Just Another Good Day

Abby and I have been having a very normal, very good day. She is getting to be quite a clown and we have a great time. She just cracks us up and cracks herself up in the process. Today she really had a great time playing with her duck rattle. She chewed it, shook it, and chewed it some more. And the whole time I was making up rhymes for her or making silly noises, which only intensified the laughter. It is so nice to have a happy baby!

Other than that there is not much to report. We are waiting for the big rain from the hurricane to get here - it is supposed to start raining this afternoon and rain until tomorrow afternoon. Blah. Steve and I are on our post-Labor Day diet and workout plan. I am not sure how many more salad lunches I will be able to handle, but so far so good. I just want to get my waistline back into its pre-pregnancy shape so I can pull out all my old suits and fit back into them since I've lost almost all of the baby weight. We shall see if this works.
Here's another photo from camping for Grandma Jennie - it isn't exactly the camping tree, but it was pretty close. And, this girl just would not smile for us. Either she's hamming it up or she's ultra serious, there is no in between for us. Have a wonderful day - we are going to snuggle, read the Lord of the Rings, and stay dry!

Our Beach Adventure

Campsite Report Card:

1. View From Campsite (see photo above)..........A+

There was a totally unobstructed view of Lake Michigan from our campsite. There was about 75 yards of stony field full of wildflowers and lots of monarch butterflies between us and the water. It was beautiful! If you click on the photo to get the original sized version you can really appreciate the great view we enjoyed.

2. Camping Facilities..........................................................B-

The outhouses were clean and well stocked and for an outhouse not totally unbearable. The sites were well spaced and probably half had a spectacular lake view. Our site (Number 8) was a little small and we had to put our big tent partly on the drive, so it was a little stony underfoot.

3. The Beach........................................................................D+

We picked this location because it was on the beach, but the shore behind our site was rocky (large boulders, not Lake Superior stones). There was a small amount of sandy beach both to the east and west of the campground, but it was narrow and the water was no more than knee deep for at least 100 yards out. Abby appreciated the super warm waves, but Steve and I were disappointed.

4. Our Fellow Campers..................................................................F

We came home a day early because we were tired of listening to a bunch of out of control teenage girls and another family with at least 4 kids who were up and screaming in the middle of the night. There was also an inordinately large number of dogs running loose and trying to dog fight with Maize, who was restrained at all times as per campground rules.

So.... we had a good time camping. We forgot a few key items, but otherwise Abby thoroughly enjoyed her first camping experience and her first lick of Pop Tart, which happened to be a Michigan Wolverine Pop Tart. But... eating soup without spoons and sleeping without pillows was not the most fun.

We all enjoyed the hammock - it's a good thing I insisted Steve get me one when he was in Guyana a few years ago. Abby had a great time swinging and even Maize enjoys an occasional snuggle in the hammock. And it's a great place to read a book or two.

And Abby in the last two weeks has decided that she loves the water. She didn't like Grandma Mary's pool, but she was instantly a fan of waves washing on her legs. We got lots of smiles and giggles, even when we sat her down in the water. We even put an umbrella up right in the surf to keep her from burning so she could play longer.

Unfortunately our football team lost, but Abby still loves them. And she was mighty glad for the camping sweat suit that Great Grandma Jennie got her. She wore it during the day and over her pajamas at night too!

Lake Michigan Here We Come

Picture from the internet of Little Hog IslandWe are headed to the beach near Little Hog Island this evening. We can't wait. Last night Steve loaded up our car, so all we have left to do is wait for him to get done with work.

Abby did great with her second set of shots. She didn't get any fever and wasn't grouchy at all. The only sign that she had any shots is the red marks where they gave the injections. She is a real trooper.

And... tomorrow is the start of a very special season in this household - Michigan football season! Since we are going to be camping we have already set up the tivo to record the football game. We LOVE our tivo - it is probably the best piece of electronic equipment we have ever purchased. It is WAY better than the average dvr's that the satellite dish companies provide since I can access it from anywhere in the world as long as I have internet and tell my machine what it needs to record. And it searches listings for me based on keywords - which we are currently using to increase Abigail's collection of Disney movies. Yesterday we taped 101 Dalmatians from tv onto the tivo and then from tivo onto dvd with that dvd recorder Steve got us. We are having lots of fun with technology!

Abby and I are going to play and play today so she is ready to take a ride tonight. We'll update you again on Monday evening or Tuesday :-)