Camping in our own town

Have you even vacationed in your own town? Surprisingly, it takes just as much packing effort as it would if we camped in another town. The difference of course is the shorter drive.
Last weekend we took an adventure with some good friends over to Champoeg State Park! It's a really nice campground and once I'm there I forget how close I am to home. We brought the bikes/stroller etc.. Our friends have two little girls the same age as our own girls. We brought dinner and the made breakfast. It was a nice arrangement. In the afternoon we headed down the nice 2 mile path to the historic Butteville store for dessert. The girls didn't quite make the full 2 mile trek, but they did pretty good. Ice cream was a good motivator. What a perfect sunny day for a hike through the trees and it also follows the river too, so you can see the docks and big beautiful river houses.

Nate and I are going to try to go camping again this weekend - just us! I'm really looking forward to it. It's been a while since we've done anything like this. When I went online to reserve our spot (we're car camping), I was again surprised at how many camp grounds were already full! Hasn't school started? Shouldn't everyone be done with vacations right now? Apparently there are more flexible vacationers than I realized. =) Well I do agree with them that September in Oregon is one of the best months to vacation. Looking forward to it!

Is it still summer?

Unlike families with school aged kids, we are still celebrating summer! Today is 96 degrees and a perfect day to be at the splash park. Well that was the original plan until little Miss O got sick. I ended up staying home with her for a low key morning while a good friend took Charlotte to the splash park. So glad that she could still have a good time with friends.
Olivia and I played dolls, ate a snack, went for a walk, met some new neighbors and talked with some familiar neighbors. It was a quiet low key morning for us. She has been sleeping on and off for the past few hours. I'm not sure if it's a bad cold or something more, but we're babying it for now.

This weekend is a gettaway for Nate and I. We're hoping we can still get away! We'll play it by ear if Olivia is still sick by then.

new beds!

I knew it would happen soon, but it still always sneaks up on me. Yesterday at nap time Olivia was crying, but it sounded much closer to the door than normal. Yep, sure enough she had climbed out of her crib bed (or had fallen? not sure). Thinking that this was just a fluke, I put her back in her crib for another try. Well she is a master climber. She demonstrated her skills 4 different times. Gone with the crib now to transition to a big girl bed.
Good thing my parents were here last weekend with their truck. We went on a spontaneous bunk bed search at local garage sales and actually found one for only $20! I was thrilled!
Charlotte is now on a big big bed and Olivia slept in the little bed for the first time last night. She was nervous and kept coming out of her bed to find me, but after a while of laying there with her she calmed down. I think she will love it.

Olivia...18 months going on 3. She wants to be just like Charlotte doing the same things as Charlotte.

Happy Birthday Charlotte ~ 3!

Charlotte is now 3! And she tells me all the time too. She had an ocean themed birthday party for "Charlotte Ocean." And she invited some friends over to celebrate. We had our tent up from our 4th of July camp-out. I wasn't ready to take it down yet, so we turned it into an impromptu aquarium. =) Nate built a sandbox for Char's birthday present and of course she got a new pool - a bigger one than last years. I'm going to attempt at some basic "swim lesson" sessions with her this summer in her new pool. Here are a few pics from the party. Unfortunately Nate had to miss the whole thing do to his side hurting him so badly. He was sure he had appendicitis, but turned out to be a virus that mimics appendicitis.

more sister pics

They were watching the PGE man fix the telephone pole. Such excitement on our street!

Sisters

These two have flipped a switch in the last month or so where they have become friends and play buddies. Last night at bedtime Nate was reading Charlotte a book about friends and he asked her who her friends were. She said, "olivia!" That was so nice to hear. Olivia gets excited when Charlotte wakes up from her nap so she has a buddy to play with too. I'm enjoying this new phase!

Peaches

Jam and frozen peaches to enjoy through the winter. I'm very excited about this!

Fence pictures!!!

We are so overwhelmed with excitement at having this fence built in our backyard. So many people came out to help Nate this last weekend; Uncle John, Marilyn, my parents, Rick, Peter, and a couple of the neighbors next door. It was so encouraging to see it go up so quickly. And what a hot weekend to work outside too! They were all troopers for sticking to it on such a warm day. But we are blessed and so ready to enjoy this summer in the yard. Just today Charlotte ran outside declaring in a loud voice " I'm going to play in the backyard mom because the dogs can't get me!" I just smiled and opened the back door. Huge sigh of relief to not have to worry about their safety in our own yard. I love it!!!!
Here are a few pictures:

And so it begins..

