When Life Gives You Lemons...

....Build a fire pit and roast hot dogs in your own backyard. 

We've been planning a camping trip with my family for almost a year now. We were going to go to Mt Lassen National Park, but that's a seven and a half hour drive, and when we discovered that long drives aren't the best with a baby, we scratched that idea and decided to go to Lost Lake in Mt Hood National Forest. 

And then....Ari caught chicken pox. 

It is a super mild case - only three little dots - and they haven't bothered her at all, but the doctor recommended not putting her through the stress of missed naps and unfamiliar places. 

So....Isaac bought a concrete fire ring (only $39 at the concrete pre-fab shop down the road? Yes, please!) and we roasted hot dogs in our backyard. 

It's a corner of our yard that we haven't done much to - unless you count cleaning out the two Christmas trees and carting out like 5 loads of brush - so it's nice to finally get something started out there. 

We contemplated setting the tent up and sleeping outside....but sleeping bags and rock-hard ground are only worth it if I'm in the forest miles away from cell phone service. 

BATMAN!

We've been waiting for this day since....well, since I watched The Dark Knight on opening day four years ago. I put "Watch Ari" on my mother-in-law's calendar like a month ago so there wouldn't be any question we would see The Dark Knight Rises on opening night.

What did I think? Well....it was amazing. Bane was an awesome villain. I usually hate Anne Hathaway but she fit the role and was a great Catwoman. I loved how the movie was all about Batman but at the same time, didn't revolve around him.

Before the movie we watched Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to get in the mood. Now I can't wait till TDKR comes out so we can watch all three on a rainy Saturday.*

*But I repeat myself. Let's face it, by the time in comes out, it will be winter and every Saturday will be rainy. Ugh.

Chalkboard Kitchen Door

I'm not sure when it happened, but my industrial design-obsessed husband has recently started pointing out how much he is liking rustic elements in home decor.

Imagine my surprise when the guy who usually likes cold concrete floors and super empty minimalist rooms suggested putting a chalkboard in our kitchen. Um, what? A chalkboard? You mean one of the trendiest rustic/homey elements in home design? The thing that I've been secretly craving but not saying anything about because I thought I would never get it? Are you sure we're talking about the same thing?

Love. 

Oregon is Awesome: Diamond Lake

Several months ago, our pastor dug up an old VHS copy of a video he shot at church camp a dozen years ago, got it converted into DVD format and brought it over for Isaac to watch. Of course I wasn't in the video, but it reminded me of how much fun I had as a kid at our church camps and made me wish Ari had the same opportunities as she grows up. Kristen and I consulted our phone calendars one night in the nursery, picked a weekend and informed Josh that our church was going camping. 

Besides the wicked mosquitoes and a miserable drive home with a baby who was tired of the car, we had a great weekend. Plus, I finally went to Crater Lake! How is it possible that I've lived in Oregon for almost twenty years and have never gone? 

On the way home, we hit up Tokatee Falls. (Note to self: hiking with baby in an Ergo is just a tad warm; buy a hiking pack before the next hike.) 

Words aren't necessary. The pictures are what I want to remember. 

PS. I love Oregon. It's super awesome. You can hike, beach walk and ski all in the same day. One of my favorite things is exploring our state so I'm going to collect our adventures under the super-original title "Oregon is Awesome" because, well, it is. 

Fresh Berry Pie

My first attempt at my mother-in-law's super amazing fresh berry pie turned out amazing, mostly because you can't go wrong with two pints of raspberries, a jello-based binder, and a graham cracker crust. We took it with us to visit Michael, Halley and baby Tad. Ari copied Michael and gave the baby kisses. We were too slow with the camera, but it was the cutest thing ever. 

Fresh Berry Pie

3/4 cup sugar 

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp light corn syrup

1 cup cold water

2 tsp jello (choose the flavor depending on what kind of berry you're using)

Pie crust (regular or graham cracker)

Berries - enough to fill up your pie crust)

Whisk sugar, corn starch, corn syrup, and cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk in jello and take off heat and cool. Fill your crust with berries and pour jello mixture over the top. Chill until jello is set up.