Wonderful weekend!

We were childless for the weekend! :) Mom and dad took the boys for the weekend so that we and some friends of ours could go on Saturday to one of the local wineries and take a tour. I'd been there last year with the college girls that came to MO, but Terry still had never been. We really enjoyed the live band and getting to try several different wines so that we could figure out which ones we liked! :)

We went to get the kids last night and they were WOUND! I kept asking mom what she gave them before we got there, cuz they just wouldn't settle down! They were loud and full of energy. But by the time we got home they had settled down considerably. They even commented on how clean the house was when they walked in! LOL Now, if a 5 and 7 year old will notice it when it's clean, it must be really bad beforehand, which it was!

This week is a 'normal' week for us. We have TKD twice and then Presidents with our homeschool group on Thursday morning. We've just started, but we're doing George Washington and John Adams and we'll work our way through the list. I'm really pretty excited about it, as I never learned them in school and have always wanted to learn about the Presidents. Cool!

This weekend, we'll be going to Salem so we can celebrate Clayton's birthday with the family there. It will be our first time going in since the first of August! It's not like us to go so many weeks without visiting, but life has just gotten so crazy! Clayton is excited about getting to FINALLY celebrate his birthday (even though it hasn't even occurred yet), as he's been waiting for months for his birthday! But hey, at least THIS year I have his scrapbook caught up to his 2nd birthday, so we have pictures to share with him. (He's only been asking for that for a couple years, but hey, what can I say???)

K, time to go get them ready for TKD and get supper started. One of these days, Sunny, I'll get some pics on here of myself and get out from behind the camera! :) No one will take pictures if I don't do it! LOL

Campout 2008!

We have been planning this family camping trip for weeks....months even! Terry promised the boys that he would take them camping by the end of summer and this ended up being the ONLY weekend we had to do it. So, we left on Thursday with plans to come back on Saturday. We went to St. Francois State Park, about an hour from us, and it was truly beautiful! Course, it helped that we were completely alone on our 'loop' for the first 36 hours and the kids could roam all over the area where we were and go exploring in other sites. I told them that as long as I could see them, I was comfortable with where they went. They absolutely loved it!

But the trip started out a bit ....well, shall we say wet! It was sprinkling on us before we ever even picked out our site and backed into it. We were supposed to unload our stuff and go pay for the site, but we knew that since it was raining we would need to get the tent up asap and then go pay. Luckily, the campground host was driving around and came to us while we were putting the tent up and we just paid that way. So nice. Anyway, it rained that entire night! Thankfully, we had a couple extra tarps so we were able to rig a canopy by tying a tarp up between some trees just outside our tent. The rained calmed a bit before supper and we went and got some wood....Let me just say here that whoever is supplying the state parks with wood is making a bundle of money...or perhaps they aren't, but the state is! This little bitty bundle of wood that burns up fast cuz it is so dry is $3. We spent $15 on wood that would have gotten us through the first day, maybe. But we had to have a fire that night so we could eat, so we paid the money. Ugh!

We got back to the site and Terry built a fire, showing the boys how to stack the wood so it would burn well and catch quickly. I was truly amazed at how the boys would just sit out in the rain watching their daddy build a fire and helping him chop kindling. :) Anyway, they finally got the fire going and started roasting some hot dogs. I got the chips, ketchup, mustard, and buns and sodas over under our little canopy. Terry would bring me a couple pokers filled with cooked dogs and I would slide them off with the buns, doctor them up and pass them out. We all sat under the canopy eating our supper while the rain continued to fall! Course, one piece of entertainment was how the canopy would build up a bit of water and then it would fall off...the boys said the canopy was peeing for us! LOL

(Obviously cuz of the rain I don't have any pictures of the beginning of our trip....I didn't want to take the chance of ruining my camera!)

