Camping!

This last weekend was our second ever family camping trip. This time we went to Bonham State Park, which is a little over an hour northeast of us. We left after Evan got out of school on Friday and came back on Sunday afternoon. We again went with some friends from our community group at church. This time there were 6 families camping and another family joined us for the day on Saturday.

This state park was smaller than the last one we went to, but had some really nice features. For one, we were right on the water. It made for a beautiful sunset our first night there. Unfortunately, it also made it more windy and colder, too. We really needed the campfire this weekend!


Being right on the lake also made it easier to fish, which Evan enjoyed. The sign tells you how many fish he caught, though. That was okay with him because there were other things to do, too. He played with lots of other kids the whole weekend (including making friends with other groups camping together). They played around the headquarters (which they called a fort), on the swings, in the "sandpit", and a few games of volleyball, too.


Some of the older kids in our group thought it would be fun to go swimming in the lake. This is allowed, but the adults did not advise it because of the temperature. We decided to let the kids learn by experience though, and they did. Evan did not want to do this (he was playing volleyball at the time), but Joel did. He tried to sneak in first, but we told him he could wade in if he rolled up his pants. He didn't go too far in, but he thought it was a lot of fun. You can't see in the pictures, but his fingers were so red. I know he had to be freezing, but he wouldn't admit it.


We also spent a lot of time around the campfire, as I said. By the last morning Joel wanted to sit with Steve or me at the campfire to stay warm. That last morning we had a mini-church service around the fire, too.


It warmed up quite a bit the last day. It was a beautiful day and we were a little sad that Saturday wasn't more like Sunday. Just before we left we took a little canoe ride around the lake. I had never been canoeing before (at least as an adult), but I have discovered that I really like it! I am glad that we have found a new activity to enjoy together as a family!

How can you tell that it's almost spring?

Here are a few signs from our neck of the woods:

the daffodils bloom

along with the peach tree (and the Bradford pears)

We can have playdates in the park

and at home, where we can draw with sidewalk chalk

blowing bubbles

It's been how long?!?

Well, I have been neglecting my little blog again, I see. Part of the reason is that I was sick. Part of the reason is that I started a new blog. Part of the reason is that I was waiting for something really cool to say. That hasn't happened, but I will share some recent pictures and activities with the boys.

I found out a birthday party of one of Evan's classmates that he is one of the heart-throbs in his class. I had no idea because he really only talks about the boys in his class - and the one girl that was in his kindergarten class and that we carpool with. She's okay because he already knew her and "she doesn't like girl stuff; she likes boy stuff." I have sense seen some evidence of this myself, and it cracked me up. One of the girls from his class was in a car a couple of cars back form the stop sign where we were waiting to cross. She started yelling "Hey, Evan!" very loudly. Our carpool buddy was with us, but she didn't get the same greeting. I had to tell Evan to respond to the yelled greeting that he had to have heard.

This morning Joel decided that our peach tree is now a girl tree because it has pink flowers on it. He didn't know what it was before. Also, just for the record, he told me the other day that pink was his favorite color.

Since we are enjoying a quite day at home today (just Joel, me, and the laundry and dishes) he has been having a lot of fun using his imagination. He asked to get the dinosaurs out first. He played with them for a little while. I had to get picture of this "creation" of his.Since I got a picture of it, he wanted to direct a photoshoot with some of the other dinosaurs. These are some of the resulting photos. I think I should have used a different setting (like I almost did), but Joel doesn't seem to mind.



Then he picked up all of the dinosaurs and got the Legos out. This is the castle he made today. He makes a lot of castles, but this one was pretty unique for him.
Now he is outside being a knight who put on a breastplate - or something like that. Nope - he moved on to diggin in the dirt with construction toys. It is a gorgeous day and he is enjoying himself! He has been asking for lunch (since breakfast) so I think I will call him in now. After that, we can both go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!

"Likes awards"

That was a phrase that Evan used to describe himself for a school assignment just one day before his 4th 6 weeks awards assembly. I had to smile when I saw it (as I was helping in the classroom as the time) because it is very true. He seems to have inherited his father's and mother's type-A school personality. He received 3 awards at his first awards assembly (honor roll, perfect attendance, and Pearson Pride). The next one assembly he "only" received 1 award (honor roll) and seemed a little disappointed. We discussed that you can't get every award every time, and he seemed to understand.

