First Overnight Camping Trip!

 Earlier this summer, we took the kids camping at Stone Mountain Park campground. The first couple of pictures are of their new sleeping bags. They wanted to try them out in the middle of the kitchen floor first. We decided to stay close to home on this first over-nighter in case we needed to pack up the car and head home! Stone Mt. is about 20min. from home. The kids did great and really enjoyed the experience. We did alright also having never done this sort of thing with small children before. We did make a few mental notes like, don't forget paper towels or the syrup for the pancakes:) We also decided to bring the earplugs again if we choose to camp in the middle of a big city! Oh yes, and the last thing, don't over boil the coffee and burn the top of your son's precious little head. That is sure to ruin the beginning of your day. Thankfully the campground saved breakfast with donuts and coffee.

 

About this picture..I think Logan was really excited to be here. She posed unprompted and said, "Take my picture!" This was even before smores!

So, here's my current dilemma and update...I can't find my camera bag. It has our charger and downloading cord in it. It's driving me crazy. All that to say, hope you aren't staring too long at these pics. I have some great ones from our summer days at home and the things the kids are into right now. Logan loves playing with her babies and jumping off everything. Fleetwood is walking around and loves to push things. I gave him his first haircut. Um, let's just say...I hope it grows out and my mom can fix it when my parents arrive this weekend. Fleetwood is doing well at work. He was supposed to be deployed for hurricane relief this weekend, but isn't going to have to go anymore. I just got my wisdom teeth taken out a week and a half ago. I've just been given the "all looks well, go on with life" from the doc, SO as soon as I find my camera case I'll get some new pics uploaded!

Dancing Queen

 

In June, Logan had her 1st dance recital. It was so sweet. The theme was the Name Game. She performed a ballet and a tap number. Fleetwood and I couldn't help but tear up as our little girl walked on the stage. I think we were the proudest parents there. She was the youngest in her class, but you would never know it because she danced beautifully. She tapped and twirled right to her routine! We fixed her hair and makeup which was a lot of fun and a bit challenging since nowadays she definitely has an opinion about what she will wear and how she'd like her hair done! 

 

She is on the left in the back. This "tap" song was to Lollipop!

 

Logan (back) and Eden (front) seemed to know what was coming up in routine before the teacher did it for them. 

 

Logan and Diya

 

Logan's flowers from family and medal

 

Logan and Eden

 

Logan and her teacher, Miss Shannon

 

Logan and cousin Addyson

She loved "dance class" so much! It was money well invested and she continues to dance and twirl around the house. Even plies every once in awhile!

Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park

After leaving Denver, we headed to our friends house, Neil and Heidi. They live outside of Boulder, so these pictures are from walking around Boulder one day. It was great to see them. They are welcoming a baby girl in October, and we're so excited for them! We also got to spend time with some friends we met in MS that now live in CO. We had dinner and dessert with them our last night in Denver. It was really good to catch up with them. I love those friends that you haven't seen in a while, but can instantly and comfortably pick back up where you left off. Thanks Michael and Jennifer! You're always welcome in Atlanta!

As you can see from the photos, we have little hikers in our family! We were so proud of Logan. She did amazing and enjoyed herself thoroughly. Especially the photo opps on the big rocks! After leaving Neil and Heidi's house, we traveled up to Estes Park for a couple of nights. We wanted to enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park, do some hiking, have a picnic, and enjoy a sunset on top of a mountain! Neil and Heidi joined us the first day for a day hike. It was really great to spend time with them!

Not a bad way to end day 1, although we weren't exactly dressed for snow and cold wind. Oh well, just snuggled up and dreamed of a fireplace and warm bed!

Final day in Estes Park! We saw so much wildlife. A snake, a moose (shown above), tons of elk, chipmunks, a badger, deer... The kids probably thought elk were like squirrels since we saw so many of them. There are also a couple of pics of us on a big slide. What an unexpected fun surprise! Who cares if it was kinda "touristy?" We loved it and it was only $1! The final picture is the kids first smore. We roasted the marshmallows outside our hotel over a campfire. Fleetwood liked it. Logan was a little unsure of the stickyness and somewhat burnt marshmallow (which she doesn't really care for to begin with). She preferred to just eat the graham cracker and chocolate separately. Good memories!