busy fun

this weekend we went to WI

it was busy
(as it always is when we go)
but ... it was a fun kind of busy ...

you know,
the kind of busy where ...

you send the kids hiking up the mountain and put the 8 yr old in charge ...



let the kids play basketball and HOPE that the basketballs don't roll ALL the way down the hill ...

you let the puppies run and fight NONSTOP the ENTIRE weekend ...
knowing full well they will sleep really well for the next 2 days!
(speaking of puppies ... do you think they still know they are brother and sister?!)



AND ...
where you see the cow truck and decide that you don't care how bad they are for you ...
there are not better cheese curds anywhere on the planet ...
and you MUST stop!
mmmmm......
(thinking the COW truck needs to come visit MN)



it was the kind of weekend that you wish could happen more often ...
but by sunday night realize that it's probably a good thing it doesn't ...
because 3 tired kids ... are only fun for so long ;)

a different chewy

last week chewy went in for his first puppy groom.

he did a really good job -
but when she came to bring him to me i seriously thought she had brought the wrong dog!

he lost almost all of his black coloring -
in fact, his head and face are actually pure golden retriever color!
(it happened on the same day michael jackson died .. maybe there's something to it ... going black to white ...)

when alex saw him for the first time he said 'OH a different chewy!'
and then proceeded to call him 'different chewy' for the rest of the night.



you're still cute, little guy.
you just really are ...
a different chewy!

backstage with the bible

the kids had SO much fun at VBS this week -
but sadly it is over :(

the go fish curriculum - backstage with the Bible - ROCKED!!
(if you have any say in your church's VBS curriculum - SERIOUSLY check it out!)

it was the perfect combination of strong bible basics with lots of go fish fun mixed in.
all of the kids loved it!!



drew got an extra special surprise when on the first day one of the kids that was in his cabin at camp last week showed up -
and was in his group!! (he's in the picture above)

alex got to spend time with his friends and LOVED the crafts -
but then freaked out EACH day because his paper never made it home without getting a wrinkle in it.

and

ben got to be in a crazy group with his friends - and says he really liked the games ;)
we had BEAUTIFUL weather so they were able to play games outside all week!

the weather also gave us the perfect opportunity to spend some time over at our friends' house on the lake.
a boys paradise.
and a mom's ;)

thanks, micki, for a fun day ;)

and

thanks, go fish (and the girls behind the curriculum ... *wink*) for an incredible week as well!!

just in case you were wondering ...

just in case you have ever asked yourself

'why you reek when you sweat' ...

according to ben ...

'there are germs in your sweat and germs fart. and that is what makes you smell'

happy fathers day!

happy father's day, stacey!



that's right ... it's your day ... now GET TO WORK!

ok kidding.
this is not today ... if you follow my 365, you would know friday was the day we worked on our mulch;)

BUT ... it does illustrate what i want to say ...

you are a great daddy.
you have 3 boys that look up to you,
that want to be like you,
and want to do what you do.

thank you for being the daddy that you are
and
thank you for working so hard and giving up what you do
so that we can be the family that we are.
(like not walking the 18 holes and taking a cart - JUST for the boys ;) te he he)

you are so special to them
and
to me.

i love you.

camp reflections

so i posted MY pictures from camp - but never got to drew's.
he had taken 3 the entire time he was there-
(obviously doesn't take after me quite yet in that area. i take 3 of one pose just to guarantee a good shot!)
one of his counselor, one of his CIT, and one of he and janel.

janel was their 'cabin buddy'.
janel came to tuck them in at night.
janel was the one that if you were missing your mom and dad (it's not called 'homesick) came and snuggled with you until you were feeling better.
basically janel was there to make sure that you were doing ok and that you felt comfortable at camp.



