this is the future

+ photos from the day



day 182





We built a new firepit in our backyard today and decided to try it out. The weather was perfect too. After nearly every day being rainy, the sun came out and so did the shorts and sunglasses.



(This was before I knew how hot it actually was outside.)







Matt got to come over for dinner, which I was super excited about. We ate freshly caught salmon and garlic mashed potatoes and watched funny youtube videos at the supper table.





(Kenai the dog got caught in the act of licking crumbs off the chair.)




(This is Matt's "Lauren quit taking photos of me" face. I can't help it though--he's just so cute!)




Afterwards we headed outside to jump on the trampoline and roast marshmallows.






I love Matt so much. He's my favorite person in the whole world and my best friend. And these photos make me super happy and smiley because we don't get too many photos together. So thank you Mommy for snapping these for us!






(This would have been my 365 photo for today if it weren't for the doggie in the background.)





It was a very awesome day and the perfect ending to a not-too-great week. I definitely needed this day.

Hope your weekend is going fantastically!

We went camping! -- Part Two

The second day of camping we decided to try a couple of the trails that weren't completely covered in snow. The brothers biked ahead to see what trails were good and also to make sure there weren't any bears or moose around.







The really cool thing about campgrounds in Alaska is that a lot of them are connected by the trails. Last year my brothers and I biked along the trails for hours and went to tons of different campgrounds. It was one of the most amazing things I did that summer simply because the beauty of nature takes my breath away. (Man I just looked through that entire link and it made me so excited about this summer--I wonder what adventures are in store?)










The wildlife finally decided to come out a little bit. We had seen rabbits as well but I couldn't get any pictures, so I was excited when the birds decided to come out.





We know the person behind this license plate. He meant for it to stand for Love RVing, but it is usually mistaken for Lover Van. Hah!







And as you may or may not know, I just got back from another camping trip today. This was one of my favorite camping spots so I was excited to go back. There are a ton of pictures I can't wait to share with you guys, so in the upcoming days there will be many camping posts. Sweet!