Pattison State Park

Pattison State Park is one of the prettiest campgrounds that i have ever been to! The sites are so nice and private, the bathrooms are relatively clean (as clean as they can be...considering!!), the walking paths are super nice and all paved, and they have garbage cans all over the place!! Here are some pics of us going to Big Manitou Falls! all the pics of the falls were lost, but it's the people that count, right?!! ;(

Hailey all bundled in my sweatshirt...good thing pushing the stroller makes me warm! This was one time I didn't want to share the responsibility with Korey! It got kinda chilly without the extra effort! :)
Our little family

The two love birds enjoying their anniversary trip! :)

a very cute Daddy with his adorable daughter!!!

Superior/Duluth

Korey, Hailey, and I enjoyed a few beautiful days in Superior WI and Duluth MN! We stayed at Pattison State Park and then drove into town to do stuff. It was definitely a memorable vacation...Hailey began cutting her first tooth and, like most of our vacations, it rained a good portion of the time! We did get to enjoy Thursday night and Friday, but we had planned on staying Friday night and ended up leaving and coming home because it rained all day long and was pretty chilly. Korey and I both agreed that next time we take Hailey camping if it even looks like it might rain we're gonna stay home or splurge and stay in a hotel! (it would definitely be worth it!)

Here Hailey and I are enjoying a little swing time before we start our big day of exploring the Lake Superior Shore!

The three of us on a boat cruise around the shore! We got to see a lot of cool stuff and they even fed us pizza. :) The best part was seeing a Polish vessel that traveled all the way from Poland to the Lake Superior!! (korey was gonna go and try to get on...maybe find a kinsman or two, but we couldn't get close enough!)
Hailey and Daddy hanging out in the park by the Lake

yes, she is wearing a different outfit here and it wasn't even Hailey's fault. In fact, Dad spilled soda on her and we had to change her!

at the Duluth Freshwater Museum

I got to cary Hailey around in the snugli...it was so much fun. I loved hanging out with her and holding her so close. The guy from the tour said that she was the best baby he'd seen all day. She didn't even cry through the whole tour!

Hailey and Mommy

A big boat that we toured...the tour took us up or down 18 flights of stairs, but it was well worth it, even though my legs were exhausted afterwards!

awww...look at the pretty Lake Superior shore!

Hugging a little beaver...with Daddy hanging out behind.

Hailey and Mommy outside the logging museum

Hailey's new coonskin cap that her daddy bought her

Yummy, does that steering wheel taste good, Hailey?? This is pretty much what she did the whole time- chewed on stuff!

Hailey's new mocassins! They're a little big, but they're super cute and hopefully they'll keep her nice and warm this winter!

The end of our trip...here we are hanging out in the tent trying to stay warm and dry! Just before we packed it all up and left for home!

getting ready for camping!

Korey and I had been planning on going on a little trip for our anniversary and since Public Service put their employees on "alert" that they might loose their jobs we decided to do something that didn't cost a lot of $! So, we're going camping to Pattison State Park(up by Lake Superior). We had originally planned to ask my parent's to babysit Hailey and leave our dog with the neighbor's, but I had one night away from Hailey and decided that I wasn't ready for a few days, yet. Plus, I figured that if I went away from her for that long she'd be weaned by the time I came back and I guess I'm just not ready for that yet! Good thing Hailey hasn't grown too much lately and she still fits into all of her 3-6 month stuff (and some of her 0-3 month stuff)! Otherwise I think we'd be kind of hard up for warm clothes. :) Here's a little snowsuit that we got from Ethan Rhode. I just thought it was adorable and was worried that by the time it got cold Hailey would be too big for it! Apparently that's not even close to a problem for her! :)

I love you, my sweet little baby girl!

