Camp Impact

Time for mass catch-up on the blog. Here I go.



After Chase and I got back from the farm, he left the next day for his first-ever away from home camp. It was harder than I thought it would be to send him off. The good part is that I trust the people who were going on the trip. The volunteers and our church's children's minister are all great. Here is Chase loading up and on the bus.

Our children's minister was so great to post pictures of the kids so that we could see what they were doing. It was so nice to be able to "spy" on my boy. Thanks, Matt!!
Another thing that I really liked was that I was able to send Chase an email every day. He really liked getting them. On one email, I wrote that I was working on redecorating his room (he has decided that he is too big for John Deere - sigh). I told him that I had found a really cool shade of pink that I was using to paint his room. Totally joking, but can you guess the first question that Chase had for me when I picked him up?

Chase had a great time. He came home on Thursday. We had to quickly unpack, wash clothes, and pack again because the next adventure started the next day.

Can You Feel the Love

Catch up is just going to have to wait. I am just too behind in work to catch up my blog. Hopefully next week will be better.

There is one thing that I want to remember. Sweet Nate has been a bit sour the last few days. Grumpy is an understatement. Today at Cade's swimming lesson, Nate decided to wander off. I retrieved him and explained that he needed to stay with Mommy. He informed me that he did not want to stay with me. I kindly explained that he could stay with me or he could go to time-out. I asked if he wanted to go with me, and he informed me that he wanted to go to time-out. He then proceeded to put his nose on the wall. SIGH!

One thing that I do want to remember about Nate right now is that he is petrified of bugs. He is especially afraid of butterflies and flies (he calls flies bees). What a brave boy ;)

Fun at the Farm - June 2008

The week after music camp, the boys and I traveled to the farm to visit with my family.
We had a lot of fun with cousins.
Nate playing around with my niece, Hannah

My niece, Lanae, had to get into the picture.
Cade swinging my new niece, Emily.
My nephew, Ben.
Cousins had so much fun playing together.

"Helping" with wheat harvest
Playing in the grain. Every year, Chase gets so sick when we go to the farm because of wheat harvest. This year, he would not risk it. He stayed at the house and would not go near the field or the grain. Guess it worked, he did not get sick.

On the tractor.

My sister took this picture while she was out with Nate on the farm. Do you think I need to discuss some safety issues with her?

Chase holding Emily - isn't she cute?!

They had fun playing in the water in the backyard

Lanae would crawl on the slip 'n slide - made me laugh

They got creative

Helping Mimi cook
The annual slide picture

Nate was so worn out that he just crashed. He really is asleep in these pictures


Chase and I headed back at the end of the week so that he could attend camp in Oklahoma the next week. Dylan, Nate, and Cade were able to stay at the farm. Kristen and her kids rode back with me so that she could visit her family. I looked back at one point and here is what I found - Ben had discovered a fun new game with his gum. The picture does not show the enormous mess that he made. FYI, the oil in suncreen does help to get gum out:)

Father's Day 2008

Father's Day this year was a lot of fun. I really wanted to do something special for Mark, because I feel that he is the best Daddy ever. He truly has a relationship with each of the boys. He is just as involved in their lives as I am. He doesn't blink an eye about taking care of the boys when I am working. He truly wants to be the best dad that he can be, and he is. The boys are so lucky to have such a wonderful dad.

Mark had made several comments about this gun that he wanted. I told him that it was too much and that I needed other ideas. He said that he really needed a new blower. The boys and I headed out to buy the present, but we didn't buy the blower. Mark is notorious about getting the boys to tell him what was bought, so we worked hard about how we would answer any questions. They all did great, except for Nate. He doesn't quite understand how to trick people. We would practice what Mark might say and every time Nate would spill the beans. The other boys did great. Mark questioned the boys, and he was convinced that he was getting a blower. Dylan even "accidentally slipped" the "fact" that we purchased it at Sears. Luckily, Mark did not question Nate. We gave Mark his present on Saturday, because I was afraid that the secret wouldn't last another day. He was shocked and so excited. It was quite fun!!

Having Fun

So I am super behind in blogging. I haven't even blogged about Father's Day yet. I am going to have to go out of order, because some stories must be immediately shared. We are having a great time in the mountains at Blue Haven. There have been many adventures. First, a fishing story. Dylan caught the biggest fish! He cast his line, and it caught on something. He tugged on his line and felt the hook in the back of his head! Mark and a neighbor had to use pliers to get the hook out. Poor baby. For some reason, no one wanted to fish the rest of the day;)

Another fun story: Mark was camping out with the boys. Dylan and 2 of my nephews were in the tent, and Mark was sleeping right outside of the tent. The boys were scared of bears, so Mark brought his gun out for "protection". About 1:30 in the morning, I smell skunk. I am trying to decide if I should warn Mark when I heard footsteps on the porch. Mark comes in with a dazed look on his face. He tells me that he thinks that he has been sprayed by a skunk. He asks me to come and smell him (he was being serious). There was no need for that!! It seems that a skunk startled Mark who then startled the skunk! Luckily I had arranged dial-up Internet, so we were able to look up how to wash out the skunk smell. After washing with vinegar twice, washing twice with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide with baking soda, and then washing with soap, Mark smelled normal again. The campout ended! Mark threw away his clothes, the tent, and the sleeping bag. His gun now smells like skunk. My only question, what if it had been a bear?