Piseco Lake

We love it here, at camp.

Lots of trees, a lake, private beach, dock, boats, yummy food, good company. No electronics or TV or internet or cell phones (yes, we have a land-line phone, and maybe 1 channel on the TV on a good day.) But for the most part, nature and life intermingle.

Heidi and Aunt Laura

Aunt Laura's dog, Bo.

Heidi loves her babies. That is an understatement.

Heidi looking at the fish Grandpa caught.

Grandma helping Heidi on the stone stairs.

Me and my daughter.

Heidi's first boat ride

I have lots of catching up to do. Sorry about that. But here are some pictures in the meantime.

Heidi

Heidi

Heidi's first boat ride

Heidi and Me

Boating makes Heidi sleepy

Grandma, Me, Heidi

Grandpa helping Heidi explore the water

MawMaw and Heidi

Kelby and his dad.

picture time

Heidi in lots of snow. Notice the roof-line of the house behind her.

Our house, with lots of snow :)

Heidi helping Kelby with carpet pads.

Heidi 11 months.

Heidi

Pictures - October 2013

Soon to be our house!

Grandma, Grandpa Gene, Heidi enjoying outside

Token leaf picture.

Daddy and Heidi

Heidi's first experience gnawing/eating beef.

4 of 6 great-grand kids. Wow, only the adults are looking at the camera!

Enjoying new clothes. 

Heidi and Mommy, trying out Heidi's snowsuit before the snow comes.

Update from Central New York

Everyone made it safe and sound. Our moving truck has been unloaded into a storage unit, and we are settling in at my parent's house. (thanks for everyone's help back in Texas to get the truck loaded!) Heidi has my sister's old room, and Kelby, myself, and both dogs have the guest bedroom. We are making it work. My parents put a lot of effort into re-arranging the house.

The weather is wonderful. High's are in the 60's and 70's, with lows in the 40's and 50's. Great daytime temperatures, and great sleeping temperatures! It's rained a few days, but that just keeps everything green for longer. The dogs love being outside, and we are taking longer walks than in Texas. The dogs are learning the boundaries of the yard, and to not bark at passing dogs.

Heidi spends time outside on a blanket, and today she touched grass. Was not impressed. Will try again. She is now sitting unsupported for a few minutes at a time. She wants to eat anything in sight, therefore I can no longer eat in front of her, as she reaches out for the food, or opens her mouth for a bite. So far, Heidi has tried sugar snap peas, peaches, apple sauce, green beans, bread, as well as cereal. Another post at a later point in time with my baby eating method (it's not conventional!)

Kelby had a face-to-face interview with a company in Oswego, NY. Please pray that we hear good news this week!

We miss all our friends and family back in Texas. If you would like our temporary address, please let us know! We will be keeping our cell phone numbers the same.


~ Kristin, Kelby, Heidi, Skipper, Sophie

8 minutes... really?

I was at Firestone early this morning, and by early I mean 7:30am, as this was while Heidi was sleeping, and they are not backed up at this time of day. While there, I amused myself with the recent issue of Family Fun magazine. An article shocked me, and here is one quote "Kids average fewer than 8 minutes of unstructured outdoor play a day." I had to go back and read it a second time, out of disbelief. Yes, I know many kids spend too much time with electronics, but really, only 8 minutes? Crazy!!! Currently living in Texas, and working with families, I noticed how parents tend to have kids play outside only in perfect weather. The summers are too hot, and the winters are "too cold/windy." By taking away "imperfect" weather conditions, parents limited outside time. It's unfortunate, and sad. Kids learn so much through independent play, and how to self-entertain.

Outside time is something I will make a priority in my parenting of Heidi. Already, I take Heidi outside. Some days, it is to the dog park, or on a walk with the stroller. Other mornings (before 10am, and in the shade) I take a blanket and spread it on the grass, and Heidi looks around, with the dogs nearby.

Here's a picture of Heidi in my parent's backyard. Look how green and beautiful it is! And notice that Heidi is enjoying this "unstructured" time.

Heidi - 2 months

Tortured by Bugs

Two days ago, Kelby convinced me to go fishing with him. We packed up his fishig pole and the dogs and drove to the nearest state park. It was evening, but the bugs didn't seem bad. Boy, was I mistaken. I watched the dogs, took burrs off of Sophie, and read a book. Kelby had a few bites on his line, but was not able to reel in a fish. I knew I had a few bites around my ankles, but they were not bad. That turned out to be a HUGE understatement!

