Camping

On Monday we headed out for our first "family" trip. We have never gone on a trip with just our family. We have either gone with family or to visit family. So, a few months ago I decided that we needed to get out and do something with just the four of us. Camping was the vacation that fit the budget, so camping we went. We went to Silver Creek Plunge and ended up having a great time. Silver Creek is only 65 miles away, but the drive took just over 2 hours. The last 20 miles are dirt roads and the last 8 miles are ROUGH dirt roads. But it was well worth it. My dad let us borrow his truck and a ton of his camping supplies so we were well equipped for our little adventure.
I haven't been camping in a while and I've missed it. I really do like camping, so I was sure that we did all of the things you're supposed to do when you camp. John got to do his fair share of work. But I'm sure he didn't mind.
I'm sure that chopping wood is a lot more fun than sitting at a desk!
We explored the area and took lots of little walks with the kids.

We played in the river that ran through the camp ground.
The water was freezing but the kids didn't seem to mind. The cold water was refreshing, I think our toes even got a little numb.
We collected lots of rocks, Owen stored his in his shoes, and Ainsley came home with a baggie full of her special treasures.
Every time we got back from the river the kids were soaking wet. This is a picture taken after Owen had fallen in the river and had to get his clothes taken off. He refused to put on new ones, so he got to hang out like this for a while.
Owen also loved the dirt. I caught him on the little road by our camp spot one night picking up dirt and dumping it on his head. He seriously looked like pig pen and when I tried to brush the dirt out of his head there was a full on dust cloud surrounding him.

Luckily there is a hot springs at Silver Creek. At least it was a semi-bath for the kids two times during the trip. The water felt great in the morning, but down right HOT in the afternoon. I think the water was about 100 degrees. I was just like a hot bath.
We also took the kids on a very short nature walk.
We were sure to include s'mores. I was a bit disappointed in Owen however, he preferred the marshmallows raw and not cooked...he just might not be my son.
We also became great friends with the local wild life. Upon arriving back at camp one day we found that our garbage had served as a meal for some creature. I've never really thought about storing our food away during the day.
We should have learned our lesson the first time. But the next night we left a box with some of our food out on the table. When we got home we found that a lot of our food had been tampered with. We were the most disappointed that they ate most of our hamburger buns that we were supposed to be having for dinner that night.
I think this might have been one of our little dinner guests.
The only rough part of the trip was when Ains woke up the second morning and threw up. She was sick and throwing up for a few hours. She just sat in front of the fire and eventually fell asleep. Luckily her little bug (or too much junk food) passed quickly, and within a few hours she was completely back to normal.

We had a ton of fun, although I must admit that it's nice to be clean, and I won't miss the walk to the outhouse!

Called to Serve

The kids in our primary have been learning the song, "Called to Serve." Ains was sitting singing it today after church and her version went a little something like this...

"Awkward, awkward, awkward, as we glory in his name

Awkward, awkward, awkward, as a song we sing."

I think it's cute enough that I won't tell her the real words just yet. I'll wait it out and see how long until she figures out the words for herself!

Surprise!

John surprised with the greatest suprise ever (for someone obsessed with home repairs). He called and got an appointment for our new linoleum to be put in, and it is being installed as I type! Yesterday was a bit hectic. We had to get our toilets removed and our washer and dryer out so that it could be installed today. We stayed at my parents last night, but everything will be ready for us to go home to tonight! I'm so excited.

And the best part is that just due to timing, I also get a new kitchen sink and faucet installed in the next week or so too. Our sink was in really bad shape when we moved in to our house and our faucet was slowly falling apart. A bout a month ago I dropped a glass pan on the edge of it and chipped off a big piece, and for me that was the last straw. It just so happened that my parents had taken their old (just a couple years old and in great shape) sink out of their kitchen for their remodel. So I got a nice 'new to me' sink for a GREAT price. And since I didn't know that John was scheduling for new linoleum I went a head and bought a new faucet so that we could get the sink installed and out of our garage.

So now I get 2 things replaced at the same time. Awesome! Or maybe I'm wierd and most people don't get excited about things like sinks, faucets, and linoleum. None the less...I'm going to be posting all the before and after pictures when it's all done!

Okay, so that totally backfired!

Last night Owen was being a bit of a stinker again. So after 30 minutes of crying John went to check on him. Owen started freaking out more when John tried to leave so John offered the option of sleeping on the floor again. Of course he chose the floor, but surprisingly HE FELL ASLEEP there! Either John doesn't have my touch, or Owen is really out to get us. The good news is that he was asleep last night by about 8:45. He hasn't been to be that early in over a month! And he's still asleep this morning as of 8:25. I wonder if my plan will continue to backfire and we will now have a little boy that insists on sleeping on the floor?

A battle won

Lately Owen has been very opinionated about his bedtime. He feels that an appropriate time for a nearly 2 year old to go to bed is between 9:30 and 10:00. Unfortunately his parents disagree and feel that 8:00 would be a more appropriate time. It seems like we have been dealing with this issue all summer. Part of me doesn't mind it so much because I like to be free to stay out later during the summer since it doesn't cool off until after 8:00 anyways, but mostly I hate bed time because I know that it means a battle with Owen.