I think that Hailey may be teething...she has been super cranky lately, sleeping a lot, eating a lot, and there's a little bump on her gums! I guess only time will tell, but it would be an exciting new adventure for all of us! :) (probably not that exciting for Hailey, though...actually, maybe not fun or exciting for any of us!) This was her, yesterday, when she was going through a little "happy time"! I just can't get over how much I love her sweet little smile and her adorable eyes. Korey is pretty in love with her, too. In fact, we are now, finally, fighting over who gets to carry her places and when we're rollerblading or going for a walk with her no one wants to push, because it's more fun to play with Hailey while we're going! Yes, we are pretty much like little kids with a new toy, but we can't help it. We just really do love her that much! :)

"I'm just so calm and good natured! Don't believe a word of what my mommy tells you about me!"

"hey Mom! I love you that much, too!"

"grrrr...I'm goin got eat you lion"

"hmmm...I think I see Allie.."

"aren't I just the cutest kid ever!!"

"I can't find the lion, so I guess my hand will have to do! I wish my Mom would put me in clothes that fit...now I have to chew on my shirt sleeve!"

This little outfit is one of her 3-6 month ones that I thought for sure she'd outgrow before it got cool enough for her to wear it! :) But, I guess not! Hopefully she'll grow into it soon. I kinda feel like even with her new "diet" that she hasn't been growing that much. She's still so tiny and her clothes are still so big on her! I think more of the problem is going to be the weather is too cold for her summer clothes by the time they fit! ;)

women's retreat!

On Friday I took a big leap of faith and went to a women's retreat for our church. It was pretty neat, because it was at our friend's farm and we all just camped out in our tents there! Luckily, Christy Nelson and I were prepared...making us one of the only tents that didn't spend the whole night freezing! So, instead of having a "guest speaker" or a woman come with the purpose of speaking to us we spent a lot of time alone in the Word, meeting in small groups, listening to a few testimonies, and listening to a tape by James McDonald. It was just such a great time of refreshment and renewal for the other women and myself! (at least I hope it was for the rest of them, but I know it was for me!!) The first night we had an hour of TAWG time (Time Alone With God)and we studied the Philippians 2:6-11. It was one of the first times that I had ever really studied those verses...and I really was struck by the fact that Jesus was exalted by God because He was obedient. One of the cross references we studied is Hebrews 5:8, and it says that Jesus learned obedience through His suffering, even though He was the Son of God. I just couldn't help but be convicted that if Jesus, who is in the form of God, humbles Himself to follow God's command's/desires- even unto death how much more should I, a mere human with no goodness or righteousness in me, humble myself continually and place my life and all my desires under God's control- to follow Him wherever, whenever, and whatever the cost! God is asking this of me!!! One of the things we kept saying this weekend is that we are ordinary women who serve an extraordinary God! I really felt this "ordinariness" in my soul, when I truly missed my little baby girl. I wasn't sure how I would do without Hailey and, honestly, though I did miss her I did better than I thought I would. I was a little afraid that I'd spend the whole night weeping and missing her, but I didn't even really feel that ache of loneliness unless someone brought it up. So, Thank you, Lord! I was able to really enjoy my time! (until I came home and Hailey wouldn't even go to me or look at me- she just wanted to stay by her Daddy! It almost broke my heart...but, I just fed her and then she remembered me and loved me again!) :)

7 months

I can't believe that my baby is going to be 7 months old tomorrow...it's so weird because I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday! But, at the same time it is amazing how much difference a few months makes. She is so much more fun, now. She gets around the living room amazingly well for a baby who can't crawl or creep forward! (she likes to push herself backwards...) and she is great at entertaining herself and us for a good 1/2 hour! It is great! :) I just love to hear her talking and chattering to herself. It makes my mommy heart soar with pride and love! :)

Here's Hailey munching on the dried bun that Justin and Christy gave me. I think that she really likes it!

