Wet

Last weekend, Noah and Samuel went on a backpacking camping trip with Pathfinders. They left on Friday afternoon and came home on Sunday afternoon. It took quite a bit of preparation for this trip, because they had to be able to pack everything they would need for the weekend in a pack they would be carrying themselves. The group leaders made sure that no one carried more than 25% of their own body weight, so that meant that little Samuel didn't actually carry everything. He couldn't carry his sleeping bag. Neither of them own a tent or camping stove, so they didn't have to carry those either. They shared with older (larger!) boys who had them.

They were very nervous about going. The leaders talked about hiking 5 miles a day, and warned about blisters and wet shoes. I was nervous too. I was worried about it getting very cold, or raining a lot. As it turned out, it did rain. A LOT. (the total rainfall for the weekend was 2 inches!) Friday night we had a huge thunderstorm, with thunder and lightning, and lots of rain. It drizzled a bit Saturday morning, but luckily the temperatures actually were warmer than they had been the last few days.

The church had arranged to have a potluck picnic in the state park where the Pathfinders were hiking, so we could provide them with a nice big lunch that they wouldn't have to carry. By lunch the sun was out and it was turning into a nice day. We had the food set up, and finally the hikers started arriving. I didn't realize they had separated a bit, and were arriving in groups. The first group of older kids got there first, and I couldn't find my boys. I was a little worried about them, but was reassured that they were fine. Finally I spied Samuel coming down the path.



Although tired, he was in good spirits. After a little rest he started in on lunch. He started with the brownies, LOL. At long last, poor Noah finally arrived. He had been doing fine, but he had been assigned to walk with the leader who was in charge of the rear, catching any who fell behind. Noah HATED being last! He was in quite a bad mood when he got there.



He did feel better after a bit, and ate a good lunch. There was a discussion amongst the leaders about whether or not to continue the hike, because the rain was supposed to return, and the next section of hike was uphill. They were concerned about getting to the site and getting set up before dark, and before the rain. Apparently they had a lot of difficulty the night before because there was a thick fog just before the rain, and they had a rough time following the trail, even without rain. They arrived much later than they had planned.

Noah really perked up at the thought that he could go home, but instead the leaders decided to drive the kids to a parking lot much closer to the next stop, so they would be sure to have enough time to set up before dark. Rats, Noah was grumpy again LOL.

They were also earning a Tree Honor, which is like badges in Boy Scouts. The younger kids, who are Adventurers, also worked on their Tree Honor. Caleb and Micah are in that group, and they enjoyed wandering in the woods collecting leaves and learning about trees.

While they waited, some of the kids played on the swing:

This is the only picture I got of Troyer, Caleb, and Micah lol


And here are the younger two, with friends:



After the picnic was over, the Adventurer leader invited the younger kids to her house for a hay maze and snack. She raises goats, so she and her husband stacked bales of hay in the shed and made tunnels for the kids to crawl through. All 5 of the boys left (yes, Troyer too!) had a great time climbing through there.





After a dinner of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and apple juice, the kids played some board games, and then it was time to head home for bed. By then, the rain was coming down in buckets again! Arrgh!

Sunday morning came with more rain, but much lighter than the previous night, and by the afternoon it had cleared up. I picked the boys up, happy to see they were still in good shape! Again, Samuel seemed pleased to have accomplished the feat, and Noah was just grumpy LOL. All of their things were muddy and wet. But they didn't get a single blister! I am very proud of them for sticking it out to the end.

These Guys are Awesome

We've been watching America's Got Talent, and Nuttin' But Stringz have been at the top of our list of favorites from the very beginning. They make playing violin COOL!

I didn't know they made a music video. I like this one because the kids in it can't dance any better than my kids or I can. But they are having so much fun!

The final of AGT was last night, and while Noah really wants the piano player/singer Eli Mattson to win, the rest of us are pulling for this duo. According to the judges, they have a very good chance!

ETA: I replaced the embedded videos with links, so people with dial-up (you know who you are!) can load the page more quickly.

eta2: Arrgh I'm trying to make them clickable links, and I can't remember how! Blogger has a button for "insert link" but when I use that, it doesn't show up at all! Can someone remind me how to make the link clickable? Thanks!

eta3: Woohoo I figured it out!

Is It Over Yet?

I am going to become a hermit until mid-November. Seriously. I expected the obnoxious ads on tv. I expected the obnoxious ads in the mail. I expected the nasty dirt flying in both directions on the news and in the papers. I even expected to hear opinions all over the internet. But last night was more than I ever wanted or expected.