We have let him cry it out several times, but usually get sick of the screaming after an hour or so and 'rescue' him from his bed for a short time. We tried putting up a dark blanket over his window hoping that he would go to bed if his bedroom wasn't light. No such luck. The battles got particularly tricky when Owen learned how to take off his pj's and his diaper. Often times we would go check on him during the screaming only to find him naked and sobbing. This in turn would make me feel guilty and I would give in and let him stay up for a while longer...thus enabling the vicious circle we were in.

But on Saturday I went into the bedtime battle ready for war and the several rounds I knew were ahead.
Round 1: Owen gets put to bed and cries for an hour (Really, it was a full hour. We watched a full episode of Smallville). John goes to check on Owen and finds him naked and perched up on top of the side bar of his crib. I'm not sure how long he had been stuck like this but it made me feel sorry for him and I let him sit with me for a while. One point for Owen.

Round 2: Owen gets put back in his crib and the crying continues. He is worked up to a full rage this time. I go check on him during the screaming (I can't let him get stuck again...I'm not that mean) and find him clothed, but stuck on the side of his crib again. I make him get back in his bed. One point for mom!!!

Round 3: Owen still screaming has thrown all of his things out of his crib. In a moment of desperation I give Owen the option of sleeping in his crib or on the floor. I'm still not sure what my plan was...but I was desperate. Owen chooses the floor. I lay him on the floor and leave the room. One point for Owen.

Round 4: Owen comes to the door crying and I give him the option again. This time he chooses his bed. I lay him in his bed. One point for mom!

Round 5: The bed doesn't last for long. Soon there are more screams and I go check on him to make sure there is no trouble. Owen says (and by says I mean he points to his pillow on the ground and makes a grunting sound) that he wants to sleep on the floor. I give in and put him on the floor. One point for Owen.

Round 6: A few minutes later (I was sweatin' the "choose where you want to sleep" option at this point) Owen comes to the door and 'says' he wants to sleep in his crib. Owen is so pooped at this point that he lays right down and goes to sleep. 10 points for mom because I WON!

Let's just hope Owen will be rational at this point and realize that his mother will always win...I really hate long nights like that, and I'm not so sure I'm ready for another one anytime soon!

The Fourth

What a fun Fourth we had. I'll apologize in advance for the ridiculous amount of pictures...but it's my blog, so I can bore you with as many as I want! Our morning started out with the annual breakfast at my parents house. This year there were about 30 people there. We all get to eat a great breakfast and then we all hop in the pool to cool off.

Here are the kids at their little tables enjoying their breakfast.

Ainsley doing some smooth moves in the pool.
Here is a lovely shot of Ains and me. I was trying to stay nice and dry on the side of the pool in an attempt to avoid showering later in the day. However...my attempt was pointless since a certain husband of mine insisted on spraying me with water guns and dunking me in the water, and a certain daughter of mine insisted on jumping in the pool right next to me repeatedly. So while I did get cooled off, I looked a little ragged the rest of the day.
After spending the afternoon home and letting the kids have a rest, we headed down town to the park to watch the fireworks there. We had time to kill so we played cards...

Played catch
and did some sparkler with the kids. (The pictures are blurry because we took them using the night setting, so sorry, but again, my blog :)
Ains loved the sparklers, and Owen loved them until one sparked him a little.
But after some coaxing he was right back in the game and crying when they were all gone.
This year they passed out 3-D glasses for the fire works show. The glasses did put a new twist on the fireworks and made them look cool and magnified, but I think I still preferred watching them with just my own eyes. The kids liked wearing them though.
Here is one of many shots of Owen crying. We gave him a nice long nap in the afternoon but for some reason he was just plain grumpy from about 7:00 on. Which is weird because lately he refuses to go to bed until around 10:00 anyways. So I really was a bit surprised when he spent so much of the night crying and throwing tantrums. My favorite grumpy moment was when Owen was dead set on eating a sucker and was so angry with my dad for offering him carmel popcorn that he hit my dad on the leg with all of his might. Not that I condone what he did, but it was just so unexpected (he hits a ton, but usually only immediate family) that I couldn't help but laugh.

The fireworks were great and even Owen was amazed at the beauty of the show. The kids didn't get into bed until after 11:30, but I guess that's what the fourth is all about. We are, however, spending time resting up today!

Who would have thought?

We have had some crazy days lately. The good crazy though. Fun filled summer days, complete with running from place to place, playing, and being wet. So today I thought we would spend a day recuperating before the fourth. One of the theaters here plays free movies two mornings a week for kids. So we called a few friends and headed off to the theater this morning to watch this...

What surprised me is that when we got home we were all exhausted. Just as exhausted as we seem to be after a morning of playing. It was fun though. Ains loved the movie, Owen loved parts of the movie, I loved being in the air conditioning (although I broke a sweat a few times from wrestling with Owen). And so now after our exhausting morning at the theater...we are all going to go get some rest!