Comfort Camping - Sundance Lodges

So, this weekend past, Tom and I decided to try our hand at camping. We were never big campers before kids, with the exception of our multi-day backpacking hikes. But the camping for those hikes was out of necessity for the hike, not really for the love of camping. However, we both feel that camping is an important experience for kids, and we figured we'd take some of the complication out of it by booking ourselves a tipi!

A tipi in July! That'll be fun! ... Right?

Yeah... Not exactly. 

First of all, there was a lot of rain. And I neglected to bring rain boots or rain pants for our kids, which would have solved a lot of our problems. The forecast had seemed like it wasn't going to be too bad, but the weather was changeable. I should have known to bring something for all weather!

Second of all, Scarlett wakes up at 5:00am EVERY. DAY. And this is fine when we're at home, and one of us can scoop her up and take her down to the basement so everyone else in the house can continue sleeping. But when you're in a tipi at 5:00am, everyone is awake. And when everyone is awake (I'm looking at you, Lacey), some people are giant sleep deprived monsters.

On the other hand, Scarlett was loving life!

Thirdly, kids under four years old don't really like hiking. Us adults might like hiking. But hiking while carrying all of the kids? Not really my cup of tea. Nevertheless, we made it up the "family friendly" Troll Falls Hike.

Finally, it was really freaking cold at night. There was a kerosene heater inside the tipi, but we ran out of kerosene the first night before we went to sleep, and the second night we turned it off because we couldn't handle the kerosene fumes. 

I know, I'm being a total Debbie Downer about this experience. I think Lacey and Scarlett had a great time... It just wasn't that fun for the adults. Will we do it again? Yes. But we will definitely be waiting until Scarlett can wake up at a more reasonable time! And we will also hope for better weather!

Chris and Minnie Tie the Knot (x2)

I don't know what it is about weddings-- but they give me all the feels. And there's nothing like a wedding for a long-time friend to invoke some serious nostalgia about friendships past, and present.

This past weekend, my long-time friend, Chris, got married. I first met Chris in 1997, which means we've known each other for 22 years. He and his wife, Minnie, got married in January in Thailand-- with Minnie's family and friends in attendance. But they also had a legal ceremony in Canada this past weekend, with Chris' family and friends in attendance. For logistical reasons, it wasn't possible for everyone to gather for one wedding ceremony.

Seeing my friends get married just makes me so happy! Chris and Minnie are such a lovely match. It's easy to see that they're going to make each other happy for many years to come.

A fun added twist to this wedding, was that Lacey got to serve as their incredibly adorable flower girl! I'm not sure if she'll ever get this opportunity again, but she LOVED every minute of it. She loved dancing at the wedding, she loved chasing Uncle Steve around, she loved holding her flowers, and she loved seeing Minnie in her white "marry dress".

After twenty years of friendship, Chris, Steve, Jeff and Ashley have become family in their own right. 2019 has been a big year for everyone! I'm back to work after Scarlett's first year, Chris got married, Steve and his girlfriend got a puppy, Jeff and Gwen are expecting a baby boy in mid-July, and Ashley is heading back to school in September. Everyone is doing so well! And seriously, we're getting more ridiculously good looking as the years pass.

So, congratulations Chris and Minnie! I'm so grateful to be here to share this memorable day with you!

And thanks for good friends. I'm even more grateful to be experiencing these milestones with you all in my life. May there be many more celebrations to come, and more opportunities for Walmart portrait studio sessions.

Love you guys!