Summer Fun

I was right when I predicted that Emerson would love camping this summer.  He soaked it up.  He was in Emerson heaven.  The constant outdoor living, hiking, and eating was just his cup of tea.  One highlight in my opinion was the hiking, mostly because we discovered wild blueberries and blackberries along the trails.  These helped keep Emerson pacified and it was fun to eat them straight off the bush.  It made me want to grow my own berries (I am not normally a blueberry fan, but I thought these were fantastic).  My other favorite part was the swimming.  Emerson took a few minutes to warm up to it, but was soon laughing and splashing along with the rest of us.  Sadly, I left my camera at home, but we got some amazing pics on my mom's camera, which I need to steal from her.

You have heard me talk about my playgroup before.  We have been meeting weekly for about a year now.  When we first started, the babies all just laid there, or we would have group nursing sessions, while the moms talked.  Now, we spend the whole time chasing our toddlers around, while trying to keep a conversation going on the side.  It's crazy how the babies have changed the past year.  All us moms agree that this group is a tremendous blessing.  I cannot express how neat it is to go through this new motherhood thing alongside other new moms.  We get encouragement, venting sessions, and adult interaction from this group.  And it has just been awesome how much our personalities click.  For the first time, we had a mom's night out this week, while the daddies watched the babies.  It was SO fun.  There was much laughter.  We had dinner out and watched the What to Expect When You're Expecting movie... let's just say there was laughter and tears, the whole spectrum of emotions.  The fact that we could relate to the pregnant women just made it all the funnier.  I love this group and I think we have been very blessed to find these friendships.

Here are a few pictures of life this week.

At the park one evening, after it cooled off.  We are very much regulars lately, as I'm sure we will be for years to come.

Emerson's new pastime.