We finally got to bed...the boys were asking for their beds by 8 PM!!! I was shocked! But it was nice for Terry and I...we got to sit out by the campfire and visit, alone, for a couple hours! And the rain stopped just so we could....we only got dripped on by the trees! But once we got into the tent for bed, we had only been laying there about 10 minutes when we heard this loud, "sshhhhhhhhh....thunk!" and then, "Dad, I fell out of bed!" It was Brent. The boys were sleeping on an air mattress that was raised up on a frame and we were on a mattress on the ground. Well, apparently Clayton had continually scooted over to Brent, and Brent kept scooting from Clayton...and ended up in the floor! Poor kid! He fell out of bed twice through the night, so none of us really got much sleep that first night. But oddly enough, we all woke up feeling well and rested...and ready to tackle the day!

Friday morning was a bit cloudy still, but you could see a little blue sky trying to show through, so we were hopeful! We got around, Terry stoked the fire...well, rebuilt it really cuz there weren't any coals left from that dried out wood we had to use....and we had breakfast of Pop tarts, Granola bars, and juice. Very easy but a treat for us, cuz those aren't things we have much at all at our house! We decided to go back up to a place a couple miles from the park where we'd seen a sign for firewood to see what the cost would be. The guy LOADED that back of the van with nice round pieces of wood and only charged us $20! When we got back, the boys helped Terry unload it:





Just a few minutes after we got back from getting the wood, mom and dad came for lunch. We made campfire sandwiches...well, we tried to make them anyway...! If you've never had them, campfire sandwiches are these GREAT camping tools that create sandwiches for you when you stick them in the coals. Most of them are square, but you can find round ones sometimes. They are sort of like hot dog pokers, but have a square compartment at the end instead of the pokers. Anyway, you put in bread, cheese and lunch meat (ham is best) and close it up and stick in the coals. Watch it for a bit (opening and checking it so it doesn't burn, which ours did!) and when it is toasted and the cheese is melted, you pop it out onto a plate and bam-o! You have a hot ham and cheese! YUM! Then at night for dessert, you can butter the outsides of the bread and fill it with pie filling and cook it...instant pie! :)

Well, after mom and dad left, we took the kids to the playground area and to the creek. Oh, the creek was hilarious! It is always amazing how kids can play for a long time with a rock and not want to play at all with toys you have purchased! We skipped rocks and the boys had fun just throwing rocks in the creek. Then we encouraged them to wade into the creek (it was only about chest deep for Brent) and they had so much fun! Brent found this rock (pic below) that he continually would throw across the water, let it splash and sink, and then find it again...only to do it all over again. He played like that for over 30 minutes!

(Left: B splashing himself with his rock. Right: B 'looking' for his rock after throwing it.)



Clayton figured out that he couldn't keep his flip flops on very well in the water (they kept coming off and floating to the top) so he decided to just take them off and play with them!




Left: Clayton watching the dirt 'trail' that he left behind and that floated down-river every time he walked. Right: Clayton "dog-paddling" in the creek.



Just some more misc. creek picture...





These below are pics of Brent's rock that he found and then them together with his rock. He wanted to take the rock home with us but we explained that the State Park wouldn't look too nicely on us taking rocks....



While the boys were in the creek I found some deer tracks that we showed them when they got out. Very cool...and I was SO proud that I was the one that found them! LOL



We finally got them out of the creek and back to the campsite. Terry got the coals going for our supper and then took the kids up to the shower house for showers. While they were gone, I scrubbed taters and got them in the fire for baked potatoes....OH! What a great meal when it's cooked over the campfire like that!

Oh, and another thing happened while they were all in the shower....I was just sitting there, minding my own business when a deer came out of the woods at the top of the loop (couple hundred feet away) and began eating from the grasses that were there. She just stood there for nearly thirty minutes eating and listening, twitching her ears and her tail....but just as calm as you please! It was such a beautiful sight!

After supper, we taught Brent how to play Yahtzee and he loved it! (I always love being able to squeeze schoolwork in without them noticing!) Shortly after, the boys went to bed...they could barely keep their eyes open!

