A recent camping trip to Moutain Pine Ridge

 

 In March we went camping with my sister's family together and here are some pics to show the fun we had. The baby in the middle is my sister's.

 Steaks and tortillas, anyone?

 

 A few of us checked out the abandoned military camp close by. 

 Let boys be boys! Just after this trip my nephew here broke his collar bone and had to take it easy for a while.

 This swimming hole was visited every day by the men and kids. the boys had fun swinging and jumping into the water.

 The hills are steeper than it looks in photos.

 Gametime.

Below is the video of a jump into the river close to home:

Our long weekend staycation

This April long weekend we wanted to do something special. Something fun. Being a little careful where our money goes lately, plus having a one and a two year old that can make a vacation extra busy, we decided to stay home. It was the best idea ever. We had so much fun I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I tried to capture some of the special moments. We have proved again that it does not take spending lots of money to make our children happy. just some careful planning and spending time together is all they need.

 Watermelon slush. Whats better on a hot day.

The most time was spent finishing up my lil museum. It got done enough for me to move in! Update coming soon...

A trip to the field to see how the beans were doing was fun too. Almost ready for harvest.

Some time was spent working at our land. Landscaping is taking place!

Those watermelons!

Someone gave us a bunch of pumpkins so we did this too...

We had a picnic outside under the tree. I had planned for special meals that I prepared for as much as possible before the weekend.

What I did not take photos of is a time of swimming at the river. It was certainly a highlight for the kiddos.

the first picnic after baby!

 

 two weeks ago I could have only dreamed of something like this. thankfully, things change, get better, and slowly return to a more normal here. Marianne is still not quite where she should be with weight and nursing, but definitely better. 

I decided it was time for a picnic! After baking a casserole out of the freezer and making sweet iced tea and a few more dishes, we packed up and headed out, which was only about 8 minutes from home!

 It was fun just watching the kids be their young innocent selves, enjoying childhood at its best.

 Climbing trees...

 running around barefoot in that hot sun, getting red cheeks...

Jessica comes back from hunting for rocks.

 Building boats out of foam plates, looking for life in the water...

 relaxing...

It has been a great day. 

A trip to the lake

One day we decided it was time to take our kids to the lagoon, where we so often went for fun when we were younger. The lake now is not visited nearly as much as it used to be, which makes is all the more a hidden quiet retreat in the jungle to get away to on a lazy Sunday. And to be honest, a little spooky.

  Bad thing, it rained. Good thing, we could eat under this shelter and enjoy it until the rain let up. the lake was much higher than I remember it being.

 Then we heard a howler monkey from the jungle, up close! The kids were super excited to go and find it. 

Except little Vicky of course, she did not think this strange noise was anything to be happy about.

 We wanted to see at least one crocodile in one of the lakes but we had no luck. Maybe next time. They will appear in the night if you go rafting out unto the lake on a full moon night. I am talking from experience, and one I would never ever care to repeat. Whew.

 Here they are inside the green hole. This hole resembles the other ones surrounding the lagoon but for some reason this one does not hold any water.???

 

 Little miss and myself did not go down but watched from above. 

 Climbing out of the hole.

 Going home again. It was a fun visit, but it is always good to be out of the jungle again where we can feel a little safer. Its a beautiful country, but you always cast an extra look over your shoulder in places like these.

Cattle Day

 Trying to see if this old girl still had it in her to saddle a horse. It worked. 

(you can safely blame little Victoria for the loose baggy pants. )

 Its good to see my that daughter has the same taste for photos as I do, as it was she took this photo.

 Ah it felt good to be back in the saddle again, something I haven't felt since oh about two years or so ago. Just like the good ole days when it was just the two of us.

 Little miss sherriff didn't feel too great. She has the chicken pox.

 Joseph might just turn into a cowboy yet.

 Besides roping little brother, he's also good at calf roping.

 Action in the pasture.

 Stubborn, stubborn head. But stuff like this always adds to the fun of the cowboys.

 Cousins watching.

 My handsome cowboy.

 Yeah that hurts but just for a little while.

This is how we decided to cook our chili beans for cattle day. I obtained this homemade cookstove recently and decided I wanted to use it to cook my chili.

 My dutch oven is a perfect fit for it. 

That was cattle day for the family. We all had loads of fun. Hope you enjoyed the shots!