Oh, this crazy summer

Now that summer weather seems to be returning, with temperatures getting back to the 80's and 90's, summer is in many ways almost over. And it was a very full one.

A 40th wedding anniversary party for my parents, week long visit from our Japanese friend and her daughter, two camping trips in two different states, a baby shower, a wedding shower, etc. And on top of all that, we were preparing for my brother-in-law, Stephen, to move in.

After almost two years here (yay for not moving!), we had to take everything out of S's room to clear it out for Stephen. He's 19 and decided to move in with us because there are better job opportunities here than in rural Ohio. He was ready to leave the house, but not interested in college at this point. So we let him know a while back that he was welcome to come here. He told us in the spring that he definitely was going to come. I'm sure the fact that his girlfriend is going to school on the north side had NOTHING to do with his final choice. :)

So, I spent a good part of the summer throwing things away, donating them, consolidating them, reconfiguring our storage space, researching bedding and storage options and more. We ended up getting a bunk bed for the kids since they are sharing a room. S isn't quite ready for the unrestricted-ness of the bottom bunk, so for now the room is quite packed. Two dressers, a bunk bed, a changing table, a crib and their toys all in one room. Thank God the room is a decent size! And we found it very satisfying to buy our kids a new bed just for them. We realized that James and I had never bought a new bed for us or the kids (all used or hand-me-down) and only once had either of us had a new bed before we were married (my sister and I got the most uncomfortable metal futon bunk beds when I was in high school). It was cool to be able to buy something nice for our boys that will last them a while.

The transition hasn't been easy for the boys. K loves the bunk bed but S (who has been my good sleeper) hasn't adjusted well and often keeps K awake as a result. There is more light in this room than S's old one. He is also right by the door, which opens onto a small hallway that leads to both the bathroom and kitchen. So lots more noise and activity to keep him up at night, and nap time. Not to mention the fact that Stephen's bedroom can only be reached through the boys' bedroom. S is used to being in the back room so all the coming and going, lights and noises, and easy access to the toy box next to his crib and the bottom bunk has made sleeping harder. We never know when he'll start throwing things on K's bed or pile all the toys he can reach in his crib with him.

It's been 2 1/2 weeks so I'm hoping that it calms down and we all get used to the changes soon.

Now on to our busy fall!

Camping, Part Du Ex Machina (sort of)

For years and years now, James and I have been traveling from Illinois to Ohio to visit his family. That is, of course, when we and/or his family have lived close enough. When we were in Colorado or they were in New York, then we didn't see each other as much. In the close times, though, its only about a three hour drive. Not super close or cheap (lots of tolls and high gas prices) but very, very doable.

Twice a year, James's sister and her family come in from New York to visit. We always make sure to be there at those times so we can see them. And we all stay at my in-laws' house. It is a decent sized farm house that they rent in the country, but the families keep growing, as families are wont to do. Last Christmas the four of us, the now five of James's sister's family, the other four of James's family (parents and two brothers), James's 96-year-old grandmother (who lives with his parents most of each year) and a friend of the family who was living there for a while were all in the house at the same time! For the math averse, that's 15 people aged nine months to 96 living together for a few days in the Ohio winter! Two babies, three young kids, two teenagers, five twenty to thirty-somthings, two middle agers and one senior. Whew.

Needless to say, it was crazy. We were sleeping on all kinds of surfaces and all sharing one bathroom. It's always fun to have the kids together since they keep each other busy. The grown-ups enjoy hanging out in the evenings to watch movies or play games or talk. The grandparents have all their grandkids under one roof to lavish with love and playtime. But it was crazy! We love seeing everyone, but there is NO alone time and NO break from all the noise and busy-ness.

This summer, due to the fullness but also to make this family trip more of a vacation, we decided to camp at a nearby campground at a place called Sauder Village. James used to work at the Sauder Heritage Inn when we lived in Ohio a couple of years ago. We love to go to the Historic Village and were planning to make a visit this time around. So we booked a campsite.

The campground was beautiful! Right on a little lake. So we got to go to sleep to this:

And wake up to this:

Now this picture is a bit deceiving because it was the last day and no one else was around anymore. However, the first night the campground was totally full and the sites are pretty close to each other. The fire pits you see above were one per site and the one James and K are standing by was for the next site over from us. That was the scene of the trouble our first night.