***The One Bad Thing*** I started getting a headache around the time they went to bed. I took some Advil and went to bed myself, telling Terry that I wasn't feeling very good, but didn't really know why. Well, I found out! I woke myself up multiple times through the night moaning in pain from a migraine! I finally got up around 6 and took some migraine meds (I'm so thankful I remembered to bring them with me!) and went back to bed. (It was the worst migraine I think I've ever had! When I got out of the tent to get my meds, I glanced up at the sky to see what the weather was doing. There were a few clouds in the sky and they were pulsating at me! I've never had that happen before. Light sensitivity, yes. But nothing like that!) Terry let me sleep till about 9:30, but he had to wake me up so we could pack up camp and be off the site by 12. I still had an achy head, so I took more Advil and started working. Oh, it hurt!

Anyway, we got everything packed up and I'm so thankful for the wind! It was only because of the wind that we were able to dry everything out before packing it up, so we didn't have to put the tent back up when we got home! :)

Amanda

9/11 Tribute from the Boys

Two days ago (Tuesday) the boys began the morning playing in the living room with some yarn. Brent decided to build a city when he found some empty boxes in the laundry room. So he took the yarn, the boxes and a bunch of cars, and started working. He came to me later (maybe 30 minutes) and said, "Mom, you gotta come see our city!!!" So I went in and saw what they had done..."Very Cool." But then he tells me that they have made "New York City" and 'walks' me through the town.

This first one is the school building (where the army guys are!). The second is their "city sign" letting people know where they are.

Next, are the streets with all the cars and the highways and the 'farm' areas....of course, since they've never been to NYC, they don't understand that there aren't farms in the middle of the city, cuz where we live there are farms in the middle of town! LOL

This next one is what Brent called the Twin Towers.

Now, mind you, he was only 4 months old at the time of the Twin Towers Attack and while we have explained the basics of what happened, he doesn't know the impact it has/had on all of us as a nation. He is learning, with the more news we watch and the more political debates we see. He is also listening anytime anyone mentions 9/11 and probably takes in more than we realize. But this next picture is the one that got me. He came up with this all on his own and placed everything just so with his own explanation. I didn't specifically tell them, "Thursday is 9/11, the day we remember, and let's do something nice." This was all him. He amazes me with his loving and tender heart and the things he is thinking about sometimes. See below. Remember what you are seeing is the "Twin Towers" made of boxes.

So, after seeing what they did, I decided to capture it with the camera and share with everyone. Our family is still dealing with the ramifications of 9/11, and I don't really know why. We had no friends or family working there. And for some reason, this year we have been talking more and more about the Attack and the anniversary. Perhaps it is all the politics in recent weeks. Perhaps it is us 'getting older' and thinking more deeply about issues. Perhaps it is me becoming more aware of life on a national/worldwide level. Who knows. All I do know is that on this day, we are prayerful and mindful of the families who are still dealing with the effects that the Attacks placed on their families and in their lives. We are thankful that our family is still in tact, and that our nation still stands. I pray for our nation daily, but even more so in the coming election times. We have so much to fight for as a nation, and only God will see us through.

((((HUGS)))) to all our friends and family.

Weekend update

What a busy weekend! Whew, where did the time go??? I'll tell ya:

Friday night we headed out for a baby shower for one of Terry's cousins. He took off early so he could go by a place and get new inserts for his boots, and so we could shop for our food contribution for the Cajun Boil and Trivia night. After running our errands, we decide to drive (to get past the curves!) before eating dinner. We get to Bloomfield and see a sign for Cowtown...a restaurant we've heard of, but never been to. Wow! We literally drove up into (what looked like) someones yard...driving past corn/soybean fields...till we got to the 'restaurant' which was a metal building. BUT! They have AWESOME food and fried catfish that is out of this world! The sides are ALL homemade and are delicious! We have plans to go back again, but the drive is something to consider.

