Camping at Blue Mounds State Park

We survived our first Camping trip with Piper!

Tuesday Afternoon we loaded up the car and headed across the Minnesota boarder to Blue Mounds State Park just north of Luverne. We wanted to make it as easy as possible since this was going to be Piper's first trip. We planned on staying one night, we were not going to cook any meals at our camp site, and we were going to plan on getting very little sleep.

Piper loved the tent and could have played in it the whole time if we would have let her.

Our main agenda of the trip was to find the prickly pear cactus. We found some with in the first few seconds our our first hike.





Piper had a lot of fun exploring all the little plants, rocks and bugs.

Piper also made sure we were all up at 6 am the next morning. We filled up on string cheese and graham crackers and headed out on a morning hike/walk through the prairie.


After our walk we headed into town for some breakfast. The ranger recommended this little dinner to us. I have to say the menus were enough to keep us happy and entertained. They hung from the ceiling and would retract when you let go of them. Piper thought it was the greatest thing ever.


We were all pretty exhausted when we got home but we had a lot of fun and we now know it's possible to camp with Piper.

The girl can't walk but...

she can eat with a spoon.

It's our Anniversary

2 years ago today I married my best friend.

This 2nd year definitely had it's ups and downs. Josh and I spent a good chunk of it living in my parents basement. We moved across the country, sold our Portland house, and bought a new house in Sioux Falls. We also managed to have some fun and we've not only enjoyed being married but also being parents.
Since we already celebrated our anniversary a few weeks back in Lanesboro we decided to keep it low key today. We also decided to make homemade cards. It was a lot of fun to make and give each other the cards. I think it may be a new tradition.

A Sunday Picnic

We were all a little on the crabby side this morning. Josh worked the overnight, Piper's working on a molar and I stayed up way to late reading Mockingjay. I was getting snippy at Josh this morning while were doing the dishes and I new we all needed to get out and get some fresh air.

We all decided to head to Sertoma Park for a picnic. The main picnic shelter was full of people so we found a quite picnic table by the Outdoor Campus.
Being outside really helped Piper forget about her painful mouth.
We all had fun walking and exploring the trails.

We saw birds, ducks, dragonflies, butterflies, and even a weasel.
Once we were done exploring we had all kind of fun at the playground. Sertoma Park has by far the coolest playground in town.
An afternoon in the park was the best way to spend our Sunday!

Piper's First Crush

A few months back I started checking out Sesame Street Videos from the library for Piper to watch before nap time. It didn't take long before Piper became very attached on a little furry red monster. Piper Loves Elmo...or Melmo as she refers to him.
The other day we were watching "Elmo goes to the Doctor" where Elmo has an ear ache. While she was watching the episode she held her own ear. I have to say she has some strong feelings for Elmo.

Piper also loves to brush her teeth but I think Elmo has something to do with that as well.
Yep Piper has a crush on Elmo.

Oh and a quick explanation of the top photo. Piper loves playing in our landscaping rocks. She likes to sort through them and stack them in little piles. She can be an odd little girl sometimes.

One step at a time

I have some exciting news. Piper has taken a step! That's right my 15 month old daughter has finally taken a step.

It has taken some bribing involving ice cream. She's now taken about 2 steps at a time and will stand for extended periods of time on her own. We're no where near completely walking but we're getting there.

She really reminds me of myself when it comes to getting out of her comfort zone. From what I've been told I was a late walker myself. We'll keep working on it and hopefully she'll be taking lots of steps by the time she's two:)

Auntie Em

One of the best things about this last month is my sister has been around. She's spending some time in the Mid-west before she starts school in Atlanta in the fall. Piper is so in love with her Auntie Em.
We've been working on teaching Piper to say Emily...but Emily is a really hard word to say.
Piper was calling her Girl for a while but Emily wasn't real wild about that. For some reason recently Piper has started calling her Elmo. It must be the red hair.

Piper loves playing with Auntie Em! It's been so much fun watching them spend time together!

Happy Fathers Day!

I hope all you Dads, Grandpas, and Great Grandpas out there had a great weekend. I was able to spend Father's Day with two of my favorite dads!

This week in honer on Father's Day, I Heart Faces challenge is photos of guys. This photo is of my husband and father on my little girl. It's amazing what fatherhood can do to a man. I would have never imagined taking a photo of my husband blowing bubbles two years ago when we got married.

Recent Reads

A Quick Getaway

Josh and I were able to get away for a little overnight trip to Lanesboro MN earlier this week. We were celebrating our 2nd anniversary a little early. We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast and had lots of fun outdoor time.
We left Piper behind with Josh's parents. It was my first night away from her. The trip was wonderful but I missed her way more than I thought I was going to. I think she had so much fun that she only missed us a little.
We went for walks, ate ice cream, and pie. We rode a side by side tandem bike, something I've been wanting to do for a while. Josh said it wasn't as lame as he thought it was going to be. We also took a canoe trip down the Root River. It was a great way to celebrate the last two crazy years.

Cousins!

We were able to make a stop at Josh's sister's house this last weekend. It was so much fun to see everyone! Piper loves getting to spend time with her cousins. She was able to have a picnic dinner with her cousins.
She also got to try out the trampoline for the first time. She sat on Josh's lap while her cousins jumped around. She loved it so much!

She also had fun watching her dad bounce her cousins around.

Every One Loves a Parade

Today the Mapleton Day's Parade went right past my parents house. Piper liked the parade for the most part but she's not a huge fan of loud engines. There were a lot of trucks and tractors in the parade so there was a little bit of fussing.
Luckily Grandma was there to provide a sucker. That seemed to make everything much better.
Just for fun here's a picture of Piper at the Mapleton Day's Parade a year ago. It's amazing how much a little one can grow in a year!

Messy Little Girl

We are having an ongoing problem with Piper. As soon as she's done eating her food she starts chucking it on the floor. She looks right at us as she does it and she knows that she's being naughty.

We end up having to vacuum and scrub the floors after every meal.
Unfortunately she thinks vacuums are hilarious so that does not seem to be helping things much.

From a Distance

I haven't done a I Heart Faces challenge for a while but this one looked fun. This week challenge is from a distance. We are supposed to share a photo of a whole person taken from a distance. I took this photo last month at the rainy wedding I shot. I know I posted this photo when I posted the other wedding photos but I felt it would be a fun one for this weeks theme.