It was more challenging with young kids to be camping at night, especially to try to get them in bed at a decent time. I came back to the tent about seven the first night to get the kids ready since they were tired. After all our preparations: pjs, snacks, teeth brushing, arranging the tent, reading, etc. It was still super bright outside and there were people talking all around. I spent a couple of hours trying to help the kids wind down and shut out the noises. Both almost fell asleep only to wake up again. K almost fell asleep while we were reading at 8, then ended up awake until after 10. James was hanging out with his brother and I thought maybe I'd get a little time alone while the kids slept. No dice.

The group next to us was a bunch of guys. The campground quiet time wasn't until 11pm (which seemed later than normal to me) and the guys took the eleven very seriously. They talked and played games until eleven exactly. Then they left, which was nice. Around when they left, the family on the other side (who seemed odious, based on the way they talked and interacted with each other) came back to get ready for bed. They left their car on, with headlights blaring into our tent for over twenty minutes while they got ready. ARG! After they settled down, James came back.

Then around midnight, the guys came back. I figured they'd go to sleep then, since it was after quiet time and they'd already been talking and doing stuff FOREVER. Sorry guys next door, but I don't care how much you run, camp and fish. You are stupid. SHUT UP!

But they did not. They started over. Rebuilt the fire, got out more food, continued talking at normal volume right next to our tent. One guy outright said he had no intention of going to bed until 1:30. 

I passive aggressively flashed my flashlight at them and shushed them for a while. I wanted to go talk to them, point out that they were breaking the rules and I was prepared to break their legs (I get angry when sleep deprived) but they were drinking and there were other campers trying to sleep too so I didn't want to escalate things. James finally called security at the hotel and they came about 1:15 or so. The guys then spent FORTY-FIVE minutes getting ready for bed. Putting out the fire, putting away the food, etc. All while STILL talking. Then they got into the tent and giggled and talked like Junior High girls before finally going to sleep after two in the morning. Of course, it took another hour or so for James and I to sleep. Annnnnnd, K woke up at 5:30. I really wanted to send him to the neighbors' tent, but I didn't.

Not such a fun night of camping.

The second night was nice. Only two other people were still there on Sunday night, and they were quieter than before. And it was only hot, not scorching. We actually slept for most of the night.

The third night was scorching. I checked my phone at 2:30 in the morning, while James and I lay there not sleeping a wink, and the temperature was still 85 degrees. Outside. We got up and took the top (the rain cover) off the tent for even a hint of a breeze. The tent was also full of ants, so that wasn't fun to have them crawling all over us. I later realized that there is a cord flap on the side of the tent if you want to hook up electrical devices through the tent that we didn't zip shut. And the kids had gotten crumbs all over, so it was ant city. At least they didn't bite. But we still didn't get much sleep. And woke at six to rain in the tent. At least the rain was cooling. 

We kept dreaming of camping in the fall. To wear sweaters and have a fire going. To be chilly in the morning and pile together for warmth. That sounded a lot more fun. This summer is proving once and for all that we are not summer people. I hate being hot. It makes me angry. If I'm cold, I just get quiet, pile on the clothes and blankets and get some hot tea. Much better than angry.

So, I'm not sure if it was the answer to our overcrowding at the house to camp. It was more work and more inconvenience, despite the beauty and novelty. And having a nice, large bathroom we didn't have to wait in line to use. Back to the drawing board, I guess!

A-camping we will go!

A couple of years ago, when James and I discussed some things we wanted for our family, we talked about camping. It was something I did occasionally with my family and with my youth group at church. James didn't do much camping at all. We thought it sounded like something that would be good and fun for us and our two boys and really liked the idea of getting good at it.

That first summer we went camping once. It was before S was born, it was cool for August, it rained, the campground was great and had a private beach on Lake Michigan, and we borrowed my sister's tent. We all had fun, despite some of the downsides and the fact that I was just starting my "all day sickness" at the beginning of my pregnancy so the campfire smell (which I usually love) got turned into a nausea inducing smell that I'm just now coming out of. Amazing how those things linger. It was a decent beginning to our camping career.

