Camping, House and Hawaii

First things first. Happy birthday, Garett! You don't look a day over 9.

We spent last weekend at Kirk Creek and my dad joined us for a night. It was a bit colder than it's been but we enjoyed every minute of it. I am beginning to crave an excuse to turn off my iPhone and camping gives me 48 hours of just that.

Progress is being made on our house. These pictures were taken about a week apart. I think the roof goes on next week. Thankfully (for us, not for farmers) it's been a pretty dry couple of months.

We also took a special trip to Hawaii with my folks and brother over a long weekend earlier this month. We read, swam, played in the tide pools and ate good food together. My parents rented an amazing home where we could spread out or be together. My favorite moment was snorkeling with Wyatt. We practiced in the pool with the mask, snorkel and life jacket. I had very low expectations for how he'd do in the open ocean. The moment he peeked underwater through his mask he was hooked. His love of ocean life completely canceled out any fear and he pushed me away so that he could float on his own. We saw bright fish that we've only read about and he got to float above a sea turtle. After about 20 minutes he'd had enough. He surprised me, and I ponder that while I am his parent and I believe I know him well, I am only beginning to really know all of who he is and am excited to know all of who he becomes. What a joy. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for this gift of time with you and Josh.

And one more pic from a sunset walk last week. We are still enjoying Morro Bay.

The Last Month

A few last pictures from San Francisco from the top of Twin Peaks.

The house project continues. We are very thankful for a fantastic contractor, creative architects and subs who are on time providing quality work.

We camped late in January. The first night was our worst ever and everything after that was lovely. I did not take any pictures of the crazy wind we experienced the first night but if I had it would have shown the corners of our tent caved in, slapping against our heads as we tried to sleep and the video that I didn't take would have shown the way we had to shout to one another inside our tent to be heard over the wind. The morning found me sleeping on Wyatt's bed and Wyatt sleeping curled up next to Garett. The wind died down by the afternoon and we all took a much needed nap.

I like how we work together during camping. Garett does the lion's share of the work but we are learning how to be a team. We also like to pull off the road when inspiration strikes to see if we can find a little rabbit trail that leads somewhere cool. I think Garett put it best during our last Highway 1 drive, "Sometimes you've just got to pull off the road." That rings true to me for most of life. These next two shots are from one of those explorations. We brought some snacks for lunch, a couple of beers, and our chairs and found the most beautiful lookout point just a short walk from the road.

It seems like I am forever taking pictures of Wyatt on his bike with his shark helmet. I think it sums up our life most days. We do a lot of bike and big wheel riding. We're heading back to Kirk Creek this coming weekend so you can look forward to even more camping pictures. I promise I'll only post if I have anything different.