was fun and had it's own draw, but by the end we were glad to get home. Here are a few highlights.

Josiah, expressing his opinion regarding the current economic unrest in Greece, over a cup of coffee and some cheerios.

Shocker, I know, but he's an opinionated little guy! This was at a fun little breakfast diner near Hatt Creek (and no- we don't actually let him drink coffee).

Fourth of July Parade in Chester

Fly fishing at the cabin.

Hanging out on the creek side beach below the cabin.

Our little Mexican!

Josiah got a few toe dips in the snow melt, he's still getting used to cold water.

This is up near Hatt creek. We followed some random logging roads and found our own little private meadow and stream. We hung out here for a while, fishing, relaxing and dipping in the creek!

"Geez guys, a little privacy please!"

Some routines go by the wayside while camping, but we found camping bath time to be quite fun.

...clean baby...

...and ready for bed! As you can see in the background, we had Josiah sleep in the tent and we slept on the ground outside. I think all of us sleep better with a little space.

Camping life has definitely changed for us. There was quite a bit more time just hanging out at the campsite! Ryan and I both started and finished good books.

Bad picture, but good morning snuggles : )

Walk to the Waterfalls.

Visiting Paulo at the dairy.

Please Note; There aren't pictures of one of the most important parts of this half of the trip. We had a sweet times visiting Mom, Dad, Grandma Graff, and my cousins and aunt and uncle in Leemore. I just didn't get a lot of great pictures with individuals. Too busy just enjoying the good company and hanging out, I guess!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Great Grandma Lois (91 years!) and Great Grandpa Bob (80 years!). Josiah insisted on doing a special blog to show how much we love you both. In fact, he wanted to perform his newest trick in honor of your birthdays.

Auditory Cue: "Josiah! Open!"

Oooooh, that's one talented little man!

Thank you both for being in our lives. Grandma Lois, thank you for following our blog so loyally and for your interest in our lives. We love you guys! Happy Birthday to you both! xoxoxo

"We're" Pregnant!

...And then there were two. We didn't expect it. I took at least 7 pregnancy tests. Yep, we're having a second baby (there it is again, the singular 'we' - so useful in a marriage) and he/she is due in November. Our first two children will be a whopping 13 months apart! My mom has tagged it, the "Dethroning of Josiah." The event is "scheduled" to occur somewhere around November 2nd (...please please please not on Halloween!) and Ryan and I are sooo excited.

When I saw the faint line on the first of 7 pregnancy tests, my immediate reaction was giddiness. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. For those of you who think I'm crazy, hear me out. It was a moment where I got a glimpse into the fun, crazy, stressful at times, love-filled, future that God has planned out for us. It was like He was saying... "Here it is Camille! Surprise! The next step in your life story!"

This picture is graciously forgiving - maybe that's why I chose it? - I will post more pics where you can really tell I'm pregnant.

True, there have been a few things to process. Ryan is especially not looking forward to the lack of sleep again. I will have been pregnant for almost two years straight. I didn't get to do my half marathon, I haven't enjoyed a completely guilt-free cup of coffee or wine in years now. When we were trying for Josiah I was cutting back on both, and we tried for almost a year and a half before even getting pregnant the first time! I have pretty much said good bye to surfing - I miss the waves. And seriously, 4 weddings, 4 bachelorette parties, and 4 specially sized bridesmaids dresses for a watermelon belly!? Not to mention the fact that I will be carrying two babies around, one on each hip for a while. You should know, that even as I list these things, I am laughing inside. Laughing because I will have two crazy babies to love. Laughing because of the joy two close siblings will bring. Laughing because this will only be a few years of chaos to fondly look back on. And mostly, laughing because in all this, I deeply feel God's rich blessings in our lives.

Growing Season

Tomatoes, sugar snap peas, green beans, beets (oops, wrong season, we're still learning), basil, peppers... babies aren't the only things we've been growing around here! While both Ryan and I are "growing" Josiah, I find myself using the singular "we" quite frequently. For example, "we" are digging holes and pouring concrete for the fencing around the garden, and "we" are tilling for a blackberry patch. "We" built two great compost bins and "we" chipped the mortar off of some 300 bricks so we could get them out of the side yard. "We" have put in an excellent irrigation system and "we" will be replacing the broken garage door at some time in the near future.

