Lego Camp

Today was the last day of camps for the summer. Yes, that loud sigh you heard was my HUGE sigh of relief. While the kids loved camp and they really were a lot of fun, it was a lot of driving and scheduling around Mom and Papa's surgeries, visiting Papa in the rehab center, kid's illnesses and the van breaking down. I'm not sure I would've signed the kids up for 4 weeks of 1/2 day camps if I had known that everything else was going to happen. Oh well, we made it through and it was fun for them.

Collin and Danny were the last camp this year. They did a Lego Robotics camp. Nathan did this one last year and liked it, so the boys thought they would give it a try. They loved it! I really think that they would've liked to do another week if it had been offered. I got to go see what they worked on for the last 30 minutes of class. It was really neat. I have always been a fan of Lego and the creativity it requires, and this just reinforces it! The kids really used their imagination and came up with some cool projects.

Oh, and is it just me or are the instructors getting younger and younger? Mr. Brian was really great with the boys. He was also the teacher for Nathan's Game Maker camp. We are hoping he gets the job at the local middle school. Good luck Mr. Brian and thanks so much for the fun this summer!

I Tried Not to Laugh

These two girls are usually the best of friends as well as wonderful sisters. However, there are times that they just start to pluck one another's nerves. Usually that is an indication that they are tired, bored, tired, grumpy, tired, pre-hormonal, tired, or just sick of one another. Or maybe tired. Today was just such a day.

I heard the rumblings upstairs, followed by stomping down the steps, the older yelling for "Mom", and the younger yelling "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to". Most of the time I try to let the kids work things out between themselves, but this was at the point I needed to step in.

Mom: "Stop, before you say anything, I heard Claire say she was sorry and she didn't mean to. Before you tattle, please decide if we need to continue."

Kaylyn: "But...:

Claire: "I said I didn't mean to. I said I'm sorry."

Mom: "Kaylyn, are you sure you want to continue with this?"

Kaylyn: "Yes, Mom..."

Claire: "I said I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to open my mouth and I didn't mean to bite you."

Kaylyn: "See...Mom..."

Mom: "Wait, please, Kaylyn. Claire, did you bite Kaylyn?"

Claire: "I didn't mean to but I just got it in my head and my mouth opened and it happened! I didn't mean to because I thought about it and I knew it was wrong, but my mouth just opened and bit her! I didn't mean to and I apologized!"

Mom (at this point knowing this was a serious thing but almost unable to keep from laughing): "I see. Why is your mouth so angry?"

Claire: "Because she is wrong."

Kaylyn: "I am not! I am NOT WRONG!"

Mom (pulling at her hair at this point): "I don't care who is right or wrong. What is so important that you two can't seem to agree and have to continue this argument?"

Kaylyn: "She says I'm not in 5th grade."

Claire: "Your NOT! School hasn't started yet! You're not in 5th grade! You're still in 4th!"

Kaylyn: "NO I'M NOT! I'm in 5th grade! I finished 4th grade already!"

Mom (ready to knock heads together): "You're both wrong. Kaylyn, you are BETWEEN 4th and 5th grade. You HAVE finished 4th, but you HAVEN'T started 5th yet. So, you are both wrong. Now, go sit on your beds, don't look or talk to each other until you can get along!"

Claire: "Told ya!"

Kaylyn: "Well, you were wrong too!"

Mom: "GO NOW! Don't speak, just go!"

Now, you tell me, just how can you take this kind of thing seriously? Oh, and do you want to guess who will be getting to bed early tonight (besides me)?

Van Trouble AGAIN!