when i found out about janel and her 'role' at camp i was quite impressed.
how smart to have someone like that - especially during the weeks the younger campers are there!!!
drew loved her and has told us a lot about her so i wanted to 'remember her' on here
since ultimately this blog is 'my journal';)

another funny connection was that we found out that drew's counselor was from around here -
and went to school with the sons of the boy's preschool teacher, who we all miss and adore ...
it put my mind at ease when i found that she couldn't give me any dirt on him -
and that he came from a really good family :)

a week ago today i was sitting here thinking about missing drew.
and when i look back ...
at first thinking about leaving drew was tough -
but the more excited he got
and the more i found out about the people that were watching over him ...
the more at ease i got.
camp was DEFINITELY a good experience for all of us
and i am REALLY excited for when we can send him again.

(and no it's not JUST because the house gets 10 times quieter)

just when i start to think we have a lot of fun ...

with drew being at camp for the first time he went on a 'short week'.
this meant that we had to go pick him up yesterday.
with ben having a hard time with drew gone we decided it would be fun to take him on a little getaway.
we found someone to watch alex and chewy (thanks kelly!)
and went and spent the night in a hotel before picking up drew.
ben thought he was SO cool having stacey and i to himself -
and we really enjoyed getting that time that we typically don't get.
life seems SO easy when you are used to 3 and are taken down to 1 :)

the next morning we woke up and drove the remaining hour and a half to camp.
drew was excited to see us -
but quick to let us know that he hadn't really missed us ...
and that he wished he could stay up there all summer -
4 days was DEFINITELY not long enough.



the best part of camp?

shooting a BB gun - he got a bulls eye!!

but that was just ONE of the MANY highlights ...

he went canoeing down the hidden river,
went fishing,
shot a slingshot,
swam at the beach,
played light tag,
helped decorate his cabin,
painted a surf board,
sang in 'the looney bin',
rode horses,
did the polar dip (swimming at 6am in the rain),
and SO much more.

all of this was GREAT fun ...
BUT ...
it made returning home pretty rough.
he was SO sad all night ...
and wanted nothing more than to be back at camp.

poor guy.

knowing that he had so much fun has made us consider sending him for a full week at the end of the summer ...
we just have to decide if we can handle the crash that would follow! ;)

am i really THAT old?!

it seems like just yesterday i was leaving drew for his first day of kindergarten ...



BUT NOW ...
i have a 3rd grader!!
AND ...
i just left him at camp today!!
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!!!

he was SO SO SO excited!
i think i can honestly say he couldn't wait for stacey and i to leave.

thankfully, because he was so excited,
it made it easier for me.
i knew that he REALLY wanted to be there
and i trusted that he was in really good hands.



he has his friend, gordy ....

and a to-do-list that i am pretty sure they will never complete in the time they have.
-------
i came home today -
having not shed a single tear.

UNTIL ...
i went to check on ben tonight...
and he was laying in drew's bed,
hugging drew's webkins tight,
and sobbing :(
we took a minute and talked about camp - and i explained that drew was having fun,
i asked if he wanted to e-mail drew, and he did.
well, we came to write the e-mail,
and while thinking about what to tell drew about his day,
he lost it again :(
at that point ...
so did i.

so much for being the strong one ;)

instant metamorphosis

earlier this week we got 10 tadpoles from drew's class ...
yes i said TEN ... anyone want a pet frog?!

ever since picking them up alex has been SO fascinated with them.

he likes to have them by him while he eats ...
he likes to feed them ...
(thankfully NOT the food he is eating)
and he likes to just sit and watch them ...



since day one, however, he has been mad about one thing ...
he's hung up on the whole metamorphosis thing and why it takes SO long!

in fact ... on the first day ... after having watched them diligently for the first TEN minutes we had them,
he got REALLY frustrated and walked away saying "THEY ARE STILL NOT FROGS!!!"

poor guy.
not sure i should even try to explain how long 4 to 6 weeks is ;)

an efficient 2 yr old ... and a clueless crowd

this is a shot of the students and parents at johnsville today.
they were there for an end of the year award presentation ...



