Camp Singletary 2010

If you've read this blog at all, you probably already know how I feel about our annual trip to camp.  Sure, the packing and unpacking are a lot of work, its exhausting looking out for the kids and its really, really hot.  But its also a week where we get to spend an uninterrupted week with family and that is what makes it one of our favorite weeks of the year.  So here are a few lessons we learned from our week at Camp this year:

Lesson #1:  Riding a bike at camp is WAY more fun than riding it at home.

Lesson #2:  The food tastes better when its shared with good friends.

Lesson #3:  You can spend all day in a swim suit and no one will care.

Lesson #4:  Some days you don't even have to put on a swim suit.

Lesson #5:  The drinks are just as good if you eat the ice separately.

Lesson #6:  Some people have the gift of looking just as cute at camp as they do any other day.

Lesson #7:  Floaties are fun to play with, even when you're not in the water.

Lesson #8:  Camp gives us lots of time to spend with the kiddos.

Lesson #9:  To a hungry duck on the beach, our crowd of little snackers  is heaven.

Lesson #10:  There are few things as wonderful as relaxing in the sand.

Lesson #11:  A cannball gone awry will end up in a belly flop.

Lesson #12:  When you're only one, its okay if you swim in your birthday suit.

Lesson #13:  A bowl makes a beautiful hat.

Lesson #14:  You can dig a hole to China and (almost) no one will care.

Lesson #15:  This is one of the many reasons we think this place is like heaven on earth.

Lesson #16:  Camp can really wear you out, so you have to catch a nap wherever you can.

Lesson #17:  Elise was a much better bumper boat driver than her mom. :)

Lesson #18:  A caterpillar is GREAT entertainment.

Lesson #19:  A week around the water will make anyone brave.

Lesson #20:  Uncle Neal makes a pretty awesome water monster.

Lesson #21:  Cory is a superhero.  (Although in all fairness, the wasn't actually a lesson we learned at camp.  We've known that for a while now. :))

Lesson #22:  The Water Park is AWESOME! :)

Lesson #23:  Victoria did not mind getting wet.

Lesson #24: We may have discovered the most relaxing thing in the world.

Lesson #25:  It is impossible for boys to eat ice cream and not make a mess.

Lesson #26: We LOVE our sunglasses.

Lesson #27: You can take the girl (or boy) out of the country, but....you know the rest.  You can even find frog at the water park if you look hard enough.

Lesson #28:  It IS possible to take too many pictures.

Lesson #29:  Its okay to get in the lake in a skirt if you want to.

Lesson #30:  Just because you're at camp, doesn't mean have to put the make-up away. (I'm a firm believer in a little lipstick.)

Lesson #31:  We LOVE craft time, although sometimes they are better in theory, than in execution.

Lesson #32:  Grandma needs to spend the off-season working on her "Woohoo!"

Lesson #33:  Late nights are when it ALL happens.

Lesson #34:  Being together with family and friends is what makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks for an awesome year everyone!!  We're already counting down the days until next year!!!

Did You Think I Was Exaggerating?

I said that Paige writes on everything, right?  Well, I meant that literally.  I know some people might think I'm exaggerating the destruction this child can cause with an ink pen or marker.  Trust me, I'm not.  What you're about to see does not have to happen to you.  Just throw away every possible writing utensil within 50 feet of your house and pray that you don't have to sign a check.

This is some lovely artwork on my (formerly white) bedroom door.

This is an ink pen design on my bathroom wall.  Lovely, isn't it?

The fitted sheet on our bed.  That would be permanent black marker.  Washable would have just been too convenient.

Paige's toddler bed.  Yep, more permanent marker.  She really went to town with that thing.

Sweet little baby doll or Bride of Frankenstein?  The ink pen on the head makes it a little hard to tell.

She doesn't limit her artwork to walls and furniture and toys alone.  Here is a lovely design she's done on her legs.  Nice.

Its not enough that she can get her hands on so many pens and markers.  She also has access to her big sister's school supplies.  Here are her hands after she's been playing with the stamps.

Yes, she even managed to stamp her tongue.  Why, you ask?  Well, I supposed she'd already written on everything else.

You know, if you just look at those bright blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair, you might think "sweet, innocent little girl."  But then you see those hands.  My word.  I'm going to need new furniture and a fresh coat of paint by the time this one's grown.  What on earth am I going to do with that girl?