At this most recent assembly he received 4 awards. He was very excited! (He thinks that makes this the best 6 weeks he has had so far. ) He was on the honor roll again and also got Pearson Pride for his class again. This was the first 6 weeks for the first-graders to participate in AR (accelerated reading), and he got an award for reaching his AR goal. The librarian also selected one student from each class as a Strong Reader, and he got that award from his class, too. She took his picture and will post it on the bulletin board outside of the library. I had my camera on Friday, so I was able to take some pictures of him, too. The girl in the picture with him is our carpool buddy who got the other Pearson Pride from his class. Look closely at the picture of his back and see if you notice anything interesting - about his feet specifically.



I also had my camera with me on Thursday when I was helping in his classroom. I happened to be there when he was giving his presentation on his George Washington Carver poster, so I got a picture of that, too.
He read the parts he had written and was able to talk about it, too. I admit that I decided how the poster would be done, but he did read about George Washington Carver and we did talk about him a lot. So he did learn about him for this project.

Vivify Valentine's

Can you guess what the word of the day is on dictionary.com?

We did have some rip-roaring fun for Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, I can't post all of the pictures of the boys on the blog. (You will understand once I describe the after-dinner festivities.)

The day started with (whole wheat) chocolate chip muffins and strawberries on the side for breakfast. I contemplated putting the strawberries in the muffins, but Steve didn't think that sounded good, so I decided to experiment another time.

After church we took some pictures, and then just spent time together. No one was all that hungry, but after a couple of hours I made a spinach-artichoke dip that we ate with pita chips. Everyone (except Evan) enjoyed the dip, and it is a lower calorie and fat alternative to the restaurant dips. While snacking on that (and apples) we broke open a game I won from another blog and started tackling Twisted Fish. It is like Go Fish, but with more twists and challenges. I highly recommend it for older kids. (Joel is too young to play it, but the rest of us loved it.) We played several rounds until it was time to get dinner ready.

For dinner, we enjoyed fiesta ranch sliders with homemade wheat rolls and sweet potato fries. The dessert was red velvet cookies that were pretty good, if I do say so myself. (I got the recipe from another blog.) Dinner was a hit for everyone, which was a little surprising. The only other time we tried to have sliders was at a Chili's and the boys refused to eat them. They loved these, though, so I was very thankful.After dinner, the boys played Captain Underpants and both asked for wedgies from Steve and I. When we did not comply, they decided to give them to each other. Steve did get some blackmail pictures, but I am showing great restraint by not posting them here.

In other exciting news, Evan read his first chapter book this weekend. Can you guess what it was? Captain Underpants, of course!

Sharing some time (and pictures)

I am so thankful that Steve worked with me to allow me to be able to see our nephew Chance before he left for his deployment. I wasn't there all that long, but I got to spend one afternoon just hanging out with him and his family. The next day I got to see him lined up with the other 3200 members of his division at the farewell parade. Granted, there were so many visitors that I didn't get that close. And there are so many in the division that I can't tell you exactly where Chance was. He is somewhere in this photo, though.
That night we had a large family dinner to celebrate Chance and to send him off with our love. And when I say that it was large, I mean it! There were about 60 people there. (That is one of the benefits of being trained in a town near most of your extended family.)

I am so glad that I made the trip and that I got to spend the time with Chance. I also got to see a lot of other family and even an "old" friend that I haven't seen in years. It was a quick trip, but it was definitely worth it!

Please join me in praying for Chance as he serves our country overseas.

It's not goodbye

I am proud of all of my nieces and nephews, but today I am going to write about one of them in particular. Unfortunately, words are failing me at the moment. You see, Chance is going to be leaving in a few days to serve our country overseas as a member of the National Guard. I have watched him grow up, including have to tell him to take a shower when he was a camper at the summer camp where I was a counselor. I have listened to him talk about his dreams for his future as he was finishing high school. I was proud of him when he decided to join the National Guard shortly after that. I was also a little scared, though, knowing what that could mean. Chance has trained hard and well, and the time has come for him to deploy overseas. I am traveling to Mississippi to see him this week before he leaves next week. I want for him to know how much I love him and how proud I am of him. We will be praying for him and his family and trust that he will be in God's hands while he is away from us. And that this is not a goodbye.