Last year, we borrowed our friends' tent and camped near Niagara Falls on our way to Maine. We planned to camp more of the time, but a few different problems interfered so it was only the one day. We had fun again, and learned a little more about the process. Namely, have some food ready to eat when you get to the campground because it is hard to set up a tent, start a fire and cook your food while wrangling little boys!

This year, we made the jump and bought our own tent. Target had a sale on a six person Coleman tent: $69 down from $101. With our Target card we saved 5%, with my Mypoints membership we got free shipping so the total was only $69 and some change with tax! Since it had good reviews and it was such a good sale, we bought it and it was at our door within two days! I set it up before we used it to make sure it was all there and working before we needed it to provide shelter. The boys helped me test it by running around inside and around the outside.

Our first camping trip of this year was to the place we went on our first camping trip three years ago, to Covert Park and Campground in Michigan. We were planning a beach day with my family on Monday, so we decided to camp Sunday night and meet at the beach on Monday. Then I convinced (without too much work) my family to stay at the campground too. The place has these two campsites up on a big dune hill that are secluded from the rest of the sites. There are a lot of stairs to get up there:

Not fun for hauling up all our stuff, but very cool otherwise.

My sisters, nephew and my family had those two sites on the hill. My parents declared that they were too old to sleep on the ground, so they rented one of the cabins available. It had beds with mattresses, a table and chairs and electricity. Plus it was closer to the bathrooms.

The benefit of staying overnight was that we got to swim until the sun set, then wake up and go to the beach for the sunrise! As soon as the kids woke up, we headed down. 

The sun rose on the opposite side of the lake, but that didn't make it any less beautiful!

James is the photographer of the family, so I try to take his picture to make sure we have evidence that he does come with us on these adventures!

Cousins hanging out on the beach in their pj's.

My handsome boy.

After morning beaching, we went back up for a campfire breakfast. Then it was more beach! We were too busy swimming for pictures. When S wanted a snack break, we broke out the granola bars and juice boxes.

He was so tired from a late night and early morning, that he actually fell asleep in my arms on the beach. He hasn't done that in a while, so it was nice to get those moments with him.

Meanwhile, James started helping K with a sand castle, then got really into it. K wandered to a different place, but James kept working.

It was a great mini vacation, and the only negatives were a bunch of bug bites (for James), and sunburns (for K and James). Not too shabby.

Back with our second camping adventure soon!

Book Review: Riven

I am a Christian, yet most categorically "Christian" things annoy me. Christian fiction definitely included. I usually avoid most of the stuff at the Christian bookstore (in the rare occasions I've actually even gone into that store). The way people pander to a demographic just to sell things like books and music is SO frustrating. And usually false. Reading a book that supposedly reflects my views, but with a shiny cover and oddly phrased language makes me want to burn books. And I LOVE books. Needless to say, I don't read very much so-called Christian fiction.

That said, I was excited when our church came out with a recommended reading list for the summer. Not required, just some books that some of the leaders are familiar with and knew would be encouraging and interesting reads. I love my church and the fact that they don't often fall into the stereotypes of what most of the world thinks of when they hear the word Christian. I trust our leaders and learn a lot there, which is why we make a forty-five minute drive every week to attend!

The first book I got from the list was Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins. I read all 500+ pages over about three days and was completely blown away. This is a wonderful book that I'm now going to recommend to everyone I know!

The story follows two characters and switches back and forth between them throughout the book. One is a middle aged pastor who hasn't been treated very well by the different small churches he has pastored and ends up working as the chaplain in a supermax prison. As a result of years of struggle and obstacles (family drama, work disappointments, the depressing nature of the prison, watching a death row inmate die) he's not feeling very loved or taken care of by God. He keeps his faith, but has to face his doubts and fears. The other character is a boy from the trailer park, literally. He grew up rough and though he gets a few chances from a few sympathetic people over the years, he's constantly fighting against poverty, addiction and his own poor choices until he ultimately ends up on death row himself. Then the two characters encounter each other and God and miraculous things happen.

