Camping Fun

This weekend Keith & I surprised Miles. It is a crazy amount of fun surprising your children once they are old enough to understand what a surprise is!

First we packed up everything under the nose of our very intrigued almost 4 year old. He caught us a couple times, and I sheepishly waved him off. (And one time I even lied. Which I apologized for later. It's tough teaching your son NOT to lie... when you, yourself have just lied to him. Even though it was for a good cause.)

I told Miles we had to drop "something" off at Marie's house and asked if he wanted to come along- which I KNEW he would. He was excited to see his buddies Ed and Caitlin who he affectionately calls "Eddie and Caitefin." :)

When we got to my friends we told Miles that the "thing" we had to drop off was Maxwell and that Mommy and Daddy and Miles were going out for lunch to celebrate his birthday! Then we had to remind him that his birthday actually isn't until next week. But we were going to celebrate it today. He was excited.

We made it to Rainforest Cafe and he was LOVING every second. I actually think that JUST taking him to lunch would have been enough for him. He was all smiles and loved being out with just Mom and Dad. Although, he did say a couple times that he wishes Maxwell was with us. (SHOCK!) If Max was actually there, I don't think he would have felt as special. But he doesn't know that yet.

Please don't mind my lovely husbands closed eyes. Doesn't Miles just look adorable! He was loving it all so much! He had no idea what we had in store for him next! VOLCANO CAKE!!!!!

Here is my Milesy bub blowing out the candle to his volcano cake! This cake was TASTY! It was actually brownie, vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrup and whipped topping. It was delicious.

When we were done eating we headed to the car, and once we go there we told him we had one. more. surprise.

Here's kind of how this conversation went:

Keith: Miles... guess what were doing next?

Miles: What?

Keith: Were going camping!

Miles: Right now?

Keith: Yes! Isn't that exciting!

Miles: What about Maxwell? Is he staying with Marie?

(Me, watching this interaction getting a little choked up over the fact that he's thinking about his brother on HIS surprise birthday weekend.)

Keith: Yep, he's going to stay with Marie over night so Mommy, Daddy and you can camp!

Miles: (BIG SMILE) Right now??????

Keith: YES!

Miles: That makes me happy!

So, we were off.

Miles learned a few fun things this weekend. Let me exhibit said "fun" things.

Exhibit A: Keith taught Miles how to use a knife (a very sharp one that could take off a finger or toe... or something!) He needs to learn sometime right? Right? RIGHT???

Exhibit B: Keith taught Miles how to build a fire... and let him place the logs... into the hot fire which could scorch his precious little hands...
Exhibit C: Miles learns how to build a tent. Which isn't so bad until you realize we forgot our hammer for the stakes, so Miles finds a big rock to use in hammering the stakes into the ground, which could crush his sweet little fingers.

Ok- It wasn't all that bad. Keith had a close eye on him at all times. But it didn't change the fact that it made me feel a little nervous about it all. Miles did an awesome job and really listened well to Keith's instructions on these very practical "man" things to learn.

The first evening after we set up camp, we went to the water front which was about a 1 mile easy hike and beautiful evening!

And Miles was having a blast!

After checking out the beach we went back to camp and grilled up some hot dogs! Camp Fire hot dogs are just so much better then normal hot dogs!

The next morning I woke up to this face... literally

And the excitement continued as we made eggs and bacon over the fire.

Later that morning we packed up our site and headed back to beach. We got some great shots at the beach! All in all, we had a wonderful time! I am happy I got to experience camping with my little guy! We had such a blast!

Maxwell

There's this little boy named Maxwell Koen who has kind of sort of stolen my heart. He is my son. He looks a lot like his daddy, and a lot like his older brother, Miles. But lately he has started to show who he is and who he isn't. For example: He is not one of those kids who will wonder off and explore unless he can see me. If he can see me, then he will check things out. But if he can't see me, then he will cry for me. He is one of those kids that would rather play with my phone and camera when outside, then chew on a stick. (Unlike his brother) He is also becoming much more expressive and is starting to communicate with us! The other day he signed to me "night night!" I was surprised and proud of him! Today he signed "night night" and then SAID "na na" right after words. This is all good and fun and makes me proud.

But it also makes me want to slow the freaken boat down and give me my baby back. It wasn't that long ago that he was just born was it?