Summer has begun and so has our food preservation. We made 2 trips to the local strawberry patch. The first trip was short lived as the littles were not ready for a long stint in the field. That's alright, they got their full share of fresh strawberry snack while my mom and I hurried through the field and gathered as many ripe berries as we could. Later that same week I found myself in the car all by myself....no one was with me! I couldn't believe it! Nate was watching the girls at home, so I decided to make an unplanned stop at the berry field to make up for lost time from the previous trip. Boy did that make a difference! 35lbs of berries total from both trips. Strawberry jam, dried strawberries, fresh strawberries and frozen too. We are stocked for the year in strawberries!

Next on my list is raspberries, cherries, blueberries, and peaches, pears, blackberries, grapes and apples. It looks like our own grape vine might be doing really well this year. I can still remember the taste of our own dried grapes from last september. I thought the 3 large containers would last us through Christmas, but they didn't even see the light of October. Nothing like the real raisins to make you want to plant more vines!

Do you have Apple Cider Vinegar in your bathroom?

I do! ACV is my new hair conditioner. A few posts back I had mentioned that I was on the hunt for a more healthy shampoo/conditioner option. Well, I am now 2 weeks into a new solution. It's called no-poo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_poo Here's the recipe: (shampoo) 3 tsp. baking soda in 1 cup water. Put into a spray bottle and shake it up until dissolved. Get hair wet. Spray the solution onto the roots of your hair until you feel the oils and dirt go away. I use the whole cup of solution. Then rub it into the scalp for a few seconds before thoroughly rinsing it all out. At this point my hair usually feels very tough and not soft at all. Here's the recipe for conditioner: 1-2 Tbs. ACV mixed with 3/4 C water. Shake it up to mix it into the spray bottle again. Spray the ends of the hair first and then work your way up to the scalp. Focus mostly on the ends of the hair. Rinse really well. Yes your hair will smell like ACV for a little while, but the smell does completely go away when your hair dries. After adding the conditioner, my hair is soft again! I normally have very oily hair, so I was skeptical of this method at first, but after 2 weeks I am sold! And as a bonus to it all, it's very inexpensive...and edible. What else do I do with ACV? Well, I drink it too. I take about 1 Tbs a day. http://gerson.org/gerpress/8-amazing-uses-for-apple-cider-vinegar/ Anyone else use ACV for hair/face?

Char

Today Me: "Char are you hungry for a snack?" Char: "Mom you can give me anything and I will munch it down."

Laundry line

I'm so glad we decided to keep the old laundry posts we found in the shed 2 years ago. Nate put this up for me last weekend. Perfect timing with the hot weather. It takes about 30 min to dry a load of laundry on the line. Well that's of course in 70 plus weather. I am so thankful I have't had to run the dryer all week! Lets see if we can do this into the fall!

Fence

Our big project this summer is building a fence in our back yard. I didn't realize how big this project was going to be until Nate explained it all to me. It will take a while but it will look great!
First he dug out all of the shrubs that were in the fence line. We will need to burn those on a cooler weekend. Now we have 10 yards of dirt in our driveway that we will be moving this weekend to level the fence line. I'm glad it's so nice outside this weekend!
Pictures to come.

Spring pictures

Here are a few pics of us at the tulip festival this year.

Little O

Our Olivia continues to grow at her own slow pace. She just had her regular check up last week and is now in the 1% for weight and 8% for height. Yep she's little! But don't think she's a passive calm soul! She wiggles, crawls, walks, dances and moves ALL the time!!! And she eats ALL the time too.
Just this last week she surprised us all and started walking. I think we are now in for it. This girl has no fear! She loves to climb! Walking will only lead to running! More adventures to come!

Inside kind of day

Rainy day today and the kiddos are getting creative! Earlier in the week I had dumped ALL of their toys on the livingroom floor and organized them so they could find what they wanted to play with. I do this about 2 times a year so far. This time was the craziest! There were Legos and blocks, crayons, doll clothes, kitchen stuff, old cell phones, bags, purses all mixed together. Nothing made sense.
Now everything has a home... Or did. Until today. It's a rainy day! No going to the parks or library or friends houses today. Our toy collection is being rediscovered by cabin-fever kids. And that is ok!