Though very entertaining, Riven is also very real, encouraging, and convicting. Never did I feel the Christian characters were one dimensional or over simplified. The view of poverty, crime, addiction, and sin wasn't heavy handed or didactic. The whole thing was just right. I've met these people before. I've faced some similar situations (though this book wasn't much about relating for me). I cried through the last couple of chapters (and I'm not much of a crier) and when I finished reading, I was different because of it.

I can't say enough about this book. It was more than worth the read and I'm really looking forward to more similarly impacting reads!

Lego/Angry Birds Birthday

After a loooong procrastination on my part, here is the info on K's 6th birthday party. I didn't take any photos that day (too busy!) and put off getting them from James's phone so I could post them. And, I forgot to ask him to take specific pictures of some of the stuff we did to decorate with the theme. Oh, well.

K decided on a Lego theme a few months before his birthday. However, we didn't find a lot of good stuff for decorating for that, and he saw some Angry Birds plates and napkins that he liked, so we merged the two ideas into a Lego/Angry Birds party! He does love both. And a lot of aspects merge together, as you will see in some of the pictures.

Once again, I got a lot of ideas from Pinterest. Thus, the day before the party I was making a Lego piñata in the dining room! (Note the open laptop next to me for reference.) Got the idea here and here.

And, once again, I was very grateful for an artistic husband who was willing and able to make these cool gift bags.

One thing that is really hard with kids, and in this case parties for kids, is that they want to help. K gets into helping get ready, which is great. I want him to help and be involved in his own day. However, us adults have to try not to get mad at the kids for messing stuff up when we are trying so  hard to make it look good! James made these great bags and then K wanted to add his own art and write the names on the bags. You can see some of K's additions here, but before the party he had completely covered some of the bags with scribbles. We didn't get angry at him, but man is it is hard to bite your tongue after you've worked so hard to make it cool and then it ends up just looking messy!

This is almost the entire group of kids at present time. They were very good and no one tried to open any of K's presents! I love it when kids grow up! (And a look through most of our photos reveals this scene over and over: me surrounded by children!)

The merging of Lego and Angry Birds was best seen here, in our live action Angry Birds game.

My sister had this big set of plastic Legos. They open up to put things in and stack together with the little holes and dents, just like real Legos. So I came up with the idea to stack the plastic Legos, put K's one Angry Bird pig toy into the stack and have the kids throw his Angry Bird stuffed toys (and some other stuffed birds we have) at the whole thing. (For those not acquainted with the AB game, that is the basic idea. Pigs try to hide in "castles" made different materials and then the birds get tossed at the structures until all the pigs are knocked down.) They loved it! Other than some squabbles over position in line, it was great! (The original idea was to do this but this way I got to use Legos too.)

The day was very hot, about 95 degrees, so we were inside and outside the whole time, so there were times to cool off. This next picture shows one of the few shots of the decorative stuff. K and I made utensil and napkin holders out of his Legos. (Look at the front of the picnic table.)

We didn't get any shots of the balloons, though. My sister has helium at her work, so she blew up a bunch of green balloons that James then drew Angry Birds' pigs on and Lego faces. I filled Mason jars with assorted Legos and tied the balloon to them. It was windy that day, so it wasn't too successful outside, but still a good idea!

The finished piñata, I made it pull string because we had a mix of little kids (2-3 year-olds) and bigger kids (6-7 year-olds). It actually worked out that the last string was the one that opened the piñata, so everyone got a turn!

Since the fake tattoos were so popular for S's party, when I found a package of 200 Angry Birds tattoos at Target, I snapped it up! Most of the kids had full tattoo sleeves by the end of the party. :)

I also made another foray into a theme cake. I made two cakes in bread loaf pans, put half a large marshmallow on a toothpick and frosted. My sister was big into Legos years ago and had this big Lego board I was able to use as a platter. Perfect! The colors got a bit blown out in this photo, but I was able to get pretty close to the primary colors of Lego bricks. These were the colors K chose. (The idea for the marshmallows was from a friend, but I came up with the rest myself.)

A little easier to see here. I had to keep the candles in the doorway so the wind didn't blow them out before K could!

Other party fun: 

I spy the Lego Guy. James made a few Lego guy heads out of cardboard that I taped around the house and had the kids run around to find. 

