Moar camping!

That may or may not be our friend Michael on a pool floatie in the freezing lake. And it may or may not have taken him a good 20 minutes to awkwardly hand-paddle back to shore after the wind pushed him clear to the middle of the lake.

Some cows came down into our camp. Not too close though or else we'd have had some steak for dinner!

Oh what? Herm's again? I THINK SO! Hmm.. camping then Herm's... sounds like a delicious tradition is about to get started up in here! Met up with some friends to get our breakfast on after a great night of camping!

Braden had a breakfast burrito with spinach, feta, and chorizo and we split a huge pancake that came with lemon zest butter (omg!) and buttermilk maple syrup. I had biscuits and gravy (my favorite! Soul food is still the way to my asian but southern-girl heart. Shrimp-and-grits? Where?!).

First Camping Trip of the Summer

I LOVE camping (Braden, not so much) and we were eager to get on the road and find some secluded spot to do our fishing and camping this weekend. It was a super bleak day but we were all pumped to get in our new truck (that we pretty much bought on impulse to go camping with) and the boys rented a canoe.

Braden chasing away the ducks from our campsite. To be fair, we probably stole their sleeping spot.

"Hold it closer so it looks bigger!" 

Also, that's what she said.

Highlights of the trip:

• Ben hates ducks so I used my chex mix to lay a little trail for the ducks to follow Ben into his tent. While he was in there, a duck almost went in after him (darn it! so close! haha).
• Being terrified of the tip-happy canoe since there were three of us in there and I (idiotically) brought my camera and smartphone ("to take pictures!" I said... yeah, I was too scared to even use them)
• Ben catching a huge fish, first cast in the canoe but didn't net it in time (the one that got away).
• It poured all night. I mean, ALL NIGHT. Braden and I got soaked and our boots filled with water :(
• Drying our butts off in the fire and trying to keep warm.
• Sleeping in the truck was just the worst. HAD TO PEE SO BAD ALL NIGHT.
• Ben caught like 12 fish during the whole trip. All over 12 inches. Not bad!

Still love camping though. Can't wait for more!

Wind Caves

Braden and I (finally!) hiked the Wind Caves. We miss Alaska (so much it hurts!) and being in the great outdoors every day (and if not in the outdoors, we were just one scenic view away from our kitchen and living room windows). So we made and packed up some kimbap, dropped some kimbap off at our friend's place, and hauled our butts up the mountain to see these famous wind caves and have ourselves a little picnic. While we were there, I spotted a narrow cliff and I knew instantly that I wanted to climb it. Please don't ask me why because it was probably one of the dumber things I have done in life and once I set my mind to do something, I have to do it.

It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done (the whole thing was super high and as narrow as my foot is long. One strong gust and I could have tumbled hundreds of feet to my death. But as my favorite First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, advises, 'do one thing that scares you every day', right?

Braden picked me some wildflowers that grew like crazy all over the mountain. In this photo I think I'm singing 'The Hills Are Alive' from The Sound of Music (don't hate!)

They actually stayed fresh for a long time as a reminder of our fun afternoon.