at the lake...

we recently squeezed in a mini late summer vacation...it was fun to do a first family vacation with our new little one...i even cracked out my knitting needles again after a long hiatus...it felt good.
and i vowed not to do any laundry while there (even though we have access to washer/dryer) and that felt even better! ;)

some other things we enjoyed... picking wild blackberries (which were the most bountiful we'd ever seen them here)

catching a glorious sunset over the lake (the only one I made it out of the cabin in time for...)

eating some (okay lots of!) delicious seven layer bars (I made them for the first time ever especially for hub's bday...we kinda got hooked on them from the bakery of our local fancy grocery store as a little indulgence after the baby was born...much cheaper to make them myself. I sort of followed this recipe but used 2 cups of graham crackers and a smaller 8x12" pan so the bars would be thicker. oh, and I poured the milk over just before finally adding the coconut...not sure just how important the order of ingredients is but that's what I did! They remind us of these "aloha bars" we'd get in Kauai at the Java Kai coffee shop...I think sometime I might try making them with white chocolate chips & macadamia nuts instead for even more Hawaiian flavor.)

fishing off the dock (hub likes to mix and match his plaids)making delicious gooey ooozing smores (hub kept making them for me while I held baby...not a bad thing at all!)

taking little walks, breathing in the fresh air (I always think its neat how a lot of the cabins up north make their own little signs with their last names on them)

just being together, enjoying the simple things...like finding a pretty blue feather in our path...

wild raspberries...

On sunny Saturday, Hub slid into his waders to trek into our wet woods a bit in order to get at the wild raspberries...
It always cracks me up just a bit when he puts them on.
And he's such a good sport (because you know that it was I who politely asked him to do this...all for the love of wild berries ya know).
He spied a pretty dark butterfly too.
I picked a few raspberries in the drier places, but mostly stood by offering encouragement from a safe (dry) distance...
...since I was not as well attired as Hub. And we (he) did okay...a little bowlful of berries, better than none!

some thoughts today...

Life with a little one is SO busy. I think my idea of what it would be like to have a baby and actually having a baby of my own is so completely different. I don't think anyone or any book or any amount of preparation can really truly prepare you for so radical a life change. Although I think it is the hardest thing I've ever done, I'm loving every single minute of it. (Just don't ask Hub at certain points in the day when I'm extremely sleep deprived and a bit snappy!) But as we're starting to have a tiny bit more of a routine, getting comfortable with each other, I'm just starting to be able to carve out little moments for myself (that don't just involve laundry or dishes) and feel some moments of normalcy...normalcy being what life was like pre-baby. Perhaps for others having their first child isn't such a major adjustment, but for me it really has been. As Hub sometimes tells me, I don't do good with change. And this has been a huge change in every way possible...yet the very best kind of change too. I don't often put personal/people photos on this blog, but I loved this recent photo of us together... It was little baby's first "wild blueberry hike." I pointed them out as Hub picked them. And baby slept through most of it all. What a special time!