is cabin camping a thing?

I like to proclaim our family as being outdoorsy. We like to camp, fish, hike and be outside.

Truth is, most of that comes from my husband. I go along with it because I know it's good for me and I am a mom of 2 boys.

And as evidenced by my growing waistline, half the fun of camping is what I get to cook over the campfire or Coleman stove.

Have you had a banana boat? OMG. Delish.

One of our favorite places in the state to visit is Greer. We have made it an annual trip. I get to be outside in the most beautiful and glorious of backdrops. My husband gets to fly fish in trout laden lakes and streams. And the boys get to be dirty and eat s'mores.

But when we visit Greer, we rent a cabin.

We do not camp in a tent.

Whaaaat??? Sacrilege. I know.

Greer has some of the most beautiful campgrounds, with amenities too! Every year we look at each other as we are exploring the woods and say, "Next year we are tent camping."

BUT AAAAHHHH CABIN CAMPING IS SO GREAT! We will save tent camping for parts of the state that are a little closer to our home base. When we have to drive 4 hours to get to our destination, I am ready for a cozy log cabin with rustic ambience and... a cozy bed and warm shower.

This year's cabin was super awesome. Quoted from my oldest son.

Many of these beautiful pics were captured by my talented and artistic husband on his IPhone. The last few I took and did some magic in Instagram. But where am I? I was on this trip too. Swear. I've got a pic of me somewhere...

Hahahahahahaha.

taking pictures downtown

These were used to make a Father's Day photo album for my honey.

The boys had fun being the center of attention and the objet d'art despite the soaring temps that morning.

I am by no means a good photographer (not even a decent one, really), but digital cameras, iPhones and Photoshop do so much of the work for you. I really just have to make sure the boys are in the picture and not picking their noses or scratching... some body part.

I have seen so many professional photographers use the beautiful murals  in downtown Phoenix as backdrops in their portraits, so I wanted to do the same, but for FREE. (Sorry!) We had a good time and the final result made a nice surprise gift for daddy.

back to blogging. summer plans.

It's becoming trite to say man where has the time gone. Eons since my last blog entry. To say I have been busy is an understatement. But it's busy with a little of this a little of that. Nothing major. Just chugging away to keep up with the Joneses and these quick growing Bell boys of mine.

School is out in a week. I think I may be more excited than my little men. Of course, I am still working. But our tether to a schedule will be more relaxed. Instead of waking at the crack of dawn to rush out the door with school bags and books, we will be able to move at a leisurely pace. The motivation to be somewhere on time will be for fun activities: swim, martial arts, music, the library and a museum.

I have big plans for some home schooling summer projects. Little A still has yet to read and will be starting Kindergarten in August, B will be able to perfect his math facts and work on his creative writing skills, and all sorts of fun science, music and domestic arts projects are swirling in my aging brain.

But more than anything I am looking forward to the lazy. We have some camping trips planned and some local adventures, but we are going to spend (hopefully) a good deal of time this summer being a family of leisure.

OH YES.

Afterthought: I have etched out very little time for any reading or writing of my own. Here's hoping this summer allows for more opportunities. Maybe I could start with list put together by Changing Hands Bookstore, found here.

• Vampires in the Lemon Grove – Karen Russell
• Dog Stars – Peter Heller
• State of Wonder – Ann Patchett
• The Language of Flowers – Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• Let’s Pretend this Never Happened – Jenny Lawson
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me – Mindy Kaling
• Life After Life – Kate Atkinson
• Rules of Civility – Amor Towles
• Wild – Cheryl Strayed
• Leon and Louise –  Capus, Alex (Author), Brownjohn, John (Translator)
• The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart
• The Art of Fielding – Chad Harbach
• A Constellation of Vital Phenomena – Anthony Marra (April Release)
• The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving- Jonahthan Evison (May in Paperback)

vacation!

This was from May. Nearly three months later I have found time to upload photos from the trip. A vacation we couldn't afford. But for that reason alone, was desperately needed.

One of our favorite places with some of our favorite people.

And Legoland.

It was lovely and I have missed the beach (nearly) daily since.

on birthdays

There are few things in life I feel truly strongly about. When it comes to most hot-button topics, you could even call me wishy-washy. Really. As I've gotten older, I have become less opinionated about 'stuff''. I think the opposite is true with the majority of people I know. Most people, most perfectly normal people, see their convictions, their beliefs, grow stronger and more resolute as they mature and get older.

In an ironic twist, the few strong opinions I have are for relatively unimportant topics. For example, I have come to believe that birthdays should be simple celebrations. When my oldest son turned one, we had a big family bash that resulted in a messy house, an overwhelmed toddler and an exhausted mommy. Was it a fun party? Of course! Did the celebration of turning one year old have the desired impact on my firstborn child? Not so much. Since then, our birthday parties have been small-ish affairs. Simple backyard parties with a few friends of the boys' choosing.

In the age of pinterest, Martha Stewart style tv shows and beautiful lifestyle mommy blogs, there is so much visual stimulation when it comes to party planning. I do find inspiration from luxe tablescapes and elaborate party food. I know you all have seen the 6-layer rainbow birthday cake. But after many years of taking on too much, I am finally learning from my mistakes... It's so easy for me to fall into a trap of taking on more than I can handle. I overschedule, overplan and overspend. And by the end of it all, I am a mess. A grumpy mom and a grumpy wife. Neither of which is fair to the people who love me most.

So a few weeks ago, when my youngest celebrated his fourth birthday, we had a total of 8 kids and 8 parents. He chose a superhero theme so I set about making 8 satin-y superhero capes and 8 felt superhero masks. We played a few un-organized party games and ate Jersey Mike's subs and veggies for lunch. The kids sang happy birthday before munching on cupcakes and there was a bit of chaos during present opening time. But overall, a simple and easy birthday party with little stress on mama. Which, as everyone knows, is directly proportional to the level of happiness in the house.