the first two weeks of october are jammed packed with family birthdays. it goes a little like this:

 tessa's on the 3rd.
gwenna's on the 5th.
danece's on the 9th.
russell's on the 11th.
and nick's on the 13th.

 so we have been doing a lot of cake eating over here lately. and trust me, i'm not complaining. i love everything about birthdays. i think every birthday only happens once, so every one should be special. so to celebrate nick's entrance into his 23rd year of life we braced the cold weather and went camping.

 nick's sister and brother-in-law, kirstine and kyle, joined us and booked a campsite up near causey lake. they even brought kyle's parent's trailer with them. it was great on so many levels. it was straight out of the 70's still with pale mustardy green curtains and green flowered wallpaper. oh, and it saved us from freezing to death in the rain the first night and frost the second night.

 one of my favorite things about the trip was sitting, wrapped up in a sleeping bag, next to the creek while nicolaus fished and reading my book. for literally hours. it was the most relaxing thing to be out in the secluded mountains, breathing in crisp fresh air, with no cellphone service, and not a worry in the world. not to mention, the scenery was stunning. everywhere i looked i was in awe. the fall colors were so perfect in the overcast, wet weather.













sunday morning, we woke up bright and early to make it to nick's parent's house early enough to get showered and clean and go to nick's cousin's baby blessing. baby sarah is the most precious, cuddly little girl and it was so nice to finally see her in person. plus it was great to spend a whole lazy sunday with the fam.