Camping Pix and Fireworks

Pictures from our camping trip and fireworks

Home Again

We're home!!!

Packed up in the rain Friday morning and pulled our rig up to our house around 1:30 pm. After dragging the dirty laundry and coolers into the house, we all collapsed in a heap. Then we realized that David's first soccer game was in a town farther away than I had thought and he and I hopped into the van and headed out, stopping on the way for a part for the water heater, since we have NO HOT WATER now.

David enjoyed his first game (WHEW!) and said he wants to work on his sprinting, so he can play better. I am SO GLAD to hear him say that. I was afraid he'd dislike playing since he really hasn't enjoyed practice. He told me I guilted him into playing. lol

Their team of all homeschooled high schoolers played against a team from a Christian school. The score was a 1-1 tie. David played midfield and forward. It didn't rain!

I will upload pictures from the trip as soon as I can find the USB cord for the camera. It's gone missing.

Four Days Away and Three Days Back

Oh, I've ignored this blog! Just a quick recap of last week. We were gone camping/visiting Monday-Thursday.

Monday we dropped the kids off to my parents and sister and Bob and I headed to Muskegon for a night away together, to celebrate our anniversary. (See, Debbie? No kids.)

The next day (Tuesday), we collected the kids and we headed to Lake Michigan for the afternoon then back to the rustic camping cabin we'd rented.

On Wednesday, we made the short trek back to my mom and dad's for lunch, then spent the afternoon with my sister Denise and her kids at their new house. We spent the night at my parent's house.

Thursday we relaxed with Mom and Dad for the morning and headed back home after lunch. I'm still not caught up with the laundry!

Friday we had Beach Day with our homeschool group and the weather was PERFECT. In the evening, I delivered David to a friend's for an airsoft birthday party and I hung out there for a while, then headed to the grocery store. Emily and James also spent the night at friend's homes.

Saturday was busy - gathering the children back from their respective friends and then heading out to a wedding - Bob's niece got married. David babysat here while Bob and I went to the wedding. Arrived back here, changed clothes and tidied up then headed out again to book club. WHAT a lovely evening THAT was. See Mirkwood for my book club report.

Today was finally a relaxing day. Church took up our morning, but the rest of the day was unscheduled - a little time online, a little newspaper reading, a little laying about, then a 4 mile bike ride (the last hill just about killed me), then we watched Pink Panther 2. I'm going to watch Slumdog Millionaire as soon as David goes to bed.

I'm ready for a new week with not much scheduled, but a lot to accomplish! I have a to-do list with 16 things on it right now and more tasks are bubbling to the surface of my mind as I write down others. This will be catch up week and also a week to get David ready for his mission trip next week. And there's still a LOT of laundry to do!

Monday - Writing, Bob and kids gardening
Tuesday - Lord of the Rings marathon (or will it be rescheduled?)
Wednesday - Writing, Veggie Tales Premiere
Thursday - Writing, Movie in the Park
Friday - Writing
Saturday - Writing

Keepers Camping - Rustic, but Awesome!

I went with my girls on their Keepers at Home campout this weekend - just one night of rustic camping, so they can earn their camping and hiking pins.

We had a great time camping at Holly Recreation Area in their organizational campsite. (It's a nice campground in the regular part, too though. We toured it to check for leftover campfire wood, but were unsuccessful.) Nine girls, four moms, a bit more rain than we'd have preferred, and a whole lot of fun!

We arrived at 3pm on Saturday, set up camp amidst intermittent showers, made a fire, cooked dinner in a Dutch oven, went on a hike, ate dinner, let the girls play, had banana boats and S'mores, sent the girls to bed, and let the adults stay up as late as they wanted.

Sunday morning, of course the girls got up way earlier than the moms would have liked. Breakfast over the fire, breaking camp, and a hike. We were home before noon.



As always, if the slideshow won't load for you OR if you'd like to see bigger versions of the photos, just click on the slideshow and it should take you to the album in picasa where you can view the pictures.

Oh, if you'd like to see all 263 photos we took, click HERE. The girls were playing Paparazzi (wait, you didn't play that when you were a kid? LOL) and took a zillion photos. I put the good ones of MY kids in the slideshow, but if you know the other kids who went or just like looking at kids being silly, go take a gander at them.

Family Camp Photos

Finally here are some photos of Family Camp, along with my captions. I'll try to write out a few thoughts on the week to go along with them soon.



As always, if the slideshow won't load for you OR if you'd like to see bigger versions of the photos, just click on the slideshow and it should take you to the album in picasa where you can view the pictures.