Last night I went out to the store to buy bread and milk. As is not unusual for the store with the least expensive bread, the shelves were bare. Irritating, but when it is 1/3 the price of anywhere else (including the other brands on this store's shelves) I have come to expect it. Up on the top shelf were 3 slightly smashed loaves of wheat bread. As I was debating whether my boys' complaining about "dirty" bread was worth trying to scale the shelves to grab 2 of them down, another family came by, also looking for some cheap bread. We stood and talked about how this store often runs out of bread, and how it is so much less expensive here than anywhere else, even at the same chain's other locations. Out of the blue, the dad says "I can't wait for next February!" I was quite confused. What was going to be happening in the bread world in February? He looked at me as if I were an imbecile. "The Election!" "Oh," I said, "I don't think anything is going to change overnight just because someone new is President." In my head, I'm thinking, Please God, this man can't really think the price of bread, and gas, and milk will all magically drop overnight just because the "right" person is president now! And of course he is assuming who will win. I didn't ask who he is voting for, because I didn't want to be going there in the first place. I was shopping, not looking for political discussions. Scornfully (not towards me, at least I hope) he said, "I can't wait to see George Bush leaving the White House." Um, ok. At that point his wife and kids started pushing the cart down the aisle, so blessedly the conversation was over. But wow, that is not the way I like to end a trip to the store. I like to mind my own business, thank you very much.

I am coming to think that political discussion is an oxymoron. The two words can't exist together. Political mud-slinging, insulting, yelling, yes. When people talk politics, very rarely is the one side actually listening to the other side. They are really talking to themselves, trying out the sound of their arguments on their own ears. Or worse, repeating what they heard on tv or read in the paper or on the internet, because it sounded clever to them. People are mad, and want someone to blame. Fine, very understandable. But to promote this election as if casting your vote is like waving a magic wand is just beyond ignorant.

In November, we will vote. Someone will win. Then what? We as a country will have to learn to live together again. Will we really be able to get along? Will we be able to work together? I think the number of people who actually think the country is doing great right now is pretty small. We all know there is a lot to improve, a lot to fix. And who you blame is your own business. But I think the most blame lies in the huge divide, the unwillingness of one side to listen to the other, the whole fact that there are "sides."

Personally, I can't wait for December, when people will keep their "side" to themselves.

This Weekend Was Busy

but not for me so much, as it was for my friend Catherine. I spent the weekend online, waiting for updates, because she spent the weekend having a baby! Woohoo! She had her 5th boy (and 13th baby!) on Saturday morning. Congratulations Catherine!!! Go ahead and click on the Bread in the Oven blog link over in my side bar ----->
and check out her new little cutie!

Holiday Fun

Last weekend, for the Labor Day holiday, Chris' parents had the family over for a picnic. It was on Sunday, because that fit in better with everyone's work schedules. The weather was beautiful, and the food was good. There were a lot of family there that we haven't seen all summer, so it was nice to get together. I was busy talking, so didn't get too many pictures, but after dinner, Chris and the boys played a game of whiffle ball in the yard.


If you see a little one in a skirt, she's not mine (sigh). She is the daughter of Chris' cousin. She has the most adorable curly red hair (double sigh).








Noah helped Jacob swing at a few pitches, and once he got a hold of the bat he wouldn't let it go! The game pretty much was over then lol.


Don't let the grins fool you, these two spend more time in a day fighting than getting along. But what great smiles!

OUCH!

I came across these guys in the back yard this morning. They look cool. They also stripped the leaves off a maple sprout overnight. As I was plucking this leaf I accidentally brushed my finger against another one that was hiding on an opposing leaf. OW! It was like getting stung by a wasp.



These buggars are bad! I got online and read about them. They are Saddleback caterpillars, and the stings can be dangerous. The best you can do is treat them like other insect stings. These guys come out in late summer/early fall. They range from Florida to Texas, up north as far as Massachusetts. Yup, I'm smack dab in the middle of that range, lol. Funny, I haven't seen them before. I guess they like fruit trees, although I found these on a maple. They hide on the undersides of leaves, so they'll catch you unaware when you are gardening. Watch out for them!

Something to Think About

I got this in an email today. Thought provoking, at least. What do you think?



"We send our children to school at an earlier age than our ancestors did. We provide our children with a minimum of 17 years of formal education (preschool thru college). We spend more income and resources on our children than our ancestors consumed in food and shelter. We provide more organized activities for our children to improve their social skills. Yet, our children take longer to mature / grow up, are more self-centered, and less empathetic towards others.

Today’s typical child is no smarter than a child from 100 years ago or even 200 years ago (although they live much longer). The child may have acquired more knowledge in terms of pure facts but is not capable of performing simple tasks that earlier generations performed without effort or injury.

Generations ago a boy was considered a man when he reached the age of 12, later it was 16, and now today it is 24. Some experts think it is more like 30 after the boy has had some life experiences on his own. In our effort to provide and protect for our children, have we abdicated our responsibility as parents / mentors to provide our children with real meaningful growth? Is not the acquisition of knowledge without real world application just trivia?

