Happy Halloween!

This year was Elodie's first Halloween in a family that loves wearing costumes and carving pumpkins. She was more than happy to do both and there are only pictures of her from today, but she's so cute and I don't remember to take pictures of anything else.  This was the first year in a very long time that I haven't dressed up, but I did make Elodie a costume and I think it turned out great.  She is the happiest, most smiliest, laughing, kissing, baby that I've ever met. So she went as "sunshine and rainbows" for Halloween this year.

Happy Fourth of July from Elodie!

This year we decided to celebrate with a big group of friends out in the mountains. It was Elodie's first camping trip and she did great!

 Rain was forecast, but we were determined to go and have a good time. We must be crazy to take two dogs and a baby camping in the rain.  Eric says it builds character.  I say it makes for good stories...

All together our group of over 20 people and 5 dogs set up camp. Some smarter people than us thought to bring pop-up shelters for everyone to hang out under. They were the perfect spot to drink beer and talk until the rain passed.

Elodie's favorite part of the trip was when we went on a hike.  She loved it!  I put her on my back and she wouldn't stop smiling and looking around at everything. Belle also loves going on hikes, and just like before, she got so into it that she ended up with blisters on her paws.  I've never heard of such a thing until her.

 ^^Heading for the trail^^

 All of the rain we've had made for very tropical hiking conditions.  It felt like we were in central america

Back from the hike it was time to for food. And when 20 people all bring food, there is a lot to eat.

 Jenn and Mark made beer bottles with everyone's pictures on them.  So fun.

 After dinner and tailgating, we headed to an overlook to watch the fireworks down in Luray.  It was a cool perspective to watch them from above.  We also bought sparklers but then forgot to use them and ended up playing with them when we got home instead.

 I won't lie and say that camping is one of my favorite outdoor activities. I'm usually glad we went, but never get too excited about it beforehand.  However, one thing I really love about camping is that you wake up so early.  The sun comes up sometime around 5am and when the sun's up, everyone's up.  Early morning is my favorite time of day with gorgeous lighting, dewy surfaces, and vibrant smells.  With her sisters standing guard, Elodie happily played with her favorite cups while Eric and I packed up to head home.

She makes me smile with my heart :)

Something bittersweet about getting married is knowing that with that person was the last time you would fall in love.  You won't get those butterflies, that crazy early infatuation, it's one of the best parts of living and you won't get to experience it again. You're trading it for something more rewarding, but there's still something sad about the thought.

Then life gives you a wonderful surprise! A head-over-heels, stare into each other's eyes, totally absorbed, shout it from the mountain tops love affair that you never saw coming. 

So now I will return to my love, my valentine, with her gifts of slobbery kisses, sweet baby breath, and constant happy smiles.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing a happy New Year to Everyone!

I've always thought these pregnancy time lapse videos were fun, so we made one of our own and decided to share.  Eric didn't cut his hair or shave for nine months while I grew my belly.

It's still hard to believe our human baby girl came from my body.  Kind of doesn't seem real.  Like there is a complete disassociation happening: we got a baby, and I had to go to the hospital for some weird thing, but do those have anything to do with each other?  Pregnancy is strange and beautiful.

Our little love is a month old today, on New Years Day, and we were so happy to ring in the new year with her all night long :)  Best midnight kiss ever.  A happy new year indeed.

mexico.  can we please move to mexico? please? it just feels like home.

we've just returned from a very relaxing family vacation celebrating eric's mom's birthday.  i've been to mexico a few times, but never to a resort or touristy town.  this trip to mexico was all-inclusive and in the riviera maya, both firsts for me, and, admittedly, i was pleasantly surprised.  i've always been a little snobby about it.  like, if you're going to spend money to fly somewhere and stay somewhere, why don't you experience their culture and wildlife instead of just drinking by the pool in a fancy hotel - you can do that anywhere.

well i'm here to tell you that i finally get it.  boy was i wrong.

not only is drinking/eating whatever and whenever you want, by the pool or at the beach, wonderfully easy and fabulous, there is still plenty of culture and adventure around to experience if you want to.

what is a truly relaxing vacation meant for if not to completely escape and relax?  no decisions or thoughts are required past check-in; it's the time to check-out of reality.  perfection.  and, for me, a truly new experience, which in and of itself is something to be appreciated.

...at the same time, you know we can't go too long without needing to get out of the hotel and explore; do something local.  we succeeded big time by going on a couple of cave dives in the cenotes, something we've both been wanting to try for a while.  i think i'll save the dives for another post soon.  they were literally out of this world.

overall the trip was perfect.  i love eric's family, the food, the hotel, the beach, the weather; the people of the yucatan peninsula were wonderful.  we've always thought our expatriation would be in puerto rico.... now we've got another option :)

thank you patty for including us in your fantastic birthday celebration!

^^sisters^^

^^hand-rolled cigars every evening^^

^^before and after braiding fun^^

we spent this christmas in colorado with eric's family.  it was cold and snowy just like everywhere we have been in the last month, so i guess we're meant to be cold this winter :)

while there, we went up to eric's family condo for a few days. my brother came out and the conditions were perfect for some boarding.

holy snow, the mountains were snowy and cold.  great for boarding, but we were happy to get down from the mountains and spend some quality time with eric's family.

 ^^magnet letters x-mas gift i made for a friend^^

 ^^templates for these here^^

 as much as we love seeing family, we also love being home.  for the first day of 2014 we had our favorite breakfast with black-eyed-peas as a side and snuggled up our girls.  it's the only way to start a great day which makes it the perfect way to start a great year.

^^sister love^^