Weekly Preview

Well, this week looks to be busier. James and Suzy are going to an evening VBS/Soccer Camp every night. I have two soccer meetings at night, getting coaches ready for the new season. There's a library program and a movie in the park and if the weather is nice that night, maybe we'll swim beforehand. The girls' Keepers at Home group is having a campout on Saturday night - no running water, no electricity. I am camping along with them - roughing it!

I need to get some work done this week - noveling, querying, job applications, etc... And I'll take Emily to order new glasses. What else? Four workouts, grocery shopping, the normal stuff and I'm sure there is more I'm leaving out!

Sunday - Church, Relax
Monday - Work, Soccer VBS (J,S)
Tuesday - Work, Science Alive @ library (E,J,S), Soccer VBS, Soccer meeting (L)
Wednesday - Work, Soccer VBS, Youth Pool Party (D)
Thursday - Work, Soccer VBS, Soccer meeting (L), Movie in the Park: Horton Hears a Who.
Friday - Work, Soccer VBS
Saturday - Keepers Campout (L,E,S)

Weekly Preview

Back from nine nights of camping! That's the longest camping trip I've ever been on. We have piles of laundry to catch up on, but I'm giving up on that for the evening. I'm tired and fighting a case of the sniffles. I'll post a long account of our time at Family Camp soon, but for now, here's a preview of the week ahead.

I have a meeting to schedule with my homeschool group co-leaders. I need to take David to pick up his new glasses and order a pair for Emily. There's tons of laundry to catch up on and unpacking the camper the rest of the way. Must buy groceries as we are down to the bare shelves. Going to finish editing Mystery Valley Ranch and send more queries for FMN. Bob will do some painting, I am sure.

Sunday - Pack up camp and head home, start laundry
Monday - Work, Groceries, Optometrist?
Tuesday - Work.
Wednesday - Work.
Thursday - Work, Movie in the Park: Nim's Island.
Friday - Beach Day, Youth Event (D)
Saturday - More of the Same.

Now, I'm off to read perhaps and definitely to get another large glass of OJ. (If I would have had more OJ on the trip as well as some vitamin C, I think I would have stayed healthy. Argh.)

Washed Out? Washed Up?

This space needs something written in it. So, here goes.

Monday was kind of a wash, at least as far as my own attitude goes. I did push the kids through their lessons but I accomplished nothing at all except laundry. And it rained.

Tuesday was better. The rain went away, but the ground was saturated. Soccer was cancelled. I went with Dar and Pam over to the campground to look over the possibilities for homeschool camping. We changed the area we plan to camp in, although it's different than we had originally planned to change it to. Confused yet? So, those plans are underway.

Our neighbors invited us over for a cookout for their youngest daughter's birthday, so we hung out there most of the evening. That was fun. James and I tossed a football back and forth for a long time. Then I went to two libraries.

Started a fluffy book because I need something light and quick to finish out the month. All the usual suspects were unappealing.

Today should be sunny and nice. But all I want to do is write. I have a new idea. Not sure if I should start writing that or continue editing MVR. Well, I haven't edited in a while. (And if you are one of my FMN Beta Readers.... will you update me on where you are? There are a lot of you I haven't heard from!)

Oh yeah, and I got two of the High School Musical soundtracks at the library. Yeah, go ahead and laugh at me now.

Time for a shower. The kids are going to watch a Bible video to start their day today. I'm off!

Btw, David took the photos. FROM OUR ROOF.

Pleasant Days, Filled with Fun & Friends

Camping week is always a great pleasure! Four times now we have gathered all the willing local homeschooling families for several days of camping and activities. Some families come out for the day. If my count is correct, twelve families camped for part or all of the week and several more came for one or more of the daytime activities. Some dads camped all week, coming and going as necessary, but several also dropped off their families and then came at the end to help them pack up.

We arrived Sunday night and several families were already there although the week did not officially begin until Monday afternoon. We got settled in by dark.

The days passed quickly and pleasantly, filled with bike riding, crafts, hiking, swimming, ladder ball, badminton, card games, board games, movie night, potluck, and lots more excitement. All the excitement did not preclude plenty of time for relaxing, though. I hung about in the hammock and at various shady campsites.

The kids all enjoyed playing with their good friends and strengthened newer friendships as well. I did the same - most of my good friends were there. One crazy card game night ended the week for me! Friday morning was occupied with packing up and we headed out around 1pm.

We enjoyed our new camper and it was easy to set up. Our site was very buggy; next year we'll want some tiki torches or something else for the skeeters. We will likely set up the tent next year just to be able to keep some stuff in it - six people in a popup is really bursting at the seams, especially when you factor in a week's worth of clothes (and laundry too!).

The weather was perfect - hot the first day and the last, but in between lovely weather - not too cold or too hot. No rain, either!

Camping Week next year can't come soon enough!

Camping Photos

Suzy and her friend Kylie.

David

Suzy and Baby Job.