All of yesterday more and more bites showed themselves. By last night, I was in tears, as they hurt excessively. Kelby stopped at the store on his way home from work. Then we spent an hour trying to come up with a solution to stop the itching. NOTHING has helped. Today I have not been able to focus my mind, except to try and  prevent myself from itching. It's hard to count all the bites, but I think I have around 40. Yes, 40 large red splotches.

We think they are chiggers (which we do not have in the Northeast). They are between my knees and shoulders, and concentrated on my butt. We believe they can last over a week. This will be a looooong week. Kelby has a couple, but my body seems to react much stronger than his. Skipper also has some on his legs and feet,  and he keeps licking and scratching. So I am not alone in my misery. I have not had this type of reaction since I found out that I am allergic to Tylenoll. But this experience helps me to understand what my kids go through when they fight different allergies.

Currently I am sitting in the bathtub, with the coldest water that I can tolerate. Pray that God takes away the itching, and heals my skin.

A Park with the puppies

One advantage to my job is that I have some flexibiliy in my schedule. I try on friday afternoons to use my flex time in order to leave early. I had driven by this park for my job, and I knew I wanted the puppies to go with me. It was a beautiful day, with lot of space for Skipper and Sophie to play.

I tried to get a few nice pictures, and it reminded me how hard it is to focus two dogs at the same time.

I received my first fixed lens from Mom and Dad for Christmas, and was able to try it out. I wanted a picture of a butterfly, and wow I had to work to get it. I have a stronger appreciation for all animal and nature pictures after this. It took me around 45 minutes to get a remotely ok picture. Every time I moved closer to the butterfly, thet flew away. Can you believe that! I next tried sitting next to a flower, but now I was at the total mercy of the butterfly. And then one time, instead of a butterfly, I captured a fly. Cool!

  

On our way home, I took a detour to see if I could find a house that I had driven by years ago. I found it, and I love this house. I love older homes, especially in this style. Sorry for the crooked picture, I was driving and didn't want to stop and become that creepy person. But I would love to live in a house like this one day... hopefully sooner rather than later.

Animals and Cave

Kelby and I both like nature and history, so we went to a cave that was discovered years ago. The cave has been forming for a long time, and the stalactites and stalagmites are really impressive.

Next door to the cave was an animal safari. The perfect kind for Texas weather, as we drove around in the car with airconditioning on. I really wanted this picture of the tree. It looks as though we are in the middle of no-where, and we kinda are!

The animals were about as hot, or hotter than us. We liked this picture,

as the hair matches the same colors as his neck.  

Some of the animals were still hungry, so we were able to feed a few of them.

This zebra wanted more food, and as Kelby drove slowly,

the zebra kept his head inside the car!!!!!



Honeymoon

Our honeymoon took us to San Antonio, just as hot as Dallas, but we were able to have fun nonetheless. We spent time on the riverwalk, and enjoyed taking pictures.

 Next stop, The Alamo. The interesting part is the history behind the story. The actual building is not that impressive. But we wanted to get a few good pictures for you :)  Make sure to notice Kelby waving at his reflection and the camera.

Here's two neat pictures of buildings

and flags. It's awesome being able to

stop the movement of the flag. I love

my camera!!!!!



Reflection

Work requires a lot of driving. During my drives each day, I watch cities grow and develop; 2 lane roads become 4 or 6 lane roads. An grassy field becomes a gas station. A serene field of corn becomes a new housing development. A new shopping center is built, where flowers used to grow. With this growth, my soul saddens for the loss of nature, and the loss of the land. A part of me understands that growth is inevitable. A larger part of me misses the carefree experience provided by nature. Yes, I understand that I too live in a developed area, but I wish the other areas could remain as is. The sense of wonder given in nature, away from the stress and expectations of this world, is priceless.

Bird Pictures

While on our trip to Florida, I took lots of pictures with my awesome camera. Wildlife was all around us, so they made for easy subjects. The following pictures were taken as I practiced with camera controls and settings. I love a digital camera which shows the progression of pictures.

 

Which one do you like?