Probably just keep spoiling her completely rotten. :)

Our First Beach Trip of the Season

We packed a lot of fun and a lot of family time into our Memorial Day weekend.  We finished the weekend off with a day at the beach, our first of the season.  It was the perfect day to be there.  Two of Cory's sisters and two of his brothers and all our families were there, so that made it even more fun.  The kids are enjoying the water more and more.  Elise and Ian barely left the water the entire day.  We really only got them out to reapply sunscreen.  Merry Grace was much more hesitant.  I took her out a little ways, but after jumping a few waves, she was ready to head back to shore.  Paige loved the beach!!!!  She thought the sand was terrific and the water, even better.  I love the beach so much and am so glad my kids do too.  My camera wasn't focusing right, so I don't have many pictures from the day.

This was near the end of the day.  Paige got tired of her swimsuit and I just didn't want to fight it.  I love how she's eating a sand-covered granola bar.  She ate a lot of sand-covered stuff that day.

This boy couldn't get enough of the water.  Elise was the same way, only I didn't manage to get a picture of her.  I just snapped these pictures at the end of the day and she was already drying off, being the obedient girl that she is.  Ian just couldn't pry himself away from the ocean.  Oh well.

On the way home we stopped at a delicious seafood place that Amanda showed us.  Yum, yum, yum!!!  Cory and I had fried shrimp and it rocked.

It was a wonderful, relaxing day.  Now we're already ready to go back!!!

Memorial Day Memories

We started off Monday morning by raising the flag on the flagpole in Cory's parents front yard.  Cory's dad was a true patriot and loved flying the flag whenever he could.  We had to do it for him this year.  All the family gathered around the flag and said the Pledge of Allegiance. When we first got there the flag was still, but as we started saying the Pledge, a breeze began to blow and the flag waved proudly.   It was very moving.  I wish I'd taken a picture of everyone together.  Afterwards, we went to the grave site to put flags on his grave in honor of Memorial Day.  

The field where he is buried was filled with these bright, yellow dandelions.  It was beautiful.  The kids (and grown-ups too) picked as many as we could and  put them on his grave.  We sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and then "Sixpence."  It was a touching way to honor Russell, on a day that he loved.

TGIFridays

As previously posted, we had a lot to celebrate as this school year comes to a close.  We decided to celebrate it all at once with dinner out together as a family at TGIFridays.  (Kids eat free Monday-Thursday, so that's a definite bonus.)  It's rare that we all go out to eat, for what I think are obvious reasons--its expensive and exhausting.  But this was a splurge and it was oh-so fun.

If Elise were just a teensy bit taller, you'd be able to see that she's giving her Dad bunny ears.  Now where do you think she'd get a silly idea like that? :)

What a cute girl!!!  She was waiting for her potato skins, her favorite meal from TGIFridays.  (Although she informed us that next time she'll be getting a steak.  Her Daddy better look out. ;))

Ian had a lot to celebrate, completing a super Kindergarten year, being a great baseball player and just all around being a good kid.

What a silly girl!  She loved going out to a restaurant with the family.  So much so that I think she was a little hyper.  Can you get that from the picture? :)

Paige was not happy about being buckled into a high chair or waiting on her food.  She got restless and impatient (i.e. she cried and screamed loudly).  Thankfully, the music was loud.

It turned out this is the night the balloon man works at TGIFridays and he stopped by our table and made cute things for the kids.  Here is Paige's teddy bear.

Our favorite story of the night came from Merry Grace.  The balloon guy came by and asked, "What would you like?  I can make a unicorn, a teddy bear, a flower..."  Merry Grace said she would like a fish.  "A fish?", the balloon man questioned.  "Ok.  So what color would you like your fish to be?"  "Black," said Merry Grace firmly.  "A black fish."  So a black fish is what she got. He did one better, though, and made a fishing pole to go along with her little fishy.  We teased her just a little that out of all the girly things she could have gotten or all the bright colors she could have chosen, she picked a black fish.  She responded, "What?  I like fishies.  And black is a nice color."  You can't argue with that!

Ian got a cool motorcycle that doubles as a hat.  He was thrilled.

For Elise, he made a cute froggy with its tongue out.  He even drew a fly on the end of the frog's tongue.

We were all suitably impressed with the balloon guy.  He was definitely the best one we've ever seen.  Getting the balloons was just the icing on the cake.  What a great evening we had together and how much we had to celebrate.  Congratulations, kids on a successful school year and on just being great kids.  We think you're the greatest!!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Friday would have been Cory's dad's 71st birthday.  It was also the first birthday we had to celebrate long distance.  Boy, we sure do miss him! And days like birthdays are poignant reminders that we are here and he is not.  We had the perfect celebration in his honor, though.  One thing he loved was baseball, so we all got together and spent Friday night cheering on the local baseball team.  It was the perfect come-from-behind win, filled with good ballpark food and great company.