If this is evolution, then it would appear that we are headed to a very peaceful, self-serving destruction. Or is this a form of de-evolution? Where as parents, we accept less responsibility for our children and require others to share the burdens of our decisions. Where our children proclaim ignorance of the facts even though they have been schooled in these facts for more than 2 decades.

If as parents, we want our children to mature / grow-up as nature intended it (and not when they feel like it) then should we not also grow-up and accept the responsibility for the gifts that were given to us? If there is to be any hope for our children in this world, should we not set the correct example?

Remember this when you are washing the clothes for your 30 year old son or paying the bills for 30 year old daughter. Remember this when your children won’t help you because they can’t be bothered with your problems or when they put you in a home because it is easier than physically caring for you.

Being a parent may be choice. But once you have made that the choice, it’s a lifetime responsibility. For ever and ever, till the day you expire."

Mowing the Lawn, the Green Way

Someone mentioned the other day an alternative to lawn mowers. I thought I'd show you how we do it:



In all reality, that is why they are there. Our neighbors run a dairy, and they asked permission to fence off part of our property to let the cows graze. This is an area they cut for hay early in the summer. They decided to let the cows graze instead of cutting, drying and baling it a second time.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah turns 12 today. One year shy of being a teenager. Believe it or not, he has been more fun this year than he was at 9 or 10. Those years it seemed he was already trying to act like a teen, but this year he has been a lot of fun. He's had his moments, of course, but nothing like the past. It seems that Caleb has taken up that position, LOL. Noah has been more reliable and dependable, taking on more responsibility, and really growing in maturity. I am very proud of him.

Here's a fun set of pictures I made to show how he's grown:

from 4 months to 5 years old


from 6 to 11 years old


I'll be editing this at the end of the day, to add his 12 year old picture!


Noah had a great day. We had pancakes and eggs and "facon" (turkey bacon) for dinner, at his request. He made iced brownies for his cake, and I also made a cinnamon swirl cake with cream cheese icing. He liked most of his presents, though I guessed wrong when I chose X-Men for him. He said he'd rather have Fantastic 4. Oops. (Remember when I said how easy it is to please a 4 year old? Not so a 12 yo LOL)

Cherry pancakes for dinner:




Noah had to smile quick, because his "N" was melting LOL:




Lego Lover:

More Fun with Widgets!

Take a look at my sidebar --->

I've had fun adding some new elements. The first is an avatar I made up a few years ago. Unfortunately I saved the image and lost the code for the link, so I don't know what site I found it on. I may change it if I find a site that has a more, um, accurate picture lol. I'd like longer, straighter hair. I love that sweater, though!

Next, I added my local weather. I know not not all of you care about my current weather, but I thought it would be fun for my family.

Finally, I added a quick comment widget. If you want to leave a message that isn't in reply to a specific post, (or even to suggest a post!) you can do it there and it will appear instantly. Also, you can see a reply instantly instead of having to search through the comments.

Ah, the wonders of DSL LOL. Chris thought I'd spend all my time on the web, surfing and watching You Tube, ignoring the kids and the house. Well, he was sort of right LOL.

ETA: I got the longer hair, but now it needs freckles!

Some Pics of the House

Since Melanie asked so nicely LOL

Here is our front porch, with Caleb and Samuel working on a pail of beans:



Here is our kitchen. It is eat in, long enough to fit our big table that seats 8. (notice that's not 9 or 10 - that's more because we don't have 10 chairs than that we can't fit 10 LOL)



Here is the back room that we gave to the boys for their toy room. It is officially the family room, where we play games or read, and the boys have all their puzzles, games, legos, and toys. The walk in fireplace is cool. There is a wood stove in it that seems big enough to have had big kettles on. The room was originally detached from the back of the house, so I guess it was some sort of summer kitchen.


Now we get to the category "What Were They Thinking???" LOL

Our living room is papered with a mural:


Very rustic, bucolic. Appropriate, I guess, since it is a farm scene. But the other 3 walls have a paper that is like fake grass cloth lol.

Here is a really bad un-plan:

I'm pretty sure the toilet came after the dryer LOL Our plan is to move the toilet so I can actually get the dryer door all the way open.

Here is a pic of one of the two lovely lavender sinks in my upstairs bathroom. Why lavender? Not sure, since the paper is blue stripes, and the trim is painted turquoise. Oh, and the tub and toilet are mauve. Bleh! lol


And the best for last, a little tropical vacation with every bath:

Why yes, that is a mural of Figi on the wall above the tub! Note that the material is not actually waterproof, so there is no reason at all to have that there. Other than atmosphere, of course LOL


As we do renovations and redecorate, I'll take pics - you know, when it looks better in here LOL

More Fun Pics of Summer

Here are some pictures from around our yard:

Inside our barn, where we store bicycles and the lawn tractor



This is a cool picture inside the back of the barn. It was in low light, so the shutter speed was slow. Caleb was walking when I took it, and it came out looking like his ghost! You can just see his one sneaker.