As mentioned, our van broke down on Saturday. We had been to my nephew's first birthday party and on the way home stopped in to see our old neighbors. While there, the belt in our engine broke and we lost all ability to drive. I was so thankful that we broke down in our old neighborhood. (I was also REALLY thankful that we started to pay for AAA about a year and a half ago.) We knew where to have the van towed and we had friends to help us out. As a matter of fact, I think we started an impromptu block party for our old court! My friend Tina allowed us to borrow her conversion van-thank God she had a vehicle big enough for all of us that we could use-so we didn't have to rent a 15 passenger cargo van from the airport. It was stressful, but we made it home in one piece. The garage was able to get the van fixed by 2:00 Monday afternoon. I made the 3 1/2 hour round trip to get the van and bring it home. Again, stressful, but not as bad as it could've been.

Well, yesterday the new belt slipped off again when I was bringing the boys home from camp. For the second time in 4 days I was left stranded with a car that isn't drivable! Oh, and of course it was raining. Again, it was the best of an awful situation in that I was only about 9 miles from home, I was able to get to a safe parking lot, Grandpa Dud was able to come pick up the boys while I waited for the tow truck and the garage is only about a mile from home. It could've been a lot worse...but it sure could've been a lot better!You know what frosts me the most? My dad had just told me at the birthday party on Saturday that I need to get rid of the van before it left me stranded. I defended the van saying that it has been great for the last 11 years and always gets me where I need to go. That I would love a new car, but we don't want 2 car payments at once. Pppppfpffffffttttt! See if I defend the dang van again. Now, we just need to nurse it for about 3 more years so that we can pay Gary's car off. Hahahahahahaha, we'll see.

Growing Up Too Fast!

On Sunday, Kaylyn had a birthday party to attend. Her friend from school turned 10. Apparently her friend's mom told her years ago that she would get her a limo for when she turned 10. In true kid form, she never forgot her mom's promise. So, guess who got her first limo ride at the ripe old age of 10? Yep, all these girls! They had a great time and from all accounts knew just how to "act" in the limo...drinking soda from champagne glasses, dancing around to the music and waving to other passing cars. They went to get Rita's, stopped at a local restaurant to feed the ducks, stopped at the elementary school to play on the playground and then came back to the house to spend the night. The girls had a blast. My little girl is growing up way too fast! (By the way, my first limo ride was when I got married! I didn't even take one to prom. She is one lucky little girl!)

I'm Back!

Well, our last several weeks have been more crazy than I like. As mentioned, my grandfather broke his hip and is in a rehabilitation center, my mom had colon surgery and is home recovering, and I had 3 different kids with fevers over 101 and needed to be on antibiotics. That's just the crazy health issues. We also have had several different half day kid camps at the local community college that is about a half an hour away. The kids loved them, but I have been on the road a lot. Then I can talk about the 3 different extended family birthday parties, one of which we sadly had to miss. And our car broke down after one party...an hour and a half from home. That's another post all on it's own.

Soooooooo, with all of that going on, I haven't been blogging. So sorry. I will do my best to get up to date.

For now, here are some pictures of a more fun activity Jen, my farmer friend, and I did the other day. We took this:

and turned it into this:

That's right, we froze some fresh Silver Queen corn for the winter. It was great. Our combined 8 kids shucked it and then we blanched, cut it off the cobs and then froze 2 bushels of corn. I can remember my mom doing that when I was a little girl. I think we will enjoy corn even more this winter!

Anwered Prayers

I just found out that everything they tested for Mom came back clear...There is no more cancer! Although I expected that, it is so wonderful to have it confirmed by the doctor. Mom is recovering nicely. Of course she is sore, and will continue to be for a while, she is up and around. All of her "plumbing" is working and she is healing well. I just thank God for her health. And I thank any of you that sent up a prayer on our behalf, we really cherish each and every one of you! Have a great day!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my mom's surgery. Please pray for my mom's peace, the surgeon's knowledge, Grandpa Dud, my grandfather's confusion, and Gary at home with the kids. It will be a long day for everyone. Thanks for your prayers.

16th Anniversary

Sixteen years ago today I married my wonderful husband, Gary. We sure have packed a lot of living into 16 years! I am so thankful for the man God provided for me and our children. I only hope we live to see another 56 years together. Happy anniversary, Honey! Thanks for loving me all of these years. You're the best.

