Life the past month

At the beginning of August our little family along with Taylor's family went camping up past Forrest Hill. We stayed for 2 nights and had a blast. Mercedes did such an amazing job the whole time and I think she actually enjoyed it as much if not more than we did. Here's Mercedes all bundled up in her portable crib the first night.

Can I just say camp food is some of the best food in the whole world! I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that it's cooked over a fire, or if it's because we're out in the wilderness and a good out doors cooked meal is just wonderful.

Mercedes looves grandma Tammy.

And she looves grandpa Galen.

We just love this smile!!! Camping was so much fun and we can't wait to go again in a couple of weeks!

And now on to our garden!

Here are our corn rows. We never thinned them and so it's probably why our corn isn't growing tall. (This picture was taken about a month ago but it isn't much taller now). However they are still getting corn cobs growing so hopefully they'll taste good!

We have two boxes out of the whole community garden. The corn is our first and this one is our second. We have tomatoes on the left and straight neck squash on the right.

There is just something amazing about growing your own food. Talk about reaping the rewards!

Now for a few pictures of Mercedes. No, the thing on her head is not a hat, it's just a bit of her mom's weirdness. There's something satisfying about putting pants on the head, even if it's someone else you're doing it to.

Mercedes is now 6 months old!!!! I really can't believe it. She also got her first tooth this week which came through two days before the 6 month mark. Here she is just lounging in a blanket.

Eeek I just LOVE this girl!!

A couple of days ago we had a wild fire just a couple of miles away from our house. This is a view from where we live.

We drove by later after it was put out and it got right up to the homes but didn't look like it touched them. Thank goodness for CalFire!

Playing on the floor.

Here Mercedes is doing her exercise ball pilates. Starting her young.

See this cheese here? It's Picorino cheese. SO GOOOOD. We discovered it when my mom and I went to Italy to visit the Christensen cousins back in 2006. Every time I take a bite I feel like I'm back in Rome. I introduced it to Taylor after we were married and he fell in love with it too. Now we like to spoil ourselves with a bit of Picorino and yummy french bread dipped in olive oil and vinegar.

A little "us" time late at night after the baby is asleep.

And now for one of my favorite events and discoveries of late...

I absolutely love making cakes!!!!! My whole life I've always wanted to try making actual fancy cakes with the buttercream frosting, different tiers and fondant icing. This weekend was my sister-in-law Hannah's birthday and I finally got the guts to give it a try. After watching lots of cake shows, reading recipes and instructions, and watching online tutorials on youtube I went for it. And I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out just as I had hoped (minus a few little kinks) and I now know that I definitely will be doing more in the future. I had a BLAST.

This here is the finished product, right before taking it over to Hannah's birthday party. It's not actually supposed to be glossy, that's just from sitting covered over night in the fridge.

I posted the whole cake making process on my other blog if anyone is interesting in seeing that. http://lovecreatelive.blogspot.com Anyway, it's been a great month and I hope to post again sooner that later. Bye!