art retreat

Last September we went to the Oregon coast

for a quiet family vacation.

(More on that later.)

While we were there,

my sweet husband gifted me

the opportunity to attend one of Alisa Burke's art retreats.

I can't think of a better word than amazing

to describe my experience.

Alisa welcomed twelve artists of all skill levels

into her beautiful studio.

We were greeted on the first day with

carefully arranged pails of art supplies,

fresh flowers at our work spaces,

and delicious scones from a local bakery.

After some preliminary instruction on sketching,

we headed out to dodge a storm

and sketch on the beach.

We drew and painted and made new friends

for two and a half blissful days,

taking breaks to do some crafting (like stamp making!)

and eat amazing local food.

It was...wonderful.

I'm already trying to figure out how to make it happen again. :)

[photos 1, 9, 10, 13, 14, and 16 by Alisa Burke]

camping

Earlier this month we went camping

at a gorgeous, pristine location

that is only about an hour away from our home!

It was amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite photos.

Big Sky Country

Our brand new tent fits the six of us

much more comfortably than the old one did.

little explorers

wildflowers

There was a tiny stream a short walk from our campsite.

It was a magical place for the boys to play:

shallow enough to be quite safe,

yet extraordinarily exciting.

I love the quiet woods.

I am quite good at building fires.

Well, good morning, handsome!

In addition to many butterflies,

we also saw deer, frogs, fish, and lots of mosquitos,

but I didn't get any photos of them.

gift from Little Man

gift from Sweet Pea

busy girl

Can it get much better than this?

field of wildflowers

hiking to Coolidge, a ghost town

ruins

So glad we met these rain clouds were on the drive home!

return to normalcy

Normalcy, of course, is a relative term.

We had a fabulous trip:

concert going

(Benjamin and I discovered a new group, got pictures with and autographs from some of our favorite musicians, and generally enjoyed being slightly irresponsible together going to concerts two nights in a row.)

restaurant dining

(We went out on a limb and ended up discovering an amazing hole-in-the-wall Vietnameese restaurant.  Turns out Thai coffee is fabulous, and of course Coldstone Creamery is always a sure bet.)

thrift shopping

(Horay for big-city selection!)

golfing

(Ben and his dad apparently enjoyed an amazing round of autumn golf at a course in Parley's Canyon that they've been wanting to try for a while.)

autumn festival enjoying

(My sister-in-law and I took my three little ones and the baby she nannies out for a fun-filled morning of hay rides, bouncy houses, mazes, rubber duck racing, pumpkins, and more.)

and just hanging out

(Playing games and having movie night with Ben's parents, getting together with his uncle and aunt, cooking and eating yummy food, going to girls' night at my sister-in-law's place, chasing the cat, and lots of time for grandchildren/grandparent interaction.)

We came home and (with the exception a few days battling an icky cold), I've been busy, busy ever since.  In addition to the normal stuff like appointments, laundry, and dishes, I've been enjoying doing lots of baking and breaking in my new crock pot, doing a photoshoot, working on another handmade Christmas gift, and making a custom wedding vows calligraphy.

That said, I definitely have stuff to write about, but I have to find time to actually sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard.  I still don't have a laptop, and Little Man has officially dropped his afternoon nap, both of which leave my blogging routine, well, non-existent.  It's okay, though. I'm really loving the stage of life even if it leaves me breathless half the time.

travel

The last couple of weeks were a whirl

of spontaneous travel plans,

fighting the flu,

packing and organizing,

and travel.

For the first half of last week we went camping

in Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Park.

We left home at 6:40 on Sunday morning

so that we could go to church with friends who live two hours away

before making our way into the park.

I drove the fully-packed van

while Benjamin enjoyed the trip from his motorcycle.

Little Man was fascinated by the geothermal features

and had a million questions and observations

about what we got to see.

Brother was just excited to be in a "bow-ca-no" (volcano).

And Sweet Pea was pretty much unimpressed.

We set up camp near the lovely Lewis Lake

and were relived that the temperatures didn't dip below freezing

(Tent camping in mid-September at almost 8,000 feet elevation

is a risky business.)

The boys slept like little camping pros

even though we were serenaded

by elk bugling all through the night.

(What a crazy-fabulous experience that was!)

The autumn colors in the foreground of the majestic Tetons

were truly spectacular.

Little Man said that his favorite part was

"the beauty all around."

It was by far the best camping trip we've ever had,

and the time we spent as a family was truly refreshing.

We returned home on Tuesday evening

just in time to do a little laundry and pack up again.

My parents watched all three children

while I accompanied Ben to the "big city" of Billings

where he had a work conference while I relaxed.

We left on Wednesday morning

and returned Friday evening.

I didn't take any photos, but the highlights include

going shopping all by myself,

Hobby Lobby,

a massage and pedicure (my first ever!),

Benjamin winning a Kindle Fire,

and fillet mignon.

It was a wonderful, wild week,

but I am quite happy to be home again,

settling into my semblance of routine.

I'm even almost caught up on the laundry.

: )