Camping: The Next Generation

We took Elliott camping with friends over Columbus Day weekend, which was definitely an interesting experience since it was the first time any of us had camped with our children. Having a little one to keep an eye on makes everything just a bit more complicated, and that one small extra person means a whole lot more to pack!


Elliott seemed to have a great time, despite getting a small poison ivy rash and some scraped knees!



For sleeping in a tent all weekend, the kids actually did great. We were able to get them to bed at a reasonable hour and then stay up by the fire talking. It actually worked out better than probably any of us had hoped. After running around outside literally all day long, I guess they were just too tired to care that they weren't in their normal beds.



Elliott loves getting rides on Daddy's shoulders.



Of course all the boys loved playing in the sandy dirt.



We took a nice hike through a wooded trail that leads out to Lake Seminole.



Good times around the fire pit.



We enjoyed delicious fire-grilled burgers accented with locally-grown tomatoes and whole-grain buns handmade by Angela who milled the grains herself.



...and marshmallows toasted on the edge of our camp fire.

And what would a good camping trip be without a visit to the ER? That's right -- along with fireside talks, nature walks, burger grilling and marshmallow roasting, one of our friends somehow ended up with a severe allergic reaction to an as-yet-undetermined piece of our weekend adventures. Luckily, there actually was an ER within about 20 miles of our campsite, and with a few shots and pills, he quickly turned the corner and was fine the rest of the trip. But between that and keeping our newly-walking children from toppling into the fire all weekend, it was definitely a memorable trip. :) Truly, we can't wait to do it again -- just without the ER visit next time!



The whole gang!

too precious

These pictures are from a couple of months ago, and it's surprising how much Elliott has changed in that time. But a friend of mine took these and recently sent them to me, and they were so cute I couldn't help but share even if they are a little out-of-date. There are so many holes in this blog when I just didn't take the time to post pictures that a few retrospective ones won't hurt. :)







Thanks for the great shots, Elizabeth!

Cutest Colts fan ever.

Thanks to my sister, who is a HUGE Colts fan, Elliott has some pretty sweet gear so that we can show our hometown pride wherever in the world we find ourselves. (Especially down here in Saints territory. *Ahem*)

 

 

 



We got Elliott all dressed up for game day, and he wore his jersey with pride. Unfortunately, even the cutest fan in the world can't hand a team a win. Maybe next Sunday.

(Snake) Charmer

We knew it was only a matter of time until Elliott met his first snake.

 
Uh, Mom? Is this okay?

 
Cool! I'm touching it!

 
Ew.


Maybe I'll just grab its little tail.


Okay, this is boring. I'm out of here.

Big Day

Well, I don't know what you were doing this time a year ago, but I wasn't getting any sleep. That's because this time last year, Elliott was almost two weeks old! It's incredible to me that a year has already passed since he entered our lives on August 19, 2009. Happy birthday, sweet boy!

We were lucky enough to have my parents down for a visit, so they got to share in the special occasion with us. Since they were here to celebrate, we decided not to have a big party -- a small family ordeal suited us just perfectly, and we think Elliott probably had a better time that way, too. When he gets friends of his own, then we'll throw him a party. :) (He does have little friends here, and they do enjoy playing together, but they don't really understand the difference between a birthday and a regular day yet.) It worked well that way, because between naps and mealtimes and the amount of time it took him to work his way through each of his gifts, his "birthday" actually lasted three days! We had fun swimming in the pool at my parents' hotel, playing with his new toys, and eating out!

So, without further ado: Images of Elliott's first birthday.



E had a hard time opening his gifts. He just didn't get into the whole wrapping paper thing. We wrapped most of them originally, but eventually unwrapped them later and just put all of his gifts in gift bags. It was much easier and more fun for him that way. But he did like the bows on the original wrapping.



Scout wants to open presents!




Elliott's new bath toys became his favorite teethers for the day.



One of Elliott's absolute favorite gifts was a little musical/learning table my parents bought for him while I was up in Indiana over the 4th of July. He loved it then, and he still loves it a month and a half later! (I had to leave it up there since I was flying, so my parents brought it down with them and it was as if it was all new to Elliott!) He's started dancing to music lately, so he dances all the time while the music on the table plays.



We gave Elliott a few things as "presents" that were really just things we needed to buy for him anyway -- like spoons, forks and insulated sippy cups for the milk he can drink now. The spoons were oddly a huge hit, and he carried them around with him for days until I finally washed them and put them away. The package came with so many, I really should just leave a few out for him to play with since he loved them so much.



