Mountain Top Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago, my sister called and told us that Trevor (who was turning 4) had chosen to go camping for his birthday party. Would we be there?

My first reaction was something like, "Well, I don't know, I'll have to talk with hubby." But on the inside, it went more like "CAMPING?!? Are you insane? I can barely take these kids to the bank and back without losing my mind! HA! NO WAY!"

The more hubby and I talked about it though, the more I thought...why not? So I got busy planning and packing. Not that all my planning did me much good this go 'round. I forgot some pretty basic stuff. Like enough water for us to drink! And sunscreen. And jackets for the kids...I remembered mine though, and I was toasty warm, thank-you-very-much. I'm such a great mom.

We had lots of fun. It was a good weekend adventure. A dirty, tiring, buggy, puky adventure, but an adventure all the same. I don't mean to make it sound like we didn't have fun...we did. It was tons of fun. But Clara got car sick on the way up, and on the way down the mountain. And tell me this...how can one night camping result in 17 loads of laundry? It's a mystery.

The most terrible thing that happened on this trip? I had just set out to take some great pictures of God's creation...when my camera battery died. THE HORROR! I won't let that happen again.

I got some great shots before that happened though. Here goes...

My little family setting up the tent:



This camp chair has a little section in the middle that is designed to be a cooler. But it was a perfect fit for my little Thomas' backside! He spent quite a bit of time in "his chair" :)



Here's my youngest sister, Megan. She came all the way from Wisconsin for this weekend. What a great aunt!

While Trevor was taking a nap, we set up camp to be a big birthday party. Look at all these goodies my sister brought up! She's such a neat Mom :)





Once we got the party all set up, we put our party hats on and sat around looking at each other while we waited for the birthday boy to wake up.


Surprise, Trevor!

It was a great trip, and one that I hope turns into an annual tradition. And if it does? I'll pack some jackets and some water. And I'll charge my camera battery first. And I'll buy a camper with a shower in it. And a microwave. And a bathroom. And a big bed. And maybe the kids will get to come too...

Vacation Mishaps, Lessons, and Beauty

Lesson #1 also goes with mishap #1: Remove thumb from path of very sharp knife before slicing into watermelon or you will have to live with a finger that looks like this and not go in the water for 4 days:

I thought for SURE I'd need stitches. I've never cut myself quite like that before. Turns out, it comes in handy for a Daddy to also have a nursing background :)

Here's some beauty for you. Well, it's beauty to me anyway. My folks' cottage neighbors were probably taking pity on my parents and their 'challenged' daughter who was staring at tree bark for so long!

Thomas learned something new during our vacation...he started pulling up (as long as he can find something short enough to pull up on). The way he stands cracks me up:

This also cracked me up...here we went all the way to Wisconsin for vacation, and I wind up peeling potatoes from my great state of Idaho. The joke around here is that they ship all the good Idaho potatoes out of state - proof!



Grandma and Papa bought sweet little kid-sized Adirondack chairs for the grand kids. They come a plain, unfinished wood. I painted Sammy's this trip:


She loved it :)


One not so fun thing about vacation is when the baby decides to wake at 5:30 AM every single morning. But I guess if he hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten this sunrise shot of the lake:

Little turd. Good thing he's so dang cute, or I might have to send him back ;)


One of the kids' favorite things to do is to "drive" the boat with Papa. They get to steer, and most importantly, honk the horn. Even Thomas got in on the action this trip:

Here I am with 3 of my kiddos waiting for some firecrackers to go flying...I mean staying safely and legally on the ground. Sammy would have been in the picture too, but I'm pretty sure she was hiding under a bed when she heard someone say "fireworks". She says they're "too caaareeey!"

Another favorite activity is dropping anchor in the middle of the lake and swimming. Sammy was so brave, she got right in with me! I thought for sure it would be "too carey" for her.


Mama's little sweet pea. Man I love this little girl.

Here's another vacation lesson for you: sleep with mosquito spray on. Never mind the supposed dangers of DEET. If you don't do it, your legs might look like Clara's did when she woke up. I count 16 on the back of her legs...and she had them to match on the front of her legs, her arms, and her face too. I knew she was sweet, but DANG!


One more lesson (and mishap): when you ask your 5 year old if she has sunscreen on, don't believe her when she says "Yes". I'm sure all the sunscreen applications just ran together in a blur in her mind...I don't think she intentionally lied. But she sure looked like a lobster after spending the day doing this with no sunscreen on! I felt terrible :(

Have you ever looked at a dragonfly?