I was making fruit salad for a baby shower and hailey wasn't doing very good at playing by herself, so I brought her into the kitchen and let her play with an orange on the floor! It was pretty funny to see her try and figure it out. She did figure out how to get the peel off...apparently she's gonna be a chef, because she made a great little pile of orange citrus peel! :) (which the dog ate...) I think she liked the feel of it or something. She did have a nice citrusy smell for the rest of the day, though!

hmmmm...how am i gonna pick up this thing??

look at those beautiful eye lashes...wish I had them!

I'm turning 7 months tomorrow...oh boy, do I feel old! I know that compared to all of you guys I'm not that old, but in baby years I feel ancient! I passed the hump and am now closer to being a year than to the day of my birth! (that would conotate a midlife crisis if I were an adult!) :) But, I guess it's that time, now, where I tell you all that I've learned. This month has been a big month for me, just like last month was! I've had a lot of firsts!

*I went swimming in the neighbor's pool and for the first time I liked it!

*I can sit up and not fall over, well...not too often anyways. I fell over this morning and really hurt my head on the floor, but I don't do that very often and mommy says it teaches me to be tough! I'm working on a tough face for Dad, but it's hard when it hurts so much!

*I ate cottage cheese for the first time and really liked it!

*I had my first sip of mommy's tea and decided that I need to grow up a little bit more before I drink any more of that!

*I ate my first finger foods, all by myself! Mommy says that I do a really good job, too! I really like the buns that mommy dried for me. They are fun to chew on and I can't get too much in my mouth. I think that Allie likes them the best, though, because she sits at the side of my highchair and just looks at me like she's waiting for me to drop my bread for her. A lot of the time I do, just to be nice to her- she looks so skinny!

*I sat up in the bathtub all by myself without even my little chair. I didn't do it for very long because mommy said that she was afraid I might tip over and get scared by going under water, but it was fun while it lasted!

*and, the biggest first...tonight I'm going to spend my first nigth away from my mommy. I'm not too worried about it, because my Dad is good at taking care of me and my Grandma K is coming to help him out, but I think that my mommy is sad, so I'm gonna try and pretend like I really missed her when she comes home tomorrow!

4 years of wedded bliss...

When Korey and I first met more than 12 year ago, I never would have thought that today we would be celebrating our 4th year as a married couple! We were both just geeky little junior highers, with me planning on moving up to the highschool the next year and pretty much our deepest thoughts had something to do with getting our drivers liscenses in the next few years! :) And, no, we weren't dating back then. In fact, we did go on a date once a few years before we started "dating" and we both pretty much went home and told our parent's that it just wasn't for us. (which was pretty much a blow to them!) :) But, luckily, my Mom is a very righteous woman- or at least her prayers are very powerful and effective, because it wasn't more than a year or two after that that Korey called me up and asked me to hang out with him again and the rest is...history! :) So, here we are a little over 12 years after we first met and as happy as can be! Thanks for 4 great years, Korey!

Hailey's 6th month photo shoot

We decided that since hailey is almost 7 months old we had better hurry up and get some 6 month photos taken! :) So, last week my neighbor, Sheila came over and we had a little photo shoot in the backyard. They turned out so well that I had a super hard time deciding on what ones to get! If Hailey just weren't so cute it wouldn't be such an issue. :)

Here I am stuffing her face before they came, just so she'd be a good girl!
We finally picked an outfit out! She's happy to be done changing. :)

So excited for the pictures! (or maybe just excited to see Tyler and Tanner...they are her favorite!)

aww...look at that sweet smile! (and what was mom thinking with the bag in the background?! good thing Sheila is more professional than that!) :)

One of my favorites from Sheila! I got this one in black and white for an 8x10 for the wall!

Isn't this just the sweetest face??

Look at that...isn't she just a doll??

Yup. she's even cute when she's playing with the bark! (she later tried to put it in her mouth!) ;)

She just doesn't have a face that isn't super cute!

The last 5 images are Sheila Stark Photography Images...the earlier ones are from my camera! (as if you couldn't tell!! :))