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.

Camp Out - Friday Night

(If you haven't yet read about last weekends camping adventure, scroll down a couple posts and read it. I wrote it earlier today.)

So - we're camping out again. Right now it's the end of making s'mores. The kids have been appropriately sugared up and now they have about 40 minutes to burn it off before we toss them in the bath and then into bed. Hopefully, we'll all be sleeping in the tent.

Here are the s'more photos for your enjoyment. :)

Our "small" tent. Two full rooms. We can fit two queen sized air mattresses in there as well as camping chairs for all of us. Pretty fun! So yes, Heidi, there is indeed room for your brood and ours. It sleeps 10. :)

Now go on...keep reading. There are more posts to share. :)

Camp Out, Part 2

Oh yeah. I rocked it. The tent is once again set up and being enjoyed by the youngest family member as I type this. And the dogs; who also love camping. Well....I'm not sure if they love *camping* per se but they definitely love sleeping on the air mattresses. :)

Now if Wonder Boy would just stop sulking and pouting then we will be all set for a fun weekend. Wish me luck!

(And keep reading. I posted about last weekends camping adventure earlier today.)

Last Weekend

Finding the time and energy for blogging during the summer is difficult. I have good intentions every. single. day. but then, as it does, time gets away from me. Sometimes the kids do or say something that is too cute or too unbelievable and I make a "mental note" to post about it but then....it's gone from my head. Sad. I have a feeling I am missing some really good sharing moments. *sigh*

I've been meaning to post about our (past) weekend and the fun times that took place right in our own backyard. I have to say, Dakota wins the "Fun Mom" award hands down.

Dakota and I had talked briefly about possibly setting up the giant camping tent for a "camping in the yard weekend" - it's a regular summer occurrence here and we all love it. The weather, at the time we talked about it, wasn't supposed to get too hot. Yeah - wasn't *supposed* to but did just the same. :)

So Friday afternoon, in 90+ degree heat, the kids and I lugged out the heavy tent bag and I got to work setting it up. The kids "helped" by sitting on patio chairs screaming in happiness and yelling "Is it ready yet?" about a zillion times. As I mentioned, the tent is huge...the paperwork says it sleeps 10...but it is easy enough for me to set up alone. It takes about 40 minutes from start to finish and then it took about 20 more minutes to blow up air mattresses, unroll sleeping bags and lug out the many "necessary" supplies for the kids (books, flashlights, pillows, buddies, cups, etc.). Kaylen was still pretty sick and cranky so that was an extra added bonus. (We figured it was still worth moving ahead with fun plans since we were stuck at the house anyway and being outside and playing camping was a great distraction for all of us.)

Within an hour, the three of us were sprawled out on the camping beds reading books. I didn't put the rain fly on (bad move on my part) so shade was non-existent. Once it got too hot, Kelton gave up and went inside. No such luck for Kaylen. I was sweating bullets. I ended up rigging a temporary shady area over one of the beds so while it was still hot as hell, at least we weren't getting sunburned. :)

Once Dakota got home, the fun really started. She made a fun camping-type dinner and then we made s'mores over the BBQ (well, the three of them. I'm not a fan of the s'more). The kids had wanted a fire in the fire pit but it was already getting quite late. Thankfully, they agreed to roasting them over the grill.

We got the kids cleaned up and in their pj's and, after five trips to and from the house for various things, finally they settled into their sleeping bags. And about that time, the neighbors decided it was time to crank their music. Lovely. (I have to say I am not a fan of listening to other people's music. I find it incredibly rude and disrespectful.) Kaylen, still sick and very tired, fell right to sleep. Kelton couldn't. He asked to go back in the house to sleep and was out cold in about 2.5 seconds after crawling into his bed.

Dakota and I hooked up the laptop in the tent and watched a couple episodes of Boston Legal, Season 2 which we Netflixed. (I am loving that show so much!! But that's a post for another day...if I can remember to do it. Hee hee!) And oh yeah - we had ice cream, too. The evening was so warm and it was a perfect way to end the busy week.

I slept in the tent with Kaylen all night (and I have to say, it's a noisy world out there at night and the fireworks at 11:30pm and again at 4:30am certainly didn't help).

Saturday morning held the promise of another hot day (95 degrees). Dakota started putting together a game course that she had dreamed up sometime on Friday (she even stopped by the store and picked up party-type prizes). It was great!! I don't know where all her imagination comes from but she rocked it! There was a sack race, a three-legged race, an obstacle course, fishing, adventure trail hike, treasure dig, bugs and bat game (kind of like Mother May I..only...not) and a river crossing. It took a good two hours to go through everything (while still taking breaks for the cranky girl to rest and for everyone to get out of the heat and into some shade). The kids had an absolute blast!! They were completely into every single part of it and handled each challenge well. I snapped about 200 photos. :)









The rest of the day we spent just hanging out and reading and before we knew it, bedtime had rolled around. This time, neither child could settle down and we all ended up back in the house.