I mean, really looked? Beautiful. And a little creepy in a buggy/alieny/don't land on me kind of way. But mostly beautiful.

That's it for today. I'm not on vacation anymore...housework calls :)

What'd I Tell Ya?

Yes, here I am looking through vacation pictures and writing a post when I really should be doing laundry or...say...getting ready for all the people coming for dinner tonight?!

I'm just about past caring if my house looks perfect. I keep trying to tell myself to "bless, not impress". And then I go crazy with the Windex again. And then I eat some M&M's. And then I chew off some fingernails. And then I get on the computer. So here I am.

But lucky you...you actually get some vacation pictures now!

So here's the cottage....I KNOW! Beautiful, eh? But if you think the view is great from that vantage point, all you have to do is turn around...

...and you see this:

Yes, it is just as beautiful and peaceful as it looks. And it smells great. Crisp, clean air. The smell of trees and water and sand. Ahhh...

We had lots of fun around the campfire. Of course, the kids' favorite was making s'mores.

Wait, stop! Who is that handsome, strapping man getting away with my baby? Oh. My. That's my husband! Sorry ladies. He's mine. All mine. Hey you. Put that baby down and come on over here.

That's better.

Here's a picture of Thomas in the backpack carrier. The backpack was a last minute thing...we weren't really planning on bringing it. But it's a good thing we did. Thomas spend a LOT of time in there. He loves being in on the action, an we love having our arms free.

And someone...I have no idea who, but they must have been VERY nearby...gave us an incredible fireworks show. I swear, you couldn't find a better "professional" show anywhere!

And this is what happens when you take a half a stick of dynamite, and toss it in the bushes. Not only do you hear a large "BANG" that makes you pee your pants (almost, ahem)...but it clears the brush a bit too. I mean, this is what I hear happens. I'm sure these amazing fireworks and noise makers are a bit on the illegal side, and no one I know would partake in this type of irresponsible behavior. But I hear it's really beautiful, and loud, and fun.

Okay. Here's a picture of my beautiful baby boy about to get in the water for the first time. And that's me holding him. That's me with no shower. And no makeup. AND in a bathing suit. You've seen what most people don't see. Consider yourself in my inner circle now...we're family ;)

Thomas absolutely loved splashing in the water!

This is by far, the most enthusiastic response we've gotten to the lake from any of our kids at this young age :)

And of course, we spent many a hour parked in front of the campfire. Have you ever noticed just how beautiful fire is?





That's it for now. I have lots more to show you though, so stay tuned. There's fishing, and eating, and boating, and tubing, and swimming, and...trust me, there's lots more! You're going to see so many vacation pictures, YOU might have a sunburn and some mosquito bites by the end!

Recovering From Recovering

How can vacation be so relaxing, so fun, so peaceful...and so exhausting at the same time?

Well, part of the reason I'm sure, is the fact that our plane didn't touch down in Boise until about 1:30 last night. That's AM. As in the middle of the night. And that was after lots of crying and whining and barfing on the airplane by my kiddos.

And I'm sure that another part of the reason was that Thomas was a very excited vacationer. So excited to get a start on the day was he, that he was up at 5:00 each morning and ready to go.

There has to be a better way to travel than by airplane. Really...why, in this modern age, can we not get the teleporting thing figured out? Beam me to Wisconsin, please. Okay, now beam a cleaning lady to my house while I'm away. Alright, beam me back to Idaho now.

So we're taking the day to recover from our vacation today. We slept in (past 5 at least). We were in our jammies until almost noon (okay, I was in my jammies, my kids went outside to play). We're taking naps.

I hope to sort through some of the 300 or so photos soon so I can show you (you only wish I was kidding!).

And by the way...I love you. Each and every one of you who actually visited me and left me comments while I was away. It just made my day to see comments from my bloggy friends who visited even though I was away and not able to respond. At some point while I was away, I actually had my 20,000th visitor! That might call for a celebration or giveaway of some sort. Stay tuned... :)

Headed Back Home

We should be on the road again today...headed back to Idaho with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Sometimes it's nice to be back home, but it is ALWAYS, no matter how long we've been there, really hard to leave the bliss that is my parents' lakeside cottage.

I'm not blogging while I'm away (what's the point of a lakeside cottage if I sit on the computer all the time?)...but I did learn a thing or two about healthy eating before I left.

I blogged about it here, if you're interested.

I'll be back to real-time blogging tomorrow...with all kinds of beautiful summertime vacation pictures to share :) And I can't wait to get caught up on all of my blog reading!

