Thurs. July 11, 2013 -

 Daddy had lots of help setting up the tent

 Micaela decided to relax in a camping chair

 while big sister Riley pounded in the stakes

 The girls loved playing in the tent

 Then we roasted marshmallows

 And made s'mores

 Micaela was happy just eating graham crackers

 We love our new fire pit

 The Children's museum opens an annex during the farmers market on Saturday mornings for kids' crafts

 Riley made a shield and cape and met Captain America!

 I need to take a flower arranging class; all the flowers and greenery is from our yard

A little bunny eating the first carrot out of our garden

Our long 4th of July weekend continued with a camp out in the backyard. We'd really like to go camping but I'm glad we practiced first. We had a great time eating outside and roasting marshmallows for s'mores but it went downhill from there. The battery-operated pump we use for our air mattress has broken so we had to find a back-up, smaller mattress (we're way past the days of sleeping on the ground; can't believe we used to do that!). Riley didn't want to sleep on her own mat, she wanted to squeeze onto the mattress between us. Micaela didn't want to sleep at all. She was a bouncing ball of energy so finally I had to take her inside. I was bummed that our camping trip ended early but I was glad we just had to walk back to the house. Riley and Chad has a successful night in the tent, especially since my spot on the good mattress opened up and she got to snuggle with Daddy. Its hard to believe that just a few years ago we camped all summer long.

Micaela has become quite a challenge lately. She can climb absolutely anything. Her latest trick is to climb onto the top of her changing table and pull all the wipes out, one-by-one. We're probably going to have to take the table out of her room, there's no stopping her. I'll miss the storage but its just not safe. Her answer to everything is "No!" or "No way!" even when its actually something she wants to do. This makes for some very exhausting days.

Riley, meanwhile, is becoming quite the big sister. She loves to lecture little Micaela. Earlier this week Micaela said, "No way!" when I asked her to put on her shoes. Riley stepped in and says, "Micaela, its time to go. When Mommy says to put on your shoes you have to do it." I can't help but laugh since I think this is exactly what I told Riley as recently as a few weeks ago. I love watching these two grow closer as sisters. There is plenty of fighting but every night they give each other the sweetest bedtime hugs and kisses; it melts my heart.