Guess how many Legos in a jar.

We were going to do a Lego building contest, but ran out of time and energy.

Another party note, for anyone else looking for ideas-since we did a piñata, at K's request, we made the goody bags for the kids to fill with piñata goodies and didn't try to get extra stuff. I put goody bag stuff in the piñata, like Lego erasers, candy from the Dollar Store (but the chocolate melted in the heat!), bouncy balls and other little gifts from the Dollar Store and dollar section of Target.

This party was fun, but I think I tried too many ideas at once. The 7th birthday might need to be toned down a bit!

Age ain't nothin' but a number

And that number is six! K turned six yesterday! I can't say "I can't believe I have a six-year-old" because I can believe it. I think I've felt every one of those years. And he certainly acts and looks so much older.

From age four to five he made the transition from baby to little boy. He went from this:

To this:

Hard to believe there is only a one year difference between these photos, isn't it?!?! I felt like I was literally watching him grow up. It seemed like I could actually see a day to day difference in him. Most of that baby fat was gone and he became mostly arms and legs.

From five to six, it has been a process of little boy to all boy. The all arms and legs thing was joined with a shooting up and thinning out that would almost be alarming if I didn't know that that's what happens when you grow up. I was quite the bean pole in my day, too. K is SO skinny now, and almost all of that plumpness of cheek is gone. I can't find any good recent pictures right now to evidence theses changes, but I'll have plenty after his birthday party on Monday.

So, after six years, three states, five different homes, one broken arm, one minor surgery, one cavity, countless testings of our patience, and countless more instances of his sweetness and intelligence, our little boy is healthy, fun and growing into the boy he's supposed to be! Happy Birthday to my eldest!

Dinosaur 2nd Birthday

Welcoming people to his party. :)

S is very into animals, including dinosaurs. I wasn't totally sure what basic theme to do this year, but K decided for me the week before the party. He thought dinosaurs was best! Since we have lots of dinosaurs between the two boys, and I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find party stuff at the store, it was a go.

At the party store I found plates, napkins and a few other things. The only other thing I bought, apart from the paper goods, was dinosaur tattoos. With my two boys and my 2 1/2 year old nephew as the only kids at the party, I knew they'd be really into tattoos!

My approach to kid parties has been to do a big family party for the first one, small family parties for ages 2-3 and then a bigger party with friends for 4 and up. So, this party was the four of us, my parents, my sisters, my nephew and my grandma. The other grandparents and aunts and uncles are out of state, so unfortunately, they weren't at this one.

Since this was a smaller party and since I've been very tired and overwhelmed lately, I didn't put a ton of effort into this one. But it was perfect for S and a fun time none-the-less.

K helped me decorate with the dinosaur toys we already had. He put them everywhere he could think of! I just had to explain to him when he got upset that putting toys where S or his cousin could reach them meant that they wouldn't stay where he put them! K had some fights with his brother at first, and kept trying to explain why S couldn't play with his own toys, but then he gave up on that useless task.

Well-read dinosaur. He conquered the book mountain!

Dinos in all forms: Rex from Toy Story, sand filled one, little dollar store ones,

wax one from the zoo,

more small ones and a dinosaur skeleton to keep the presents company.

In our family, there are some non-cake eaters. I know, I know! Craziness! Blasphemy! But I still need to make sure to have some kind of dessert for the non-cake people. This year I decided to make chocolate chip cookies, since they are a general crowed pleaser. Due to laziness/tiredness, I then decided I ONLY wanted to make the cookies. So I bought two colored tubes of frosting, plus I had a clearance tub of peppermint frosting in the cabinet. I made about half of the cookies larger size and we just decorated them ourselves! I frosted S's and put a "2" candle on it so we could sing happy birthday. Everyone else did the work themselves. We had ice cream too, and I barely had to do anything! The benefit of laziness!

Most of the present opening is three kids, surrounding me and the presents. Not easy to get pictures!

He got more dinosaurs and animals. Each toy had to be played with as soon as it was opened, of course!

Birthdays can be emotional.

That's a sticker on his forehead, and he had to try out his new swim ring right away!

So, we made it through another birthday party! The kids had fun and S is still loving all his new toys.