Grandma's 90th Birthday Party

I just realized that I'm headed to Wisconsin again...and I haven't even shown you pictures of the last time I was there! It was one of those "I took so many pictures, that I don't know where to start" problems. So I plucked out a few of my favorites, and am setting this post to publish while I'm on vacation.

The top picture is of my little travelin' buddy, Thomas. It was just the two of us on that trip. It was a bit of a last minute decision to go at all, and two tickets are much easier on the budget than six. Besides, the kids had school stuff going on that we didn't want them to miss. I really enjoyed traveling with just my little one. I had several people comment, "Oh, you're so brave to travel with a baby all by yourself!" I smiled politely...but on the inside I was thinking, "This is a cake walk! Traveling with one is downright leisurely compared to what I'm used to!" :)

See the blanket he's sitting on? That's the blankey I made him in the wee hours of the morning just a day before we were to leave for our trip. Remember? It was my procrastination project! The binding corners are a bit on the round side, but overall, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Thomas was a good traveler, but a tad cranky. When I noticed this at the airport that day, I finally understood what was going on:


Those are purple gums, folks! They were bruised from his teeth pushing through. He pushed all FOUR of his upper teeth in during that week! Youch!! Poor guy :(

But there was no complaining on anyone's part when Thomas got to see his Yaya and Papa! He is adored and spoiled by them...as he should be! I'm pretty sure they're adored right back.




This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom. I know, you can't even see her face...but I see...HER. Just the way she walks, the way she has her beloved dog with her, and the way she stands...just my mama. BTW, this "an empty" field across the street from their house. Around here "an empty field" means brown rocks, brown weeds, and maybe a tumbleweed or two thrown in. Not lush, flowing fields of grasses and wildflowers. Wisconsin isn't all that bad!


And now for the whole reason of our trip: Grandma's 90th Birthday bash. Here I am with my two younger sisters. That's me on the left, Tiffany in the middle (she is taller than me, but she's much taller than me with 3 inch heels on!), and Megan.

That reminds me, I want to do a post about Tiffany soon. I have some ammo on that gal...yesiree!

Here's the birthday girl (sitting) with a handful of my cousins and aunts standing around:

And here's yours truly with the lady of the hour. Each table had a red geranium as it's centerpiece. I love that. Grandma always...every single solitary year...planted red geraniums in her front yard. I have a big trailing geranium on my front porch, and think of her every day as I water it.

At first glance, this picture might not seem like a good one. It's a bit dark and is blurry in spots. But I really like this one. Look at Grandma...in the center of the shot, being perfectly still while life just seems to swirl all around her. I'll bet that's a bit how life feels when you're 90.

All the commotion got to be a bit much for my babe, so I laid out a blanket and just let him sit and play by himself for a while. I think we both enjoyed the break.

Here are a few more cousins and an uncle. I love the big birthday sign hanging in the background. I'm not sure who made it, but it was really sweet.

Here's Grandma hugging...someone (if that's you, sorry...I don't recognize you from the top of the head). I like this picture because it shows how Grandma hugs. Have you ever noticed how everyone hugs a little differently? Grandma always seems to sneak a hand or two in there to pat your cheek. Her hands are so soft.

I tried in vain to get great shots with my fancy-schmancy new flash with filter and bounce. This is a picture I got of Thomas as I experimented.

Here's Megan with her hubby, Tony. Aren't they a cute couple? I think so.

Here's Grandma with her best friend for...forever! She and Sylvira have known each other since high school, I think. But even if they met when they were 50, that's still a good 6 years longer than I've been alive!

It's inevitable. Every Wisconsin party (at least the ones with my family) always end up like this! Does someone in my gene pool hold major stock in a playing card manufacturer or something? I swear...people carry playing cards around in their back pocket, in their purse, in their bra! I don't think there has ever been a party without some form of cards! It's not a bad thing...just fact.

Whatcha thinking, Grandma? Is she thinking "How is it possible that I'm 90 years old?!" Is she thinking, "When are these people going to go home already?!" Is she thinking, "I'd like some more of that fish!"

I wonder if it strikes her like it does me when we're in a room full of our very large family? Does it strike her that all of those people are there for her...OF her? Does she look around and think about her husband and how it was their love that started all of this? Does she miss him in moments like these?

My Grandma Ruth Stroshane. I know the feel of her hand on my cheek. I know the careful way she chews crunchy foods. I know the way she smiles and laughs. I love the way she laughs. I know how it feels for her to whoop me in cards. I know the way her wedding band looks on her finger. I know the smell of her house, even though she doesn't live there any more. In my mind, I can hear her answer the phone with "Yyyello" :) I know that she's probably wearing a locket right this minute that contains a sweet picture of herself and her husband..."Daddy", as she calls him.

