This is what it is like to be Danny Dyreng

Ode to a 5-month-old

You,

my 14 lb treasure,

are Love personified.

The only thing

that brings me more joy

than watching you, is

watching others

watch you.

I know what they feel when you smile at them

because I feel it, too. It is as if you are saying:

you are so lovely

I love to look at you

I love your smile, your eyes--

You make me laugh!

I adore you! Shall I go on?

I need you.

You matter.

I love every thing about you.

You are irreplaceable,

priceless,

matchless,

enchanting.

What if all of us could see ourselves--

and each other--

the way a baby sees us?

Anything You Can Do

This is how Scott and I argue.

Veni Vidi Vici

Here we are, ready to begin our adventure.

Notice that only one person is smiling.

We hike one mile in to our camp sight.

The girls had to carry their own sleeping bags, and they were not allowed to bring toys.

Note the stowaway.

Our campsite. It kind of looks like we are camping on a parking lot, but that is actually a tent site, meant for a nice big tent. We, however, are hammock people. Scott made all of these hammocks himself, and he can string each one up in less than five minutes. We looked quite festive against the grey background, don't you think?

Syrena's hammock

Sophie's hammock

Naomi's hammock

Danny's hammock

Actually, this isn't really Danny's hammock. This is my hammock. Danny slept the first third of the night in the little tent, the second third of the night with me in my hammock and the last part of the night back in the tent. Perhaps that gives you an idea of how much sleep I got.

Scott checking the score. Of what game? It doesn't matter, all that matters is that somewhere in the world there is a game and he can check the score.

Double-decker hammocks. Sophie and Syrena probably slept the best out of all of us. They just curled up in their hammocks and snored the rest of the night.

Naomi, however, had a harder time sleeping. She woke up more than Danny did. And guess who had to answer her call? I'll give you a big hint: it wasn't me. Yes, Turkeyboy got less sleep than anyone else.

This is what morning looks like in a hammock. Dawn at last!

Danny wakes, to the delight of his adoring fans.
My hiking shadow. It looks like I super-glued my baby to me.

Going back home.

This was our first "backpacking" trip as a family. We had some challenging moments, but I think that it was a success. If success means we made some great memories for our kids, than we achieved our objective.

Veni, vidi, vici.

Trial Run

Last night Scott set up the hammocks in the backyard to see if the girls would be able to stick it out all night. This was in preparation for our mini backpacking trip we are taking them on tonight. Scott made each girl their own hammock (pink, blue, and lavendar) and set them up double-decker in the trees. I wondered if they'd be able to actually fall asleep, but before Scott even had his PJs on they were snoring away, cozy as caterpillers in their cocoons .

Tonight might be a different story, though, for we will have our wild card: Danny.

To be continued....