Emily with her bike decorated for the bike contest.

David and James with David's friend Brandon - they were building a raft.

Pam painting Suzy's face. The face painting was a huge hit - most kids got full face paint!

Suzy "playing" ladder ball with Preston.

James and Declan enjoying the ice cream social (but not the photo taking! lol).

John (my boss, and also Vicki's husband) and Bob.

Our camper all set up - with the freaky owl lights....

James on his bike

James

Emily doing one of the crafts - silly putty

Emily with her friend Gabrielle.

Catching Up

Packed up the campsite this morning and got home around 2pm. Stopped off at the library for some movies - nothing we haven't seen already. Their small collection of DVD's doesn't hold many surprises for us anymore.

Picked up the mail - my business cards are here! YAY! Also the 4GB memory card I bought for David's PSP. (Yeah, it was a bribe. I'll admit it!) Add in a couple of paperbackswap books and some bills too, of course.

I've caught up on most of my blog reading. (I think I posted more than y'all even though I was gone. lol) I didn't do much commenting though, in the interest of saving time. However, rest assured that if I normally comment on your blog, then I've read your recent entries.

The laundry has begun and everything is out of the van and most of the stuff is out of the camper. Tomorrow we'll pop it and clean it out properly.

We went to the waterpark around 5pm - it was hot and sticky here today and we haven't been there in almost 2 weeks.

I'm reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen and enjoying it far more than any of hers I've read yet, except Pride and Prejudice. I've also found the new movie version on youtube and have been watching bits of that as well.

Weather predictions?

Excellent weather is predicted for our homeschool camping!

Not too hot, not too cold. Monday is a little hot, and Tuesday/Wednesday are now forecasted in the upper 70's with lows in the upper 50's. Thursday and Friday are highs in the low 80's, lows in the low 60's.

PERFECT if it stays dry! And it is supposed to, at least for now. I guess I'll let you know later how it turns out.

The camper has a heater if we need it! (No A/C, though.)

Nearly Ready

The camper is getting packed. The kitchen is covered with food and dishes that need to make it into the van. The house is fairly clean. By dinnertime, hopefully we'll be at the campground.

I've oh-so-thoughtfully posted ahead for you, so there should be a new post here every day this week, even though I'm not here! So, don't stay away.

I'll be back with news and hopefully pictures on Friday. Have a great week!

Stay-cation

Wow, what a weekend! GORGEOUS weather EVERY DAY! Too good for me to even have conceived it! Today is lovely still!

After the garage sales yesterday, we had dinner and then went for a bike ride. Yes! Me on a bike ride. Bob and the kids finally dragged my bike down from the barn (upstairs). It was fun, but then David got a flat tire.

S'mores by the fire, fireworks in our front yard. I have some pix of that, but they are still on the camera. We pitched a tent in the side yard for a backyard campout.

We played Scattergories Jr before we went to sleep. The Jr. version has the great adaptation of allowing you to put an answer that DOESN'T start with the key letter, but gives you two points if you DO start your answer with the key letter. This avoided meltdowns in our family! lol They all enjoyed it, except Suzy who declined the opportunity to play. Likely a wise choice since she can't yet read or write fluently.

Yes, we slept all night in the tent. Yes, all of us. Woke up before 6:00 and tried to sleep more, but it didn't happen for a long time. Finally drifted back off and woke up again around 8:30 when Suzy was the first of the kids to awaken.

We went to church and had lunch before heading out to a friend's pool. It was a PERFECT day for swimming. The kids had a great time (even David) on her floatie toys and swimming back and forth. THEN she brought out snacks and pop which made her even MORE favored among the Wagner children!

After that, the kids put on a movie and I headed out to spend scads of money at the grocery store. Now, it's bedtime - and after THREE late nights, every kid is good and tired!

Mish-mash

Spending a lot of time on facebook. It's fun! Give it a try!

Taking half a day off work to watch David's last soccer game.

Hoping my new video camera arrives in today's mail, so I can video his game. But thinking it probably won't.

Going to be 81 today.

Read a light fluffy book yesterday in its entirety. Needed that.

David went to a year-end youth group party last night. He played silly games and went swimming. He won two prizes - a Relient K CD and a $25 gift card to Best Buy. He was pretty happy. He is opting out of youth camp, which surprised me, especially since I offered to pay for it. He is considering going with them to Cedar Point, and if he does, I will volunteer to chaperone. I wanna ride rollercoasters!

Reserved our campsite for homeschool camping week. If you are a homeschooler, you're welcome to join us and I hope you do. You can camp or just come for daily activities. Let me know if you need more information.

The last art class is this week. Bob has two doctor appointments. James' last softball clinic is this week. Suzy has been invited to a sleepover. I think I'll visit Maryann on Saturday.