Community

Today I was reminded of what a great community we have in our little town. And community is something that has always been so important for Nate and I. Some of our friends recently moved back into town. We are so glad they are here! (MCNEALS!!!) I really enjoy running into people we know at the parks, stores, on walks, church, library etc.. And many of these people know our girls by name. I think they will enjoy growing up in a small town. **It's a great place to grow**

Spring has arrived

We are officially out of excuses for staying inside. Now that spring is here the parks are filling up and we are right there with them. In the last 5 days I've clocked in 15.5 miles walking to and from said parks. Charlotte has walked 2 miles and biked 1mile... pretty good for a 2 year old! She really likes her balance bike. Nate is hoping to get a bike for his birthday so we can all ride together.
Two sounds I enjoy in the spring time are: birds and lawn mowers. I just love the sound of lawn mowers!! And in our neighborhood it's a constant hum.

This weekend we are planting our garden! I am very excited and curious to see how this goes. I've never really been a gardener. "Really?!?" You ask. "But your mom, dad, grandparents,uncles,aunts all garden!!" Yes, some things just don't catch my attention until much later.
Updates to follow regarding anything sprouting!

Let's talk shampoo

Oh the drama! I have been struggling to find a shampoo that works well with my hair type. My hair: it's oily, fine and there's A LOT of it. My shampoo requirements: keep it simple, AND keep it organic, or at least know all of the ingredients in the shampoo. Currently, I am using Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. I've tried diluting it - 50% water. The outcome- my hair is less oily than the Burt's Bees shampoo I was using earlier. Burt's Bees made my hair look like it had been recently dipped in a bath of olive oil. Good smell though! Any thoughts? Help!! Hat season is almost over and I need a working solution!

How to walk with a 2 year old

First, take your time. There is plenty to discover along the way; leafs, cats, a bug, a stone path, flower (you pick) and other children to name a few.

Be willing to venture off the sidewalk and discover new territory.

Say hello to your sister

Talk to mom while walking.

Pretend a step is a bus stop. Wait for a bus to come.

And of course stop at a park.

Olivia update

Little miss O had her dr apt last week. She will be 1 at the end of this month! I can't believe how fast that year went.

Update: she is now over 16lbs! Yep, she's just a tiny little critter. I guess that just runs in the family.
And she loves eating pretty much anything I give her. I don't think there is anything she won't eat.

O is getting so much closer to standing on her own! She is eager to play with Charlotte and follows her everywhere.

Anne of Green Gables

First, a laundry soap update. Yes it turned out great! In fact, I have more soap than I was prepared for, so I am storing the extra in a milk jug. Now onto books. I started the year out reading some of my favorite movie books. Pride and Prejudice was first. I enjoyed the book more than the movie, which is how it's supposed to be right? Now I am onto the Anne of Green Gables series. I'm in book #2 of the 8 book series. I don't think I'll finish all 8 books. I'm already a little surprised by book #2. Although I will finish it anyway. I grew up on the movie series created by Kevin Sullivan in 1986. And I guess I just compare the movie with the book instead of the reverse. The first book started out exactly like the movie, but then the movie took on a major reconstructive creative license by the director. Characters who are very well known in the movie are only mentioned once or twice in the book. And some main characters in the book are not even introduced in the movie. I was probably more surprised by the later. I did some more reading online and in a booklet that came with the DVD series and discovered one reason for making the changes in the movie was due to the passing of the actress who played Marilla Cuthbert only 5 years after the first movie was made. Kevin Sullivan had to write her out of the continuing stories and therefore a ripple affect of characters were also written out. For example, did you know that in the book series Marilla adopts a set of twins? And Anne helps her raise them. The books are still very interesting. This may be a one of those examples where I should have read the books first so as to love them more than the movie, but unfortunately I love the movie more.

laundry

We made this today...excited to try it out tomorrow: Homemade Laundry Detergent 1/3 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, grated 6 cups water 1/2 cup washing soda 1/2 cup borax To make homemade laundry detergent, heat 6 cups water and soap in a large pan until dissolved. Stir in washing soda and Borax. Mix and heat until dissolved. Boil 15 minutes. Remove from heat. (It will have the consistency of honey.*) In a 3 or 5 gallon bucket, add 1 quart of hot water, then add the soap mixture. Mix. Add enough cold water to make a 2 gallon mixture. Mix until well blended. Let sit 24 hours. The soap will gel*. Use 1/2 cup for each load. Makes 2 gallons. (Approximately $ .40 per gallon) *If the homemade laundry detergent doesn’t gel or reach honey consistency it will still work.