Papa's World

Kaylyn and I visited Papa this morning. He is still so disoriented, but today it was funny. Today he was convinced that I needed to "get him off the plane and take him home on the helicopter". He was really put out with me because I wouldn't teach him to "drive" the helicopter. I told him I would teach him as soon as he could walk, but until then I was taking my helicopter and going home. Then he was really mad we wouldn't move the t.v. (actually a piece of foam to keep his legs stable) from between his legs. When I told him his t.v. was on the wall, well that really upset him. Why would I have put the t.v. on the wall? Oh boy, it's going to be a long recovery I am afraid!

On the other front, we went to see my mom's surgeon today. He has scheduled mom for colon surgery on Monday. He is very knowledgeable and professional, while still having a very nice bedside manner. We feel very comfortable with him performing the surgery and we were very thankful that he had time on his schedule so quickly. It will be about a 6-8 week recovery, but I know my mom. She'll be up and around ASAP. Our prayer is that Papa can stay at the rehab long enough for mom to be somewhat recovered.

Here at home, we have had the kids running laps around our property getting ready for soccer camp next week and tonight we started sprints across our front lawn. They are really improving QUICKLY! Nathan, of course, runs like the wind and just gets faster each night. Danny is improving faster than I could've imagined. In less than a week there is a noticeable difference in his stride and speed. Collin had a slow start...he didn't buy into this whole running thing. (Poor guy, I totally get it!) We had a serious talk last night about effort making a difference and tonight he looked like a totally different kid. He, more than any of our other kids, is a "mind over matter" kinda guy. Once he got on board, he looked great running. He just had to decide that it was worth it. Kaylyn said that she would like to play lacrosse next year, so she is jogging as well. This is huge because up until this point any exercise that caused her to overheat would give her a migraine. She has been great the last several nights. Claire, our least likely to want to sweat, has decided that she likes to run. I am amazed at how much effort she is putting into it. She can really move when she wants to. Of course, it's always more fun when Nate or Daddy jog along beside her. I am so glad that they are working so hard to get into and stay in shape. They are even doing sit ups before bed each night. I am really proud of them and even better, they are proud of themselves. Now, if only I could convince myself to get on board...

Well, maybe tomorrow.

Claire goes to College

My little one went to her first day at college today.She started her first camp that wasn't a Vacation Bible School at the local community college. It's the Kids on Campus program and she went for the Painting on Ceramics camp this morning. I thought that Nathan would be there at the same time for a Create your own Video Game camp, but was surprised to learn that his was in the afternoon, not the morning. Ooooops, I made a little mistake at sign up time I guess! I have to admit, I was a little freaked out about leaving her there by herself, but she was great. She just marched over to her group and off she went. I am so proud of her! At lunch I asked her if she was nervous, and she said, "Of course, Momma. I have never been to a camp before, well other than VBS. It was my first time. But I did ok. It was fun!" I guess my baby is really growing up! Please pass the tissues.

As for that little mistake I made, well, it wasn't so little. It means that I have to drive half an hour back and forth twice as much. Claire has camp in the morning, Nathan in the afternoon. There is an hour between sessions-not enough time to go home, but a lot of time to just hang out and wait. Great, just great. I ended up taking lunches and when we were done, we walked around the campus for a little bit. Oh well, both kids had a super time at their camps and can't wait to go back tomorrow. Danny, Collin and Kaylyn were really troupers about the whole thing. Their camps will come later this month. It's just a week, we can do it!

