Enjoying the outdoors together

Last Friday was Justin's last day with Ecolab. His boss came to get his Ecolab truck at around 3 p.m. and then just like that his first real job was over. No more calls or stops at restaurants. Justin was having a hard time comprehending this. He started his new job at Edward Jones today.

We wanted to take maximum advantage of this weekend as Justin was employed by no one and totally free from the stress of a career. One thing we've missed since I have been very pregnant and had a young baby to care for is enjoying time hiking, kayaking, and camping. We decided to re-enter our former outdoor hobbies by going camping with our friends the Crammonds, Toltzmans and Klessigs at a nearby campground. It wasn't backpacking in Colorado, but hey it's something we can do as a family until our kid(s) are older.

Here Nora and I are getting the tent ready to sleep in. We were tentmates with Eric and Beth Crammond and their 6 month old son, Owen. They bought a huge Taj Mahal tent that could easily fit us all and Pack n' Plays for both babies. Nora loved exploring her new home for the night.

Here's Owen and Nora in the tent. Nora as usual is sucking her thumb!

Family picture around the campfire.

On Sunday evening, we took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and hiked at Hoffman Hills, a nearby hiking trail. We tried out the Kelty Baby Backpack Justin got me for a birthday present this year. I guess part of my present is that he gets to carry Nora too! She liked riding behind her daddy as long as she had a cool stick to hold. Though we were joking that she was using it to beat Justin into going faster-like her horse.

The beautiful view from the tower at the top of the hill. It was so pretty to look out in every direction and see miles of green and blue. The Wise family sure loves what beautiful land God made right here in Wisconsin! This hike was on our list of things to do before we move away from Eau Claire-check!

Nora is 10 Months

Here are some pictures I took of Nora outside in our front yard recently.

This is a cute one I got while I was watching our friend's son Hurshle the other day. Nora had just gotten up from a nap and Hurshle came in to see her. With her in her crib and him down below it reminded me of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.

To our great relief, 3 of Nora's 4 top teeth have cut through the gums. As her teeth are coming down more she is making some funny faces we have never seen her make before. The teeth are just through the surface now, but I still can't quite imagine what she'll look like with 4 teeth up there.

In other news, we will hopefully be signing a lease on Friday afternoon for a townhouse in Onalaska (a town just north of La Crosse). Then we'll be keeping our eyes peeled in the next year or so for a house to buy-exciting!!!

Nora stood up for the first time without holding on to anything last Friday. Since then she has attempted it several times and I didn't see it, but some friends said they saw her take 1 step on her own too! Woohoo!