Happy Birthday Grandma. I love you!

What? Huh?

I woke in a daze this morning. I was very confused. My eyes were still closed, yet I knew something wasn't quite right. I open my eyes slowly to see my sweet Clara Rose's nose approximately 2 centimeters from mine...eyes wide and bright...staring at me and willing me to wake.

As soon as my eyes opened, she said...as if holding her breath and letting it all out in one long, gushing burst of a sentence..., "Mommy-do-you-know-what-tomorrow-is?-Tomorrow-we-go-to-ASCONSIN!-We-hafta-pack-I-wanna-pack-NOW-can-we?!"

So I'm off to do laundry, clean house, and pack. I can't wait to be in "Asconsin"!

Hope you all have a great holiday...stop by even though I'll be gone. I've scheduled a few fun posts to go up when I'm away :)

Smokin'

My vacuum cleaner, that is. I turned it on this morning, it sort of flickered on and then off and then on again...and then it started emitting a stinky smelling smoke. Smoke!

I called my vacuum cleaner savior/repairman (is it bad that I have a vacuum guy?), and when I described what was going on he said, "Yeah, um, smoke is generally not a good thing."

He's really great with vacuums. Promise.

As if I needed more to do today! We're headed to Wisconsin bright and early this Saturday morning. It turns out that planning, packing, organizing, and washing for 6 people is a big job. Especially when I'm trying to actually care for 5 of said people while getting ready (hubby is on a business trip).

There's progress, at least. Hubby is all packed and ready to go. He does his own packing. I know lots of couples where the wife packs for hubby too...not around here. It just works better when he does it himself.

And the kids' clothes is packed. Yes, all 4 kids!

So now I'm down to my clothes, the carry-on stuff, and the "miscellaneous" stuff. You know, stuff like sun screen, swim diapers, a night light, a baby monitor, medication, toothbrushes...stuff. The stuff that makes packing so dang hard. The stuff that pops into my brain just as I'm dozing off so that I have to jump out of bed and either throw it in a suitcase right then or put it on "THE LIST".

I love vacation. I especially love this particular annual trip to my parents' cottage. But, oh, how I hate, hate, HATE to pack!

And besides that, I feel like a boy today. My hair is too short and too brown. I know, Hubby, you're rolling your eyes right now. What can I say, though? This is the life you signed up for with me. Sucks to be you, pal! ;)

I'm off to procrastinate some more. Have a great day everyone!

P.S. I don't think I'll have access to a computer at the cottage, but I've scheduled a few fun posts to publish while I'm away :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring

And I love it! The sound of rain is just so wonderful, don't you think? I don't know how to record sound only, so you're stuck with a boring picture too. Close your eyes and just listen to this rain!

Or you can watch the picture and if you look closely, you can see the camera give a little shake with every beat of my heart. Steady hands are not exactly one of my gifts.

We made it home just fine yesterday...last night...this morning...whenever it was. It was dark and way to late/early to be up. My wonderful hubby surprised me by picking me up at the airport in the dead of night. I almost cried at the joy of getting to hug him earlier than expected! I love that man.

On The Road Again...I Know, I've Used This Title Before

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my baby sling? It came in handy on this vacation. Grandma's birthday party was right during the time of Thomas' nap...so I snuggled up with him in his sling, and off he drifted to dream land. It's a life saver.

We're headed back to Idaho this afternoon. I'm praying for smooth skies, on-time flights, and a sleepy baby.

We Made It

Well, we made it to Wisconsin just fine. The trip was relatively uneventful, and Thomas was a real trooper. His screeching was quite the entertainment on the airplane. The poor guy in the row ahead of us kept trying to sleep...he was less than pleased with us!

We've been hustling around this morning to make some goodies for Grandma's birthday bash. I'll take lots of pictures at the party, and will do an irritatingly long post with them after I get home. Don't really have a way to do it from here. I should get a card reader.

I'm enjoying myself - it's so nice to see my family, and the TREES here are just so wonderful! It makes me realize just what a desert Idaho is.

I do miss hubby and my babies though. I'm sure they miss me all terribly too. Especially when they were eating pizza and watching "Hercules" last night with their cousins. And my poor hubby...he's having a "the wife's away" poker party tonight. The poor guy is missing me so much, he'll probably be crying into his beer and and full house. I just don't know if they'll make it through the weekend ;)

Don't forget to log on to do your Seek The Lord Sunday post! This week's topic is 'how has following Christ affected your marriage?' Look for mine post and Mister Linky around 10 tonight.

