We went camping with the boys' school over the weekend. The trip was organized by a parent and close to 40 families supposedly showed up. And it was a blast. Stephen couldn't get over the fact that we were camping as a school.

For reals. It was like the idea of a school sponsored camping trip for families was the most fantastic things that had ever (EVER) happened to him. I quickly grew tired of him saying, "Oh my God! We're camping with the school! How many other schools do you think are camping right now? None!" Of course he was wrong. I am sure lots of other schools were camping on Saturday. Maybe even one in Idaho.

I didn't get the opportunity to camp once last year and it was so nice to be out in the woods, so to speak. Stephen and I are hoping to squeeze in a few family camping trips this summer and we might have to go back to this spot because the boys had the most fun they've ever had on a camping trip. I am not sure whether it was playing with friends for almost 24 hours straight or the Dust Bowl.



See the haze between the trees - that's the Dust Bowl. Or the Hell Hill, or the Dirt Gulch That All the Children Slid Down for Hours on End When They Weren't Having Pine Cone Wars. And they came back looking like this:



The pictures don't really convey just how filthy they really were. They were disgusting filthy. Maybe the dirtiest they've ever (EVER) been! We heard from parents who'd been there before that one year a rain storm turned the Dust Bowl into a Mud Bowl. Those parents ended up just throwing their children's clothes away. What fun that would have been!

Besides the Dust Bowl there was some communal meat cooking and a potluck. I heart potlucks. I always fill up on salads and this this potluck was no exception! Stephen opted for some soft spreadable cheese. I think he was trying to spite me or prove some ridiculous point. The last time he bought soft cheese I was disappointed in his choice. I had wanted something else and so I was mean to him about his soft cheese. But it's okay. He likes it when I am mean to him. Plus, he gets confused when I am kind.




After dinner Stephen looked for opportunities to show off his short shorts. We also had a campfire. I brought leftover Peeps and offered them to all the children but my own - I don't want them eating that crap!



And that was that. The boys went back to the Dust Bowl. Stephen and I drank wine well into the night with new friends. We had blueberries and pancakes in the morning, loaded up the car and headed home. A weekend well spent as the first and last people ever (EVER) to camp as a school.

Do you know what an alliteration is? I do, except I can never remember that it's call an alliteration. Like I am always needing to make sure it's not an onomatopoeia. I can't keep'em straight!

But an example of an alliteration might be baby bump. Or baby boy bump. Or baby boy Brewer. Or even baby boy Brewer bump, which I took pictures of just before Thanksgiving!

My co-worker Mo and her husband Ryan are expecting their first baby toward the end of the month (hopefully closer to Christmas than New Year's). They wanted some pictures to remember their pregnancy but they wanted to keep them simple and low key. So I stopped by their house one afternoon and snapped a couple of photos - some of my favorite amateur photos to date!



I love the warm cozy feel of the fire and the sweaters and that fake fur thing. I can't wait to get that little baby on that fake fur thing and take a million pictures! It was also fun to watch Mo and Ryan. They are clearly madly in love and over the moon about their baby. I tried explaining this to Stephen with tears in my eyes. I got a blank and bewildered stare from him in return. I just really love babies!!!! Like really. And this little baby is going to be beautiful.

Some time way back in September I started writing a very disjointed post about wanting another baby and realizing that I would never have a daughter. I was somehow going to tie in the fact that upon realizing my baby days were gone, as was the hope of a daughter, I finally parted with the Barbies I'd been storing at my parents house for the last 17 years.

Confession - I played with Barbies way past the age of 12 and then some. I eventually stashed them away in many, many boxes along with my Ramona Quimby doll where they stayed in Tom and Dana's garage until recently. Because like I said, I just gave them away in September. And giving them away wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. It wasn't all like "oh my god, there go all the memories I won't have!" It was more like "why the hell have I kept this old crap for so long?"

With that realization came other realizations like that I don't really want another baby or a daughter. So I deleted the disjointed post that was trying to make something out of nothing.

Not that I expect you to make this jump in narrative with me, but all that back story leads up to some photos I took a few days after the whole Gifting of the Barbies went down. Because I took photos of the little girl who so graciously received my Barbies and I've been meaning to share them with you.

My friend Amy has photos taken of her daughter each year and asked if I would like the honor of being her photographer this go round. Obviously, I accepted and met their family down by river for a evening photo shoot. My favorite photos from that evening are probably not the photos Amy will pick for her album or place in a frame. They're mostly blurry. Second confession but not nearly as embarrassing - I am drawn to out of focus photos. They say so much more to me.



I think these photos are beautiful and I love them. Many of them remind me of a series of photos I took of myself during my art student days inspired by this Cat Stevens song. And that memory somehow brings us full circle. I am not sure how but it does. Black and white photos. Simple white dresses. The capturing of movement and time. The release of movement and time. Girls. Boys. Children. Self-expression. Contemplation. Acceptance and Love. Life. Cat Stevens.

Yes, we went bolen last week. If you're confused, please read this post about Henry's summer to-do list. Bowling is number 3 on the list.

This was the first time I'd been bowling with the boys and I was blown away. They can bowl! Granted, their lane had those bumper pad thingys but still, they damn near beat everyone in our group. And our group was a little larger than usual because we met up with some new friends at the bowling alley.

We originally hooked up with these new folks at that amazing wedding we went to back in June. And to be honest, they're not all that new. Like practically everyone else in our social circle, they're from good old 2T. Stephen and I went to school with Ryan and Christi is a few years ahead of us. She is new to us but she obviously knows a lot of the same people.



Unfortunately, I don't have many quality pictures of the adults bowling. At least none that I care to post because as I mentioned the last time I blogged about bowling, I just end up with a bunch of blurry, unflattering pictures of peoples asses. And who wants to see that?! But I did snap a few pictures of Ryan and Christi's beautiful daughter, Quincy, playing with Henry and Wyatt, which was super cute to watch! I am pretty sure my boys need a little sister, although Stephen is not convinced.



And like I mentioned, Henry and Wyatt kicked some bowling ass. They both broke 100 and they both beat me and Stephen! And Christi! Ryan came in first followed by Wyatt and then Henry. We took a winners photo for posterity. Please note that Quincy is in the back belly breezin' like nobody's business!