Another pic of Tigger


Aimee had asked a few questions about him. He stays in the barn, he is not allowed in the house. There was another cat that had come by a few times, but he has not been back since we got Tigger. The boys go out to play with him every morning.


Caleb



Jacob getting ready to head out and mow the lawn...LOL



More cute shots of Jacob





Aimee asked for more pics of my lilies. Here are a bunch of them:



And a close up; I was hoping to capture the blue at the tips of the petals. Really cool!



I love this one, one of our sunflowers



This is cool - one day we saw this across the street. No idea where he took off from or where he landed.




Finally, last Wednesday was Levi's birthday. I made him a Thomas cake. Ugh, it took me 3 hours to decorate, because I didn't have the right decorating tips for the brand of icing tubes I bought. I had to do it all with toothpicks. Levi was thrilled with it, so I'm glad it worked out.


Here he is opening his favorite present - money! LOL


He said, "Hooray! Now I have money! Now I can go out and buy something!" First on his list was a bag of M&Ms LOL

He really enjoyed his birthday. 4 is a nice age for birthdays, it is easy to please them LOL.

Fun Summer Pics

I have a bunch of pics I took this month, just the boys having fun. We went to a pool picnic on Saturday, and the boys had a blast. I baked zucchini bread for the first time ever. We grew some zucchini in our garden, and they are living up to their reputation LOL. TOO MANY! It took me all evening to chop up the ones I had so far, but I had to because they were starting to go bad. I made 3 different kinds, one regular but with a brown sugar topping, one with raisins, and one with chocolate chips. They were a big hit! Phew lol. Even Samuel, who hates veggies in all forms, loved it. I made 6 loaves all together, but I have enough zucchini left over to make 12 more lol.

My yummy bread:


Enjoying some juice:


In the pool:
Jacob wasn't afraid at all


Caleb


Noah jumping in


One of my favorites, Samuel jumping into the deep end. Just 2 years ago he was scared to get in the water at all.


Micah enjoying a soda


Troyer

He requested this haircut. He thinks it looks like David Hasselhoff's hair. Hmm. Well. Yeah. LOL


I have more pics, but I'll save them for another post

A Few New Things

A few weeks ago we got a kitten for the barn. It took a while for him to warm up to the boys, but now when they go out to visit him he likes to come out and play. The boys named him Tigger.









The weather has cooled off a bit, so that it is nice to be outside. The humidity has dropped to comfortable levels, too. Here are Micah and Caleb riding bikes in the driveway. Just today Micah came in to say he has learned to ride the bike without training wheels! At 6, he's the youngest yet to master that.




Finally, just last week I had something strange pop up in my flower beds. Tall olive green spikes with buds on the ends, but no leaves whatsoever. It was very odd looking. They have since bloomed into these:





I looked them up, and they go by many names: Suprise Lilies, Magic Lilies, Naked Ladies (I can't wait to see how many hits I get on this post from people googling THAT lol), and my favorite, Resurrection Lilies. They did have leaves, back in the Spring, but they had since died back. I had been disappointed that whatever it was had not flowered, but just shrugged my shoulders and waited to see what else would come up. What a wonderful surprise! They smell really nice too. They do look funny, though, with no leaves.

What Happened to Summer???

Holy cow, here it is August 4th, and we are starting school today! Well, we are supposed to be, anyway. The boys have a friend visiting for the week from our old church. It is going to be hard to get them to do any work when they want to play.

Last month was full from beginning to end with camp and swimming and VBS. Micah just finished up a week at day camp at the Y. The theme was zoo week, and he loved it. They brought up the "Zoomobile" full of animals, right to the camp. He talked all week about that. He got to swim each day, and on Friday they went to a pool park that had slides and a sprinkler section, as well as smaller pools for the younger kids.

The kids did two different VBSs this year. The first one was Power Lab, offered by MIL's church. I thought it was really neat; the theme was science, and it was about how God is in charge of everything, and gives us the power to do anything. They had really catchy songs as well. The second one was at our church, and was Castles and Crowns. It was medieval themed, and it was about how we can be adopted into God's family to become princes and princesses. They had some cool crafts, and the skits were really funny. In both groups the teen helpers did a great job. I was really impressed.

So now that swimming and camp and VBS are over (and our gas budget has been wiped out for the year!) it's time to start back up with school. We'll be starting slowly, with review and fun stuff. Come September, it's time to really get down to work!