Sunday afternoon, much to everyone's unhappiness, we cleaned out the tent, took it down and put it back in the garage. It was a great "camping weekend". Here's hoping we have time to do it at least once more before the end of summer (which is coming faster than any of us care to think. Just a few more weeks before Dakota heads back to school and then, a week after that, off goes Kelton for all day school. Time moves way too fast.).

Today is a much cooler day. I'm tempted to set the tent up again. We'll see. :)

A Weekend of a Different Type

First off, thank you all for your supportive comments (and outrage) at what happened at the mall yesterday. I appreciate it. The whole thing really upset me and it's nice to know it would have upset you as well. As I said - some people suck. Some do not though so in the spirit of "moving on and moving forward" I thought I would share some photos, and stories, of the weekend.

We actually managed to have some sunshine! Believe me, no one is more surprised than me by this turn of events. I am beginning to think the sun will *never* come out - we've been bogged down in dreary, rainy days for...well...just about forever now. It's getting on my nerves and that is saying a lot. And as an extra bonus, my sister along with my brother-in-law, great-niece and great-nephew came to to visit!

Saturday morning my friend, Brenda, and I went out bright and early to see what treasures we could find at garage sales. Years ago, before she moved to California (and back again) we would often go out to garage sales together so it was like old times and I really enjoyed it. We did manage to find some good deals - I picked up two Video Now players, headphones and about nine Video Now DVD's (all Kelton's favorites: Sponge Bob, Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents and Scooby Doo) for....are you ready for this? FIVE DOLLARS! And yes, they work. The kids are beyond thrilled and I am more than happy I didn't pay retail price for them because well...they aren't at all what I expected. For all the hype of a few years ago, I was surprised to see how tiny the image is and the fact that it's in black and white really kind of blew me away. Black and white? Wild. But hey - for $5.00 I'll take it. And when the time comes to say goodbye to them I will know we got our $5 back a few times over. :)

I also picked up a box of 4T winter clothes for $5.00. This box included a brand new, unopened package of Hanes underwear and a brand new pair of HealthTex socks. Both marked well above the $5.00 total I paid for the box. There are a few really cute shirts (including a Christmas shirt!) and a couple pairs of pants that should work well for Kaylen. Whatever we don't/can't use I can donate and I still come out waaaaaaay ahead! :)

And yes, there is more. For another $5.00 I bought a decent sized box of boys pajamas in Kelton's size (both current and the next size up). Kelton LOVES pajamas. If we would allow it, he would buy a new pair every time we went to a store that sells them. That said, he would also wear them 24/7 if we'd let him. I knew it would be a huge hit for him - and it was.

I found an Angelina Ballerina DVD ($2) as well as cute little, in good condition, ballet shoes ($0.75) for my little wanna-be ballerina.

So all in all - I did pretty well. After hitting the sales both Brenda and I were hungry so we stopped at one of our favorite places and grabbed a bite to eat. After dropping Brenda (and her treasure trove of goodies) off my phone began ringing. It was my great-niece calling to talk with Kelton to let us know they were almost to our house. Fortunately I was only a few minutes away and I pulled into the driveway just moments before they did.

Oh the excitement! The kids went in every direction imaginable and the fun began! Since it was a nice afternoon, we spent a good bit of time in the yard. Then there was swimming to be done at their hotel, then back to our house for a dinner of pizza and then Mikayla (who is 7) spent the night with Kelton.

Dakota and the pupsters.

Tractor driving Playing dress-up.
Ring around the Rosie while looking at themselves in the mirror.
Pizza Time!

We had a huge thunder and lightning storm roll through just as we were getting the kids to bed. My two fell to sleep without a care but we ended up sitting next to Mikayla for an hour before she finally drifted off. I have to admit, if I was a child at someone else's house during a big storm I would have been scared, too.

The next morning the kids played and then settled in for some Martian Matter fun. They really had a good time and the fun kept going from there. My sister, BIL, and Mikayla's brother, Parker, arrived a while later and we visited a bit before it was time to say our goodbyes. It was a quick visit but so, so nice to have people come see us. It's rare and always welcomed!

Playing Martian Matter

The rest of the day went by easily. Dakota and Kaylen went out to pick up a few groceries to carry us through to shopping day and Kelton and I stayed home and watched "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl" which Kelton absolutely loved. Later in the afternoon I was checking out CraigsList, as I am known to do, and finally found the style of bar chairs I've been keeping an eye open for (and at a very reasonable price! $20 each!) for a long while. A couple of phone calls, two trips to bring them home and removing about 3 inches in height yesterday (Thank you Dakota! You sure know how to work that circular saw! ) and they are perfect!



Monday morning found poor Kaylen stuffy and congested. We all lounged around for a while and then finally started moving forward with our To Do list which included shortening the new bar chairs. After that - the day slide steadily into a funk. The kids got crabby and sassy and both Dakota and I were feeling restless.

We ended up at the mall where things did not improve. The final straw was removing the kids from the Disney Store in an all out tantrum over not getting what they wanted. Never mind the fact that they both picked out two books at the Borders Express store that was going out of business (and had 40% off everything). So - we left the mall and headed for home.

Fun times, I tell you. Fun times! I guess that's life though - fun and good times mixed in with not so fun and not so good. Today is another day though and anything is possible. :)