... BUT got MUCH more than just that ;)

this is a shot of the view that this same crowd had of alex as he came out of the woods ...
with his pants around his ankles :)

thankfully i don't think anyone had a clue what was going on over on the other side of the field ;)

too bad for them ...

i'm thinking it would have made the awards ceremony a WHOLE lot more exciting ;)

as long as he sleeps ...

when stacey and i came to bed ...
we walked past the boys bathroom ...
and this is what we found ...



a sleeping ben.

in the middle of the bathroom floor.


NOW ... my motto has always been 'whatever works' ...
apparently, ben has decided to live by the same.

it's that time!

i remember, when i was in school, how excited i was on this particular day ...
and now it's so fun to see that same excitement in my kids ...

the school yearbook may have only come out today ...
but ours have already been looked over MILLIONS of times ...
in fact ... it even provided the main source of entertainment at baseball tonight.



now, on any 'normal baseball night' it is fun to watch the siblings from drew's team interact -
they get along really well and they keep very busy.
BUT ... tonight as they looked through their yearbook together it was even better!

(and of the bunch of pictures that i took, this one cracks me up most- the girls are looking at ben like he said something funny. but his friend, AJ, doesn't look so amused. HA! )
----------------------

all the while ...

drew and his team were busy playing baseball in what seemed like a beautiful june snow.

... stinkin' cottonwood fluff ...

a little growin of their own

we are SLOWLY working on our landscaping.

the areas of the yard that need landscaping paper and mulch aren't all ready ...
so i have been working on getting flowers in my pots.
earlier in the week i took alex and ben to the store and let them choose whatever small plants they wanted - with the plan that they would put together 2 pots of their own.

FINALLY ... we found the time to plant them.
i helped them a bit -
but they chose where the flowers went - got them planted and watered.

the pots turned out being so cute i moved the pots that i previously had up front to the backyard -
so that i can use ben and alex's pots up on the porch.



i may have spent
$10 on plants
and
$8 on dirt
but ... ben and alex were kept VERY busy
and are SO proud of their creations
SO ...
it was money that was very WELL spent.

stop and catch the moment, would ya?!

it may look as though he is simply the catcher for a 7/8 yr old baseball team ...
BUT ...
so far this week he has

a. asked me if he could get a summer job

and

b. told me he is really excited to start junior high
(because when he was there for baseball pictures he noticed they had lots of vending machines ... HA!)

you may be ready for those things ...
but i am most definitely NOT ...
slow down, drew!!

track n field part 2

today was ben's track n field day

it was a PERFECT day outside!
an afternoon jam packed with ...
a soccer kick ...
a long run ...
a bean bag throw ...
an egg race ...



a gunny sack race ...
(where i took part in the 'mom race' and i think i may have found my hidden talent! and ...ya ... i know ... nice hair. stupid hairband.)



the long jump ...
an obstacle course ...
and just having fun outside.

not sure if i've mentioned ... but his class has 16 boys and 5 girls.
so you can imagine there is a WHOLE lot of energy ...
and a WHOLE lot of fun to be had when it comes to outdoor events!

they finished the day off with a tug of war against the other kindergarten classes ...

and then a final tug of war against some of their parents!!
(can i just say ... it is not very easy to let the kids win! it seemed as though they ended up falling all over each other and basically giving up before we could even give them control of the rope!)

nice job, ben!
you rocked!

the scoop ...

tonight was ben's baseball night.

team mullen decided to come cheer the boys on near the end of the game.
SO ...
we decided that was the perfect excuse to go get some ice cream!!

("we" being ...team mullen, team barnett, and team sculthorp)

we went to our local ice cream shop and it was really good ;)

(aside from the fact that i had to help alex keep up with his cone -
and his chocolate chip ice cream was not NEARLY as good as my praline)

i can see this becoming a very dangerous habit ;)

come cheer us on more often, k, katherine ;)