report from the field

we made it! though we set up camp in the rain, our weekend was a success.

it's confirmed. ollie loves the outdoors; he spent the entire time looking around, taking in the shapes and figures. calm as a cucumber, that little man. and that gave nik and i time to spend time together. 

here's a glimpse into our weekend. 

happy monday, all!

going to the country

when i was growing up, the only time i went camping was when i was at camp. and although it was tons of fun sweating in a camping bag in the middle of summer in order to avoid the swarms of mosquitoes  i somehow never really continued the tradition after my dwight mission years.

i agreed with my aunt patsy; why would anyone leave their comfortable home to go sleep in the dirt?

but then i met nik. every one of his activities and sports has to do with outdoor recreation. when we first started dating, he asked me what my hobbies were. after a pause {only to consider whether to be honest in my reply}, i answered shopping. it was the truthful response.

turns out he wasn't discouraged by my less than promising future as a sierra club member. eight years later, he still loves me. this time in between has been filled with more than enough camping trips; and if i'm being honest, i've actually enjoyed most of them. 

now, i'm in the middle - the undecided voter if you will. the perfect scenario for nik and i {according to me} is glamping. have you heard of it? if not, it's glamorous camping. nik rolled his eyes at me when i first mentioned the concept, but i think there's potential in this. he gets the fresh air, i get the shower and sheets.

why do i bring all this up? we're going camping this weekend. we've just bought our "family-size" tent. it's not of the backpacking variety - no, it's the car camping kind. you know, where you pull your car up to the campsite, pitch your tent, pull out your chairs and relax. it's so big, it's got two rooms! there's an outside vestibule to leave your dirty shoes or dirty dog!

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somewhere along the way, camping became a fulfilling retreat away for me. a way to stop and reflect. it wasn't too long ago that i understood what thoreau was talking about with his walden pond - "to front only the essential facts of life." 

we're heading out soon. i'm looking forward to lazing around with some great books and relaxing hikes. have a wonderful weekend!

a quick trip to houston

on friday, all three of us drove down to houston to finalize our documents for our trip to europe. fortunately, my friend pointed us in the right direction for food after we were done.

{we got on the road at 6 that morning; food was a real priority to maintain our energy. come to think of it, can't think of a time that food isn't a priority for us.}

we each ordered the blt pork sandwich and the bottomless mintade. it looked so good we ordered the same thing - a rarity for the yorks.

on the drive home, i snapped a few photos along the way. these two are my favorites.

and i couldn't leave this one out.
a church for cowboys. what of it?

a weekend away

when our friend invited us to her family's lake house for the weekend, we jumped on the offer. f1 was in town, and no one was certain what traffic would be like. and it didn't hurt that the weekend away promised cooking in a beautiful kitchen, lounging around and playing card games with friends. 

hope you guys had a great weekend!