Bodega Bay Camping Trip | May 2014

In mid-May, Brian, Noah and I took our trailer out for one final camping trip--the last hurrah! (As much as we loved the trailer, we decided it was best to sell it and place the money in our adoption fund.)

We stayed at Bodega Dunes Campground, the same place we camped last fall. I love the campground's location--it is close to several beaches, but far enough from the ocean that I don't fret about Noah getting anywhere near the water.

See, our boy LOVES water.  It doesn't matter the temperature.  He wants to go in...and NOW!

See that photo above?  Noah is literally pulling Brian into the water.

I can only imagine Noah was thinking, Let's go, Daddy!  In the ocean, Daddy! 


The cold water didn't faze him one bit. He even sat down in the water at one point. It's hard to tell in this photo, but both his shirt and shorts are soaked!

As you can see, he ADORED running through the water. He LOVED watching the tide come in and go out.  He GIGGLED when the sand under his feet was pulled out to sea.

Back at the campground, Noah rode his bike around the paved loop, just like Brian did as a kid. 

And then it was off to tackle the rocky path through the sand dunes. (It happened to be the "magic hour," that time right before sunset, and the light was so beautiful.)

It was much tougher to traverse the rocky road, so Noah "flew" through some of the most difficult sections with help from his daddy.

The following day, we drove over to Doran Beach. Doran Park has a 2-mile stretch of sandy beach and tons of wind--the perfect combination for flying kites. Brian flew a pirate ship for 20 minutes. In the photo above, it looks like Noah is flying the kite, but the truth was Brian was standing a few feet away from me controlling it. 

 

This hawk kite never did take flight because it had a broken wing, but Noah grew quite fond of it, toting it around with him during the trip. I accidentally called it an "eagle" kite and then made up a voice for it (yes, I'm silly like that). From then on out, all we heard from Noah was "talk eagle, talk eagle." Smile. 


I'm super grateful for the time we had with this trailer and for all the fun memories. Hope its new family is enjoying it just as much as we did.

All photos were taken with my Nikon D700 and either the Nikon 24-70 mm f/2.8 or the Nikon 70-200 mm f/2.8.

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Scrapbook Circle | June Sketch Challenge

I'm on a roll with another scrapbook layout for the June Scrapbook Circle Sketch Challenge.

For this challenge, I selected a photo of Noah and Brian playing in the ocean near Bodega Bay. (I'll be sharing a post with more pictures from our trip next week.)


I thought this layout was the perfect opportunity to talk about the popularity of Noah's name (hence the title: "hello, my name is Noah") as well as how my name and Brian's name were quite common the year we were born.

I wrote the journaling on a brown tag that slides right behind the photo.



Here's the short note I penned to Noah:

Dear Noah,
When we chose your name, your dad and I had no idea how popular it was! Just recently, I learned that in 2012, it was the fourth most popular boys name and in 2013, it was THE MOST popular boys name. So chances are, you'll have quite a few classmates/teammates/friends with the same name. Oh how your dad and I can relate! In 1978 (the year we were born), THE MOST popular girls name was Jennifer and Brian was the ninth most popular boys name. I think you'll find (as we did) that nicknames and the first letter of your last name will come handy.
Love,
Mom & Dad

Your turn: How popular was your name the year you were born? Click HERE to find out and then leave a comment below!

Camping at Bodega Dunes

Today, I'm back with a few more photos from our recent coastal camping trip.

If you missed the first post with Sunday's photos + words, click here.  

Because we arrived so late on Sunday, we didn't get a chance to head down to the beach until Monday morning. 

These four photos were taken at North Salmon Creek Beach, just minutes from Bodega Bay.

It was a nice, flat beach with lots of surfers catching waves nearby.  And the weather was beautiful--sunny and clear with just a slight breeze.         

Noah loved the water (no surprise there!).  So much so, in fact, that his jeans got soaked in mere minutes.  Brian rolled up his pants and Noah continued to kick and splash and jump and laugh.
 

Speaking of laughing, at times, I could hear Noah's squeals of delight even over the sound of the waves crashing.

When the water receded for a few moments, Noah could be found smacking his hands on the wet sand.  (Isn't the reflection in the sand so cool?  Pure serendipity.)   

Awww...my heart was so happy watching Noah and Brian play in the Pacific Ocean. 

Later on that day after Noah's nap, we decided to let Spud Point Crab Company provide us with dinner.  I'm not used to camping so close to civilization where dinner is just five minutes away.  Talk about a treat.  We ordered sandwiches (crab for Brian and shrimp for me) and of course, clam chowder.  Everything was delicious.  Noah's favorite part?  The soup crackers.  Smile.  

After dinner, it was off to explore the sand dunes again--this time with a sweatshirt, hood up, because of the fierce wind.  As you can see, Noah loved running down the trail!

At one point, I was able to run up ahead of Noah.  I looked at him and said, "Come and get me!" and then took off running.  I could hear him laughing in the distance.  After running for about fifteen seconds, I turned back and this is what I saw: pure delight on Noah's face as he chased me.

I love, love, love our fun and happy boy!

When the sand dunes got too steep for Noah to climb, Brian picked him up and carried him--either in his arms or on his shoulders.    

Once we were back in the campground, though, Noah was off walking and running and saying "hi" to the other campers.


There were lots of "firsts" on this trip: Noah's first time in the ocean; his first time camping in the dunes; and his first time sleeping through the night away from home (thank God!). 

But there's one more first I want to mention: Noah enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate. 

While sitting in the trailer, Brian lovingly made me a mug of hot cocoa (thanks, babe!) and of course, Noah wanted to try it.  So, Brian poured some in a cup for Noah (watering it down considerably), and then prepared a glass for himself.  

Before drinking our mugs of hot chocolate, the three of us clinked our glasses together and exclaimed "Cheers!"   

It was a toast to one another, to our little family, and to great memories made on this camping trip.    

 

Week in the Life 2013 | Sunday

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we camped at Bodega Dunes.  It was our first time camping as a family near the Pacific Ocean, so naturally I took a ton of photos, both with my iPhone and DSLR. 

What follows is a look at Sunday's words + photos.  (I'm also planning to write a blog post about our adventures on Monday, but that probably won't happen until next week.)  


Sleeping in the truck on the way to Bodega Bay.  It took us almost four hours to get to the campground because of traffic from a car accident, a detour around a burning van, and a gas stop.  Noah didn't fall asleep until 4:15 pm, which was 3 hours and 45 minutes into our trip.  While Noah didn't sleep much in the truck, he did sleep pretty well that night, which was a huge blessing.  

 

Playing with cars in the trailer.

Watching daddy cook hamburgers.  (Brian did an awesome job planning and cooking nearly all of the meals!)   


 Exploring the sand dunes.


Walking.  Running.  Smiling.  (I don't know why, but in this particular photo, Noah looks so tall, so big, so toddler boyish.)

 
Saying "hi" to daddy in the campsite.




















Taking a night ride in the truck.   

Getting ready for bed.  "Nigh-nigh" as Noah says.

A big thanks to all of you who have come along with me on this Week in the Life documentary project.

Last week, I saw this sign (pictured below) in a local shop and immediately thought, That's what Week in the Life is to me. 

It's about slowing down a little.  It's about looking around at the people and activities and things surrounding me, and making a conscious choice to document them through photography and words.  It's about carving out time to think about what I'm happy with in my life.  It's about having the courage to consider what I'm not so happy with.  It's about being grateful for it all. 

I can't wait to participate again next year!