However, I won't sell myself short by acknowledging that I have been known to do my fair share of heavy yard work. Not to mention the fact that I am so excited about the sunflowers, daliahs, strawberries, bush beans, cilantro, pumpkins and melons that have fallen almost exclusively to my care ("we" have not put in the watering system for those ones yet, so I water them by hand). Needless to say, we are so thankful to have each other and we are definitely getting things done this growing season.

He wasn't too sure about the dirt at first...

However, it didn't take long before he couldn't get enough, grabbing dirt and throwing it around.

Pretty soon he was mostly just annoyed because mom wouldn't let him chew on rocks with those two new teeth he has!

I had to put these last, mismatched pictures. My sister Terra and I had a fun c0-birthday -day. Her birthday was June 8th, and mine was May 4th. To celebrate, we spent the day together. We went and got coffee first thing in the morning, then went on a long walk on the beach. Next, we headed to a little coffee shop, ordered a fun brunch to go, and ate it picnic style on the cliffs overlooking the ocean in Shell Beach. Then we went back to Terra's house where Ryan watched the little man while Terra and I got pedicures. Thank you Terra, for such a great day, and Andrea, I miss you and can't wait to have you to myself a few times this summer! I love you both so much!

For You, Ryan

These pictures are for you, my amazing husband who I love and am so lucky to have. (FYI for everyone else, Ryan is at work right now.) Thank you for working so hard for us, on the job, around the house, and in our lives. I appreciate everything you do. Here is the quick daily update that you mentioned you liked getting now and then at work. I hope it makes you smile. Love You. xoxox

Swinging at the park with Anna and Landon this morning (not pictured)...

Just snuck in for a "real-time" pic...

The Gag Sequence

There's a first time for everything, and almost every time Josiah tries a new food, he does what we fondly call "The Gag Sequence." This was his first time trying plain yogurt and it produced a pretty good Gag Sequence that continued with every bite for about the first five minutes. As you can imagine, I was cracking up.

Phase 1: Recognition of Foreign Substance

Phase 2: Rigorous Head Shake with Grimace and Closed Eyes

Phase 3: Attempt to Gag Out the Offending Food

Phase 4: Sadly, The Taste is Still There

Phase 5: Bitter Resignation

Eventually he eats the new food with vigor. He's on to squash, peas, string beans, watermelon, banana, Super-Porridge, yams, applesauce...the list goes on. However, the most unique tasting foods all begin in the same way.

Here are a few quick photos to update the fam. Josiah just got his first tooth and is an aggressive army crawler. He is up rocking on his knees constantly and moves all around the room to grab whatever you don't want him to grab. Ryan and I really are having so much fun with him!

Yosemite Camping Trip

A quick skip ahead to our first Yosemite camping trip! We went with Avery and Katie, and their two kids, Selah (2 years) and Sebestian (6 months). Apparently they had heavy rainfalls this year in the valley, so there were an abundance of waterfalls everywhere. It was too early for tourist season, so we scored two beautiful, uncrowded days and bundled up for a chilly third one as we were leaving. We stayed in the housekeeping cabins and had the three kids, stacked in their pack-and-play cribs, one next to another each night. It was a beautiful thing, almost as amazing as the Great Yosemite Falls or Half Dome itself, to see two infants and a toddler deep asleep all night within three feet of one another. Next trip we have to get a picture.

Each morning we had a great breakfast and then enjoyed hiking and exploring the valley floor. I got to go on a couple of great runs early in the morning and was constantly in awe of the dramatic scenery. There was still snow capping the mountain tops and the vertical cliff faces plummeted down to meet the dark pines. The valley meadows were bright with fresh growth and the river was a clear, deep, green. I loved it so much that I insisted we make reservations to come back in September.

Our little family.

Yosemite Falls

Mirror Lake

Family Hike! (Avery and Katie, and crew, not pictured)

We borrowed a warm onesie for sleeping from my good friend. It saved us since it got down below 40 at night. We tried to emphasize that it was a very manly pink color.

(Does anyone know how to rotate pictures? Should I have done it before posting?)

Some guys just have the confidence to pull it off.