Elliott can say "ball" now (sort of; it's more like "bah!"), and will go get one if we ask him to. He was excited to get two new ones for his birthday!



It's a long story (maybe I'll blog about it later), but we recently needed to replace Elliott's copy of Goodnight, Moon, so my parents got him a new one for his birthday. Elliott LOVES story time with Grandma.



Elliott also got his first set of blocks! He loves to stack them...and apparently he likes the box they came in almost as much as the blocks themselves. Truth be told, I'm not sure who likes the blocks more -- Kelly or Elliott. :)



Kelly's mom has always called Elliott her little Tweety Bird, even before he was born. So the gift from Kelly's parents came with a Tweety Bird card.



A great birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Hinkle!

And now, a photo montage and video of Elliott eating his first "sweet" -- his birthday cupcake. :)





Sorry for the terrible singing. We Hinkles are not known for our ability to carry a tune, and to make matters worse, we actually had to stop in the middle of the song and start over for some reason I don't remember now, which got us all confused.

Elliott is a funny kid when it comes to food. He's a great eater, but he's really picky about textures. He likes to touch and feel new food before he's willing to eat it, and if it feels funny on his hands, he's often unwilling to put it in his mouth. He's his mother's kid I guess -- very sensitive to what I like to call "texture violations." Here, you can see him testing out the icing and the cupcake, not quite sure whether or not it's something he wants to eat.



Obviously, he couldn't resist:





Yes, that is a highlighter in his hand. I'm starting to think Elliott might be a lot like our cats -- you can buy him all the toys in the world, but the junk that's laying around the house will be still be his favorite.

Spearfishing

Thus far, my spearfishing in the intercoastal waters hasn't been affected by the oil. As long as that's the case, I'll keep on going when I can find the time. I've always enjoyed fishing with a rod and reel, and will probably continue to enjoy it throughout my life. However, when it comes to acquiring fish through my own efforts, I've really come to prefer spearfishing over any other approach. It's been a fun, challenging activity to share with friends. My friend Joe (pictured below) recently moved to Colorado, and I've missed sharing this with him. He's become a real expert with the pole spear over the past couple years. Here are a few photos of me with some of my friends I've gone spearfishing with this year, along with some of the fish we've caught:


Joe, Ben, and me


Joe, Justin, and me


me, Mark, and Sam


Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber), Gag Grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis)

close to home.

Kelly and I took a walk on our beach the other night and saw the first signs of oil -- tar balls sitting in oil sheen that had been washed up on the sand. I am so depressed about what has gone on in the Gulf Coast with the BP oil still gushing into the water, and the obviously ineffective measures to contain the spill. Kelly has a post on his blog with pictures and his thoughts, and I'd encourage you to take a look. He also recently posted about just a couple of the special animals that are -- along with the rest of the wildlife on the Gulf Coast -- particularly sensitive to the impacts of the oil spill.

8 years

It's hard to believe we've been married for 8 wonderful years and have been together for 10+.  We are getting old!  :) We have gotten degrees and jobs; lived in four states (Indiana, Oregon, Texas, and Florida); driven across the country multiple times, as well as up and down each coast; made wonderful friends; had adventures big and small; had a baby; forgiven much; laughed much; grown much; and learned a lot about how to love each other better every day.



In all my years of praying for a soulmate, I could never have crafted one as perfect as Kelly. He is a true gift from God.



We usually try to get away for our anniversary every year -- and we still plan to this year -- but we have to wait a few months before things at Kelly's job get a little less busy.  So this year, we had a low-key celebration, getting ice cream and taking a walk on the beach.





Our beach walk also happened to be on the last night we thought we might have a clean beach before the oil spill reaches us. Luckily, we haven't seen oil yet, but it's still presumably only a matter of time.

The scent of spring

Jasmine. Every May, my nose is filled with the luscious scent of this beautiful plant. It makes me love living in the South. Also, since our anniversary is May 4 (it will be 8 years tomorrow!!), it is always marked by the bloom of jasmine in our neighborhood. The smell actually never fails to bring me back to our first anniversary that we celebrated in Charleston, SC. That was the first time I'd smelled it -- at least in such quantities -- as a lot of the downtown area is covered in it. So, here's to spring in the South and to 8 years of wonderful marriage to the love of my life!

little explorer