There was even a fireworks display at the end of the night which we all felt rivaled or surpassed the Fourth of July celebrations we've attended.  We finished the evening off by singing "Happy Birthday" to Russell (Pa, Grandy, Grandaddy, or Dad) and had yummy slices of ice cream cake.  I think he was happy knowing we were all together and remembering happy times with him.

There sure were a lot of cute smiling faces that night.  I know he is proud of these sweet grandkids.  They sure are the best bunch of kids I've ever seen.

Some of the troop enjoying the game.  When they scored those few runs to pull ahead we cheered like crazy. We said Pa must have given them an extra push--our own personal "angel in the outfield."

My favorite picture of the night.  I just want to hug them both every time I look at it.  Its lucky I got this picture, as many times as Cory had to run back and forth to the concession stand.  He told the kids ahead of time that this was a birthday party and we were going to treat it as such.  How lucky my kids are to have a Daddy who just makes everything more fun.

I think we celebrated wonderfully.  We sure miss Russell, but are so grateful for eternal families and for the wonderful family we are part of here on earth.  We feel blessed and thankful.

Sittin' on the Front Porch

Have ever mentioned how much I love my front porch?  Well, I do.  It may be my very favorite thing about the whole house.

I've always loved sitting in the rocking chairs, eating lunch out there, letting the kids write with chalk and about 200 other things it would take too long to list.  Our porch has a new addition this year--a porch swing.  I've only wanted a porch swing ever since we moved into the house and asked for it at every opportunity.  And this year, for Mother's Day, I got it.  And I love it every bit as much as I thought I would.  I love it, love it, love it. :)

Naturally, the best part about the porch swing are these two cuties sitting in it.  I love that Merry Grace is posing in every picture, and Paige is doing her best to copy her.  It makes me laugh.

Another thing I love about our porch are the flowers.  Every year I let the kids paint a pot for our flowers.  This year we got one really big pot and the kids each painted a section.  They did so great. :)  They're cute and sentimental.  Poor Elise did have the section next to Paige's, which caused her some grief, since Paige doesn't exactly understand about staying inside the lines yet. 

Another reason to love our porch is this cute little bird's nest, built on the top of our wreath--and four cute little eggs inside it.  We love keeping tabs on the mama bird and her eggs.  So far I don't think we've scared her off. 

So there's my porch.  Now that I think about it, maybe I'll go out there and sit for a minute. *Happy Sigh.* :)

Pen and Ink

My Paigie-girl has a problem.  A problem with pens.  And ink. And markers, crayons, chalk, window markers, dry erase markers, pencils, colored pencils, lipstick, eyeliner and anything else that vaguely resembles a writing utensil.  She's written on the ottoman, the mousepad, her forehead, the bathtub, several important papers, her legs, Merry Grace's cheeks, the tile floor, the bathroom floor and probably a couple of other places I haven't discovered yet.  Part of me wants to throw my head back and let out one really good, really loud scream.  The other part of me wants to hang my head in defeat and realize I have met my match and my house will be ruined by this cute little almost 2-year old imp.  I think my best bet is to stock up on magic erasers and cleaning products.

I think I'm just going to spend a lot of time visualizing this cute little face, puckered up to give me a kiss.  I'm hoping that will help me block out the overwhelming number of things that are now covered in ink. :)

Watch out, Dasher

We had to run several errands today and were in the car for longer than usual.  Merry Grace had Christmas on her mind.  We sang "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" over and over.  I guess the songs led to her thinking about reindeer and such, and so we had the following conversation:

Merry Grace: (pleading)  "Mommy, can we please keep one of Santa's reindeer?"
Me: (puzzled and intrigued) "Keep one of Santa's reindeer?  I don't think so sweetie.  How would Santa fly his sleigh?
Merry Grace: (stating the obvious) "Not all of Santa's reindeer.  Just one.  You know, only one."
Me: "Well, where would we keep him?"
Merry Grace: (having already thought this through) "We could go to the store and get a cage and keep him in that and not let him out.  If we let him out, he would fly away, so we couldn't let him get out."
Me: (realizing there was quite a bit more thought involved than I previously thought) "Well, what would we feed him?"
Merry Grace: "I think we could just feed him dog food and kitty food.  Or maybe cereal and milk.  Or chocolate chip cookies and carrots with ranch dressing.  I think he would like that."

So, watch out, Dasher.  There is a nefarious plot in place to trap you in a cage in our yard.  I would recommend staying on the roof, no matter how appealing the carrots and cookies in the back yard look.