Ben's Backpacking Trip at Picture Rocks

Ben just got back from a backpacking trip at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore, up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. He had a blast as one of the chaperones for our church's scout high adventure trip. There were three leaders, six teenage boys, crystal clear (and cold!) water, 500 ft. sand dunes, fishing, beautiful cliffs and beaches...

Here are some of the pictures from his phone from the trip. The majority are from the day they spent kayaking around these cool caves, bluffs, and waterfalls.

Aren't the rocks beautiful??

Ben said the mosquitos were the worst he's ever experienced - they put on 100% deet repellant and they were still getting eaten alive by the crazy mosquitos, so he wore long sleeves/pants that helped somewhat. Here's one of the many waterfalls seen on the trip -

These are tree roots. Yes, tree roots, stretching across an area that eroded below and the roots remain in tact.

Pretty mist at an area where they did some cliff jumping. Ben said the water was in the 50s and absolutely freezing. They would jump in and immediately swim back as fast as possible. He couldn't get over how pretty and clear the water was.

I'm so glad Ben had the chance to enjoy nature and have fun exploring a new area (this was about seven hours away). He is such an outdoorsy guy and Chicago can be a little limiting in that regard.

I held down the fort with the kids for four days with zero contact with Ben (he didn't get any cell reception because the area is pretty remote). When he pulled in really late Saturday night, I was soooo happy to have him back. It's hard going that long without even hearing that he's alive and fine!

The boys missed him like crazy, but the funny thing was that Charlie didn't quite understand that Ben was on a trip - when we finally talked to Ben on the phone on Saturday when they were driving back, Charlie asked him if he won a ping pong game, which is what Eli always asks when Ben comes home from work (there is a ping pong table there at the office). Their faces just lit up when they woke up this morning and saw their dad home again.

Monday Night at the Park

On Monday night, we drove to a huge park so Ben and Paul could throw a frisbee around and the kids could play on the playground. The kids were so cute that evening and it was a little surreal to be outside at the park in the middle of January. 

 

Eli, Ben & Elmo Break Dancing

Happy New Year! Aunt Babz sent us this jib jab video and we thought it was really funny - Eli loves being in a video with Elmo!

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Eli, Boppy, and Daddy

Here's more "Boppy" footage (Eli really wanted to play with the camera that I was holding) and some of Eli and Ben chasing each other around the house. It will be a while before we furnish our living room, but in the meantime it's so nice to have a big empty space! Perfect for chasing games.

Fun Labor Day Weekend

It's been so nice having Ben home for the three-day weekend. Eli loves it when he lifts him up high.

Eli learned how to eat corn on the cob on Saturday.

But by the end, as has been typical over the last few weeks, he was in tears for no apparent reason. I really hope his molars finish coming through soon, because the constant off and on crying is hard!! (so far this morning, I think he has cried more than he was happy, poor guy)

By the way - I moved my ultrasound date to this Thursday, Sept. 4th! So put your votes in soon for whether you think the baby is a boy or girl (the poll is on the right top side of the blog).

Backpacking in Yosemite

Things that make my husband happy:

Being outside

Fishing

Swimming

Hiking around

Getting a break from stresses of life

I would say Ben's backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne in Yosemite National Park provided all of that and more. Here are some pictures from his trip (I am SO glad he's home!!):

Ben's youngest brother, Paul with their dad, Larry

Ben sporting the lovely hiking backpack I used 11 years ago on a canoe trip through Minnesota's Boundary Waters. I am pretty sure his gear was the most ancient, but that's okay. I think his pack weighed 42 pounds.

Pretty scenery in Yosemite!

Larry with Ben's brother Joe and wife Cami. She was the only girl on the trip - brave woman!

Reeves (Ben's brother Matt's 10-yr-old nephew), Matt, Paul, J.D., Alan (JD and Alan are cousins' husbands), and Larry. There were 9 total in their group.

Ben and the others caught a lot of fish on this trip.

Pictures from the Park

Last night I felt SO nauseous. The night before, I didn't take my 1/2 of a unisom and B6 vitamin that I have taken for the last few weeks - apparently that has really helped because today I suffered the consequences of not having it in my system. Bleh. It's sad since I had felt so much better lately.

On to happier things though - we played at the park on Saturday that is closest to where our new home will be. It's a really fun park and just a few blocks away.

Eli saw a little girl playing with these cool sand toys and joined her. Thankfully, she was about seven or eight and didn't mind a one-year-old borrowing her stuff.

This little guy loves sticks and shovels. He was so happy playing on his own, digging in the sand.

I realize he does this loud, open-mouth yell quite a bit. It's funny that I seem to capture it often.

We took Ben to the airport after playing at the park. I was sad to see him go...

So now it's just me and the munchkin. Good thing he is such fun company... most of the time :) When I feel sad, I just kiss and squeeze him and get him to laugh - he has a contagious giggle that can cheer anyone up.

I have to say though - in the last few days, I've had the sweetest offers to help - with packing, watching Eli, or just meeting up and having fun so I can get my mind off of all of the stressful things going on right now. Thank you so much to those who have made me feel watched over and loved - it really means a lot.

Ben's Fishing Trip

Ben LOVES to fish. I would say that and playing soccer are his favorite hobbies. Last night he went over to the harbor at Lake Michigan near our home and caught this brown trout. We grilled it for dinner!

And while Eli and I were in Utah last weekend, Ben decided to take advantage of the time to himself and went fishing in Michigan on Saturday. He got up at 3 a.m., drove four hours into NW Michigan, and caught lots of fish! Then he drove four hours back to Chicago and was home by 11 p.m. I think he was exhausted on Sunday. (Ben didn't bring home any of the fish this time - or the turtle)

He caught two steelhead, shown above and below:

That first steelhead was pretty big!

He caught a turtle (not with his fishing pole!):

He caught four small-mouth bass:
And about 20 trout: