A Quick Back-Track Over the Weekend

When I last spoke of the weekend it was Friday and the kids were making s'mores and getting ready for bed. They did indeed fall asleep in the tent which made both Dakota and I pretty excited that maybe, just maybe, this would be the night when we all could camp out together (she's had a few camping nights with Kelton in years gone by and I had one with Kaylen the weekend before last but never have we all been out there at the same time). As they slept, we plugged in the laptop and watched a movie (hmmm...which one? Oh right "Definitely. Maybe." It was a very long two hours - I'll just leave it at that. :)

Once the movie was over, we headed instead to get ready for bed. We were quickly followed by Kelton who was crying and complaining that he was cold (he was....we were cold out there watching the movie. It was, after all 56 degrees). No matter how we tried to assure him that we would snuggle him up with more blankets (and Dakota) so he would be warm, he held firm to wanting to sleep in his own bed.

With a heavy sigh, we agreed and then went out to bring Kaylen in as well. She stayed asleep and I'll tell you what - she was very unhappy to find herself in her bed in the morning.

In the morning, we all went back out to the tent to enjoy some time in the sleeping bags while we made plans for the day. Dakota had learned that Blockbuster was having a customer appreciation day with carnival-like games and a bounce-house style slide. It wasn't until 1pm though so we all got ready and headed out to a park for a while to burn off some kid energy. We ended up in the attached dog park where the kids were delighted to make new puppy friends. There was even a pup named Jaxon (spelled the same way as our Jaxon). It made us all happy and sad but it's hard to be too sad around all that puppy energy. :)

Soon it was time to head to the carnival thing. Oh the joy that was had!! Kaylen would yell "MORE MORE!" every time she came down the huge slide and Kelton cleaned up with prizes. His best was the dart throw to pop balloons. They were in heaven!













After that we headed home and just hung out. We made a second attempt at sleeping outside and lo and behold - IT WORKED! All four of us made it through the entire night! I thought Kaylen and I were done around 5am when she woke up in a puddle (which is so completely out of character for her) and I had to take her in the house, clean her up and get new jammies on her. I suggested we climb into her bed (it's a queen sized bed) which was met with crocodile tears. She wanted to go back to the tent! So, armed with waterproof coverings and towels, we headed out and she promptly fell back to sleep.



Sunday morning found us playing with Kelton's Martian Matter and making gooey aliens galore. It must be a tent-related activity because both weekends Kaylen has specifically requested that activity. Funny.

It was a quick slide to Grandma arriving to play with the kids while Dakota and I went out to a movie. I finally got to see Sex in the City which I really liked (I never saw that actual show but I liked the movie a lot anyway but let me say - some of those clothes had me rolling on the floor. Seriously?? Wow!). Dakota liked it ok but she did say "Well - it wasn't Indiana Jones, that's for sure." Still - it was very, very sweet of her to take me to it (she arranged everything - Thank you, honey!).

We arrived home, sent Grandma on her way, gathered the kids and put them in the car and headed over to meet Grandma, Grandpa, an aunt and an uncle at the new retirement community that Dakota's mom and step-father are moving into. We had the grand tour and saw their new place. It's quite nice but it's all a little strange and it's moving quite fast. We only learned of the plan to move last Monday. They are excited and that's what matters.

We made a grocery store run after that to buy lunch items to pack in Kelton's lunch for the week because today he started his week long Vacation Bible School Day Camp. It runs from 9:00-3:00 and it was a HUGE hit. Huge huge huge hit! Oh my gosh - he was so happy and animated and incredibly exhausted when I picked him up. After resting a bit this afternoon he started singing silly, fun songs and sharing bits and pieces of his day. He made a wish tonight that he could go to day camp "forever and ever". I'm so glad he is enjoying it and as a bonus, not only is he there with Carson, a friend since babyhood, but as it turns out, one of the boys from his day camp last summer is there as well. I could not get over how much this little boy had changed and grown. Wow. I'm sure Kelton has done the same but I just don't see it with him.

Kaylen and I spent our day running some errands, going on a bike ride (I walked), getting work done around the house, Kaylen got some Kelton-free computer time and watched a couple favorite shows. It was all so weird and quiet. But good. A really good day.