I Guess It's Goodbye...

Thomas and I are off to Wisconsin tomorrow morning. My alarm is set for (gulp) 4:30 AM. Gag.

I hate saying goodbye to my kids. Why am I so afraid when I have to fly without them? Hubby and I were talking about how I don't think twice about running to the store, when there is a far greater chance of me dying on the way to the store than there is of me dying in a plane crash. Heck, there's a greater chance that I'd fall and hit my head and die at the store! There's a greater chance that I'd be shot to death at the store!

In fact, do you know how many Americans died in commercial plane crashes last year? Zero.

And did you know that there is a greater chance that you will die in an ox-powered cart crash, than in a plane crash? Yes, an ox. A big, hairy animal...pulling a cart. More dangerous than tons of steel flying through the air.

You'd think that I'd feel safe since I know how flying works. I studied engineering in school...I get the mechanics of how they get the thing in the air. I can see why it's so safe.

But when it's me or someone I love? When it involves my children being without their one and only Mommy? Scares me to death.

In fact...you're going to think I'm crazy...but I actually wrote half a post titled "Well, I guess I'm dead!" It was a big long love letter to my family...I just kept getting choked up and decided I was making myself sick for nothing, so I deleted it (I was going to schedule it to publish several days after my return...if I made it home, I'd delete it...if I didn't...well, you get it).

I told hubby about it. Then I went on and on about how much I love him and the kids, and how he's a great daddy, and how even if something happened to me that he should try to find love in his life, and tell the kids every day how much Mommy loved and adored them. I also told him that I know he'd do a great job of taking care of them if I were gone.

He rolled his eyes at me...and then with a teasing twinkle in his eye he said, "It'd be alright. I've never really loved you anyway." I proceeded to punch him. Hard. With knuckles. And giggles. He always gets me to giggle. It's one of the reasons I love him so much. The punk.

So, I'm off! If you think of it, pray for me and for my family while I'm away. Cuz, you know, I hold the whole place together when I'm home (insert chuckle and more eye rolling from hubby here).

I'm all ready for Seek The Lord Sunday, so I'll see you then :)

At Least All The Important Stuff Is Done

If you know me at all, you could look at my life right now and know that I must have a trip in the near future. Especially if you observed my behavior last night.

I'm not packed. In fact, the laundry isn't even done so I CAN pack. The house is a mess. And to top it off, the season finale of LOST is on tonight...2 hours worth! So I absolutely, positively must be done and ready to go before 8 PM tonight...or risk not being ready and/or exhausted because I had to stay up all night to pack.

But hey...I did get some stuff done. Like a new blanket for Thomas (started and finished that project just yesterday!), a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies (we all know I can't deal with stress without chocolate), and I got my hair cut. I was going to go super short, but chickened out at the last minute and just had her take a couple of inches off. Now it's a very boring medium length.

Oh, and I also made sure all my photos and videos were uploaded to my computer and formatted my memory cards so I have lots of room for all the good stuff I'll shoot at my grandma's birthday party. And of course, I took the time to backup my computer yesterday.

And I went out to buy a lottery ticket, because I'm quite sure that God wants me to become a millionaire this week. I even paid an extra buck for the "power play".

What.

Is.

Wrong.

With.

Me????????????

Thomas is screeching at me. Thomas screeches at everything lately. If he's happy? Screech. If he's hungry? Screech. If he's bored? Screech.

It's cute at first, but then your ear drums start to bleed and it's not so fun anymore. That kid has some lungs! So I'm off to change a diaper/feed/entertain a screeching baby. Wish me luck to get
ready for my trip on time!

P.S. Sammy just came up and said, "Mama, I ont you off a 'pooter and git me my milk" She's so sweet! (In a bossy kinda way)

I'm Up To My Old Tricks Again

I'm such a terrible procrastinator. Thomas and I are getting on an airplane in the wee hours of the morning, this coming Friday...that's roughly 26 hours from now. My house is a wreck. The laundry is backed up. I haven't even started packing. I haven't even really thought about what I need to bring. Have I done this before???

We're headed to Wisconsin for my grandma's 90th birthday bash. Ninety years old! Wow. I wonder if I'll see 90? Let's see, when I'm 90...Benjamin will be 62 years old?! Did I do that math right?? I'm 34 right now, and he's 6. Yes, I think that's right. Hot dog! I might get to see some great-grand kids too!

But