a bit of heaven

finally, a weekend away! paul and i look forward so much to these weekends where we can get away. for some reason, i don't get my act together enough to reserve a spot...i go by "i know we'll get a spot so we'll just leave earlier than everyone else"...so far in our years of camping...not a success. anywho...i heard about a place called moon lake. it has water, hikes, bathrooms, and shade (which are all  musts for me, especially with a wee one). we got meals planned, everything packed up, and were ready to go by 10 am. paul was able to take friday off, so we could go a little further out. it was a beautiful drive, and we were so pumped about being away with just the 3 of us. we saw the sign and mile marker for moon lake, and i started jumping in my seat. at first glance, it was beautiful...shady, the lake was right there, and crowded! i didn't think at all that moon lake would be completely full. i didn't want to look at paul. i was so frustrated. there wasn't an ounce of me that wanted to go back home, but i knew we would never find a place like moon lake. paul had to make the decisions because i was mentally out of it. he decided to go back to the gas station (about 20 miles back) and ask for another good place to go. she gave us a couple, and said that we would have a better chance at yellowstone at getting a spot. paul decided to try it out. after a rocky road, we got there. my mouth dropped, and i am pretty sure a couple of tears came out too. i prayed as we drove that we would find something...my prayers were answered, and i was humbled at how aware of our needs my heavenly father is. our spot had water, bathrooms, shade, hiking, and no people! it was a bit of heaven.
as we were setting up, paul and i would take little glances at each other, and then our site and giggle. it really was perfect.
memories...watching jack as he discovered everything about the outdoors, taking hikes and discovering old workcamps from the 1940's, driving to see the rest of the area and finding new campsites, yummy dutch oven bbq chicken and grandpa's potatoes, smores with really old disgusting graham crackers (btw...they don't store well), reading in the rain, me nervous with bear country, jack sleeping through the night, no other campers around, paul so excited about being in the greatest spot!

-ash

a day at the park

jack loves the park. he goes from the slide to the swing, to the grassy hill, to the wood chips, and then back to the slide. i have really enjoyed watching the park through the eyes of jack. he makes friends fast, and loves to have us watch all he is doing. this summer, he learned how to roll down the hill, and then i laugh hard as he tries to come back up the hill.
-ash

lazy days of summer

these days of summer are my favorite. hanging out together, enjoying the summer breeze, and a little ice cream. jack loves, loves, loves ice cream, he tends to take over our ice cream, and occasionally, will share with us.
-ash