Fun Fourth

Although I felt crummy yesterday morning, by the afternoon I felt well enough to go visit with our farmer friends, Jenny and Randy, for the Fourth of July. They graciously let all of us come visit for dinner and fireworks. Our kids get along so well that we just let them loose to run about on the farm. The kids had a great time with only one little spat from the little girls that they worked out themselves. I don't know about you, but 8 kids, 5 hours and only 1 spat...that's some kind of miracle! We had a super dinner of all the Fourth Favorites...burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, corn, melons, mac and cheese, and desserts. Jenny sure can cook! Later that night, from their farm, we saw no less than 4 different fireworks displays. It was amazing to realize that the land is so flat and the fireworks so high, that we could see them from miles away! Other than the fireworks that our old neighbor Mr. Bob would do for us, they were the best displays ever. We watched for about an hour. To tell the truth, I don't really need to be any closer to fireworks than we were. I hate the crowds and the loud bangs. It makes my heart jump in a really uncomfortable way. After the displays, we cleaned up while the kids played a little bit on the Wii. I can't remember a more relaxing, easy get together...ever! There was really no stress for us at all-and after the week we've had, that was the best blessing I could've asked for. Thanks, Jenny, Randy and family. We had a super time!

Moving Papa

Papa was moved to a rehabilitation center today. He is really disoriented and out of it. We are hoping that it is just due to being moved and the anesthesia from surgery not being quite out of his body. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I had visited the center two days ago, and it is as nice as a facility like that can be. The best part about it is that it is only about 15 minutes from our home. As the summer progresses and the kids start camps, it is on our way to and from camp. That means that we can pop in for a quick visit several times a day if we want. I hope that takes some of the stress off of my mom so that she will be able to recover from her upcoming surgery. I'll tell you, I HATE medical anything, and this has been WAY TOO MUCH medical for me for one week. As a result, I woke up with a sore throat and head cold. Gary let me go back to sleep and I felt better this afternoon. I have no doubt that it was just the way my body deals with the stress-it's happened before. Oh well, that's the way the cookies crumbles. Thank you again for your prayers.

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone takes a moment to thank God for this wonderful country in which we live. We are so blessed to have such freedoms. A huge thank you to all of the wonderful men and women that work so hard keep our lives safe! Enjoy some delicious cookout food and fireworks!

A Slippery Day

Papa had his hip surgery today. He made it though surgery fine, but is really disoriented as of right now. Thankfully it seemed to go smoothly. Thank you for your prayers.

What is a family to do on a warm summer day? The Slip and Slide of course! This was our second attempt to slide, but we found a huge rip in the bottom. Our neighbor, Miss Denise, showed us a "trick" last time we were at her house. Nathan held the hose and sprayed everyone and we added dish soap to the plastic. It worked like a charm! The kids had fun and didn't even miss the squirting water.

Oh, and the soap makes a heck of a mess! I don't think Danny minded one little bit!

This and That

I have a little of this and that to post, so please bare with me!

Do you know what this is?

This is the sweetest gift from the most thoughtful little girl EVER! While we were out running errands today, Claire saw this and asked if we could get it. I was on the verge of saying no, when for some reason I asked why she wanted it. She said that she wanted to get it for Papa who is still in the hospital-actually getting surgery as I type. She thought it might make him feel better. He just loves store bought goodies. Isn't that too sweet?

Here is Collin riding the mower. When we got back from errands, both Collin and Danny ran over to Grandpa Dud's house to see if they could help him with the mowing. Although just Collin is pictured, both Collin and Danny had a turn helping out.

While Collin and Danny were mowing, Nathan was a huge help vacuuming out the car. He, knowing that I'm a little stressed out, has been trying to help out with whatever I ask him-and almost NO complaints. That's a sign of a maturing son!

I am just so blessed! I can't tell you how amazed I am each and every day by these wonderful children God has blessed me with.

Oh, and just because I need a laugh, on the way home from errands, I finally got a picture of this sign. I have been meaning to since about the last 2 weeks of school, but almost forgot. Anyway, I know I have a warped sense of humor, but this sign just about made me wreck the first time I saw it. Read it and see what you think!

Really, so we need to take the senior citizens to the Suicide Bridge? Am I the only one that finds that a hoot? I know, I know, I'm sick!