14 1/2 months ago I held him in my arms for the first time. It seems like it was yesterday... and I would believe that it was yeterday except for the fact that he's 24 pounds 31 inches and learning how to walk.YIKES!!!! Did I just say he's figuring out how to walk??? Why yes.... yes I did. He is learning. Probably in the next couple weeks he will be walking around this house like he owns it. Ha! I would love for him to slow down a bit and be my baby forever. Well... somedays I want him to be my baby. Other days I want him to be 18. But most days I just want him to be my baby. I should have know that time would go fast like it has. Miles turns 4 years old in a couple weeks, and holy moly... that should have taught me a thing or two about how fast time goes. But yet I remain surprised that Max is moving out of baby-hood and into toddler-land. The land of getting into everything, lots of bumps and bruises, lots of laughing and fun. Lots of hugs and kisses, hand holding, and sweet new words.

Maxwell Koen you are my sunshine. I love you so much! I thank God for you every single day. You light up my life with your smile and charm.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

As I mentioned yesterday, I was embarking on a new cookie recipe! I made them. I enjoyed them. I ate a bunch of the cookie dough, I ate 3 cookies, I loved them. They weren't too sweet- the cream cheese really gave them this cakey texture so they were soft and lovely! The chocolate amount was PERFECT! Not too over powering or strong. I highly recommend baking these cookies when you get a chance!

Click here for the recipe! DO IT NOW! Ha!

Today I have a bunch of bananas that are turning. I don't know what happened, but my boys used to eat banana's like they are going out of style! But for some reason they haven't wanted them, and therefor I have been making a CRAZY amount of banana bread and muffins. This isn't such a bad thing... but the scale has been inching it's way up... slowly... so I need to lay off on the baked goods! So today, marks the last day that I am buying banana's or making banana everything. I am going to use all the bananas I have left. Unfortunately I do not have any brown sugar left in the pantry, and I am feeling too lazy to walk up to the store to buy some. (Hey- you try pushing a double stroller UP the hill to the grocery store. It's hard work!) Typically I make a brown sugar, cinnamon goodness to go in top of my banana muffins. Also known as a streusel topping. I will need to come up with a different strategy I suppose! Who needs all that extra sugar anyway!

YEAH! Eat it brown sugar!

CRAP! Just realized that I need more eggs too. Well, I guess I WILL be taking a walk to the grocery store after all. It's not a bad thing to get some exercise in right? Or to accidentally end up buying brown sugar too so I can have my streusel topping.

Oh how I love brown sugar. Sorry I told you to eat it earlier. I didn't mean it. I love you. You are my friend and you make everything taste so amazing and yummy.

I have a go to recipe that I use for Banana bread. It has become my favorite recipe to date. It's going to be tough getting me to move on to a different recipe. Maybe my friend Jen, as mentioned yesterday, will make one that will up the anty on my banana bread. But until then... I will stand with you banana bread. You and I are like two peas in a pod. Go here if you want to give this recipe a try!

My first button card!

On Saturday I made my first button card for my dear friend Jens birthday! Her birthday isn't until Saturday, but I couldn't resist giving her this card as soon as possible. I thought it turned out to be really cute, and I plan to make many, many, more of them!

Also, my friend Jen, as mentioned above has a blog which I kind of sort of stalk. She has amazing writing skills, and cooking skills. One of her recipes is for a peach cobbler. I have never made the peach cobbler, but I have substituted the peaches with freshly picked blackberries, blueberries and once with some apples that were starting to go bad. (Actually the true story behind the apples is that my husband was in a hurry when grocery shopping and picked up a bag of apples that were on their way out anyhow- so I had to use them in a hurry!) Anyhow- I used this recipe for them all! I am a BIG fan of the crust/breading whatever you wanna call it goodness, so I 1 1/2 times the recipe for the "cobbler" part and I also added a bit more sugar when cooking with the blackberries as they tend to be on the tart side. Here is a link to the recipe. You should definitely try it, it's AMAZING!

Click here to go to the recipe!

It's now time for me to get off the computer and try out a new recipe! I am making cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. I will post how they turned out and a link when I am done!

Peace out rainbow trout!

Karen

The many faces of Miles

This post is for Miles. (One photo features our friend Bekah) My silly man of many faces. He definitely keeps me laughing! He is a joy, a delight and incredibly fun to be around! He is so sweet and loving and caring. Today he told me that when he goes to school that he's going to miss me sooooo much. And I believe him. We both decided that we just love that we get to spend our whole day together. Thankfully I have 2 more years before he goes to school. I know those 2 years will go fast enough- so for today I will enjoy my day, and my sweet first born son.

I am going to trust God

He knows my name. Isaiah 43:1

He sees my every move. Psalm 139:7

He thinks about me! Psalm 139:17

He is with me. Joshua 1:9

He will fight for me. Exodus 14:14

He made me in his image. Genesis 1:27

He is my safe place. Psalm 62:6-8

He has a plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11

He is GOOD! Psalm 119:68

He is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

He is always with me. Matthew 28:20