We made it to the shower, albeit about an hour late! But we got to visit with all of Terry's family that was there, so we really enjoyed that part. WE left there about 10:30 and got home after midnight. :( By the time we got the kids down and we got to bed, it was nearly 2! Needless to say we slept in on Saturday morning. LOL

After getting around Saturday, we headed down for the Cajun Boil at church...what fun that is! Everyone contributes some amount of food (ranging from shrimp, crawfish, potatoes, sausage, corn on the cob, onions, garlic, etc...to dessert!) and it's cooked up and just dumped out on a table lined with newspaper! YUM-O! A bit spicy and very delicious! Then after everyone has eaten their fill, we get to play trivia that Scott has dreamed up...er, found in books and/or the Internet. 10 categories, with 10 questions each. It is hilarious how much we just pull out of the air when we don't know the answers and how much fun we have doing it! We get really stupid too.... For instance, one of the questions was "how long is the Statue of Liberty's index finger?" Well, who really cares????? LOL but, I got smart (imagine that!) and stuck my index finger on my nose and said, "As long as her nose???" Of course, that got a laugh from some...probably at how stupid I was! LOL (It's 8 feet, btw!) Anyway, we're divided into teams of 4-6 and we can come up with our own 'team names'...ours was Oompa Loompas! But there was Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Blissfully Unaware (hi Steph!!!), Us, The Fabulous Five, and others. I don't remember them all....it's so much fun! We left there 6-ish and headed home to get ready for church the next morning!

Of course, then yesterday was worship and afternoon naps! (for me anyway!) We got home from church last night and ate supper and went to bed! We were actually in bed and going to sleep by 11:30 last night!!!! (I know, not a miracle for some, but for us it is!)

Today was slow going and yet, we still got school done! Woohoo! Now, we're off to bed again to do it all over again tomorrow!

Baby Blanket

Last night I began the task of cutting out and sewing a baby blanket for a baby shower we're going to tonight. (Yeah, I know..nothing like waiting to the last minute to do things, huh??) I knew what material I was using, but wasn't sure of the pattern. And since I'm not very good with blocks, I didn't want to make it too complicated for myself.

Well, I am blessed with a very loving and giving husband, cuz he came home around 6 and saw me working on the blanket. He changed his clothes and came out and said, "So what do I need to do for supper since you're working on that?" So I told him what I had planned and he started it, then started a load of laundry. He cooked supper and fed the kids, then did math with Brent, wrestled with Clayton, and then wrestled with both boys together before putting them to bed! Wow...how blessed I am!

Anyway, I finally finished the blanket a little before midnight and I decided to share the pics with you!

Caterpiller.....BUTTERFLY!

YIPPPPEEE! We had a butterfly 'hatch' yesterday. I had a homeschooling friend here and the kids were playing and one of them came in and said, "Mom, one of the butterflies is out!" So we all ran to look and sure enough....there it was. We let it 'dry' for an hour more and by the time we got back into the kitchen, it was near the top of the container. So I put my finger in there and it just crawled right up on my finger!!! :) We slowly walked it outside and Clayton asked if he could hold it....it crawled over to his hand and then just took off flying! The kids all watched it fly around a bit till it flew to the point we could no longer see it. Here are a couple shots of it:

New Crayons!

So, I got the boys each their own box of Crayons (64) for this year so that we wouldn't have the issue of not having a particular color when needed or "he lost the green!" LOL I remember when I was in school and you'd open up that new box of colors on the first day of school and they would be all organized and in order of their color schemes.... So nice!

Well, not anymore! NOW they are just haphazardly put in there, with no order at all! It was WEIRD to see and just bothered me! Well, apparently it bothered Brent too! Cuz on his first "break" from schoolwork when he could have gotten up and run around or gotten a drink, he took off his glasses and said, "I think I'll sit here and organize my colors." LOL I just about fell over....he has them now, "not perfect, but at least they are better than they were." (According to him.)

I just don't get it...why'd they change it?? Just a minor oddity in life and I thought I'd share it!