I'm Jazmin, a wife and mama living in the Chicago suburbs. This is my photo journal to write & capture life's little thrills, including our family's world traveling adventures. Thank you for stopping by! I hope you'll enjoy!
This Christmas is very special because we added a new member to our family, our son, Aaron David, born on October 15th. He will be celebrating his first Christmas!
Today, continuing with our annual family tradition, we drove to Larson’s Family Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. Baby Aaron’s first Christmas tree and first time coming along! After picking and cutting our tree, we went inside the Barn to enjoy hot apple cider and chocolate covered pretzels, yum!
Before the weather gets too cold and the baby joins us we decided to go apple picking to Royal Oak Farm in Harvard, IL.
It was chilly, but after picking our apples we went inside the Bakery to get some hot apple cider and warm apple cider donuts (just what this pregnant lady needed)!
Camping Adventures: Tahquamenon Falls State Park- Upper Peninsula, MI
Look at our gorgeous site!
This past weekend, we had our annual camping trip with Uncle Johnny, Aunt Sylvia, and Elizabeth. This time we didn’t go to the Pinery (as we have for the past 2 years). We camped in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at an amazing site located in front of Tahquamenon River at Tahquamenon Falls State Park Rivermouth Campground. It was amazing! Check out the pics below :-)
We spent two days at Uncle Johnny’s beautifully huge property located on White Fish Bay (Lake Superior). We had the beach to ourselves!
We took a walk and saw this large pawprint
The Murray’s got a brand new tent that had plenty of room...positioned on a perfect spot with a view of the river
Our family picture with the picnic table tent that flew over us
Elizabeth gifted Audrey this awesome shirt that glows in the dark!
We went to see the falls. These are the upper falls. Truly majestic!
We took a paddle boat to see the lower falls.
Audrey had so much fun in the river! The current was powerful!
Her first time inside a tree!
Back at our site - David took Audrey on a boat ride to see the sunset. it was like 9:30pm!
While everyone was enjoying some Margaritas by the fire I was roasting a HUGE marshmallow!
On our last day at the lake
David living the life before going back to work
We had perfect camping weather; it only rained once (while we were sleeping for less than an hour). The trip was wonderful except for the annoying mosquitos that were lingering around Elizabeth and me all the time.
The UP is so different and beautiful! The trees are so tall! Never before have I seen so many stars. And now we can officially say we have camped, swam and played by the three largest of the Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, and Huron).
I will not get tired of emphasizing what a therapy it is to be submerged in nature. It is always so relaxing! We didn’t have to worry about anything that has caused us stress during these past weeks.
It’s always fun seeing and catching up with Uncle Johnny, Aunt Sylvia, and Elizabeth! We love spending time with them and I’m proud of our annual camping tradition!
I end with this quote that I always think of (especially on those starry nights):
“What is human existence? It turns out it’s pretty simple: We are dead stars, looking back up at the sky.” Dr. Michelle Thaller, NASA Astronomer
Happy Father's Day to our amazing guy! It is very true - any man can be a father, it takes someone special to be a DAD. You are a gift from God to our family. We love you to infinity and beyond
Eats and other things ;) 1. First camping trip of the year to Interlochen, MI with family 2. Trader Joe's flowers 3. Pregnant cravings - naranjas con tajin 4. Farmers Market's finds 5. Having smoothies 6. Scored cloth diapers at a garage sale for $17 (12 prefolds and 4 covers) 7. Coops prior a hair cut 8-10. Roller skates!
London, United Kindom David and I spent last week in London. David was on a business trip and I tagged along with him! We arrived on Sunday and after checking in to our apartment hotel, we headed to central London to explore. David was going to be working during the week so this was his only day of freedom. We took the tube to Westminster, walked around Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Green & St. James Park where the UK was conmemorating 70 years since the end of WWII in Europe. London is such an amazing, diverse city with so much history. It feels old and new at the same time. It was my first time expericing London without any rain. Well, not exactly... It wasn't until Thursday, my last day there, that it rained the whole day.
Disney - Magic Kindgom For my spring break, we drove to Florida and took Audrey to Disney World. It was Audrey's first time there and mine too. Audrey had a blast! David and I ended up pretty tired, but happy that Audrey had enjoyed her time there. She got to meet Elsa and Anna, Belle, and saw many other characters. Even though we had to wait about 1-2 hr for each ride, we rode most of them. She was trooper waiting in each line. To end our night, we watched the parade and Snow White touched Audrey's hand. She couldn't believe it and couldn't stop saying Snow White had touched only her hand. It was truly a magical day for her!
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico We spent the last 4 days of February in Guadalajara, visiting my brother to celebrate his wedding to Vero. It was amazing getting out of Chicago's weather (even if it was only for 4 days). We drove to Puerto Vallarta and spent a day and night there. We enjoyed the sun, warmth, and the beach! Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta are both such beautiful cities!
Starved Rock State Park Today was a beautiful winter day to go into nature and explore a little. We drove to Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, IL. Last time David and I were here was for Labor Day 2008. We had been dating for just 1 week. It was at this park where we kissed for the first time. This time we came with Audrey and Cooper. We saw bald eagles and deer. It was pretty amazing! I think it’s true, we need to be connected to nature, we need to feel and breathe the fresh air from the trees, we need to explore the great outdoors to feel alive. Research says 20 minutes daily in nature can have a big impact on our health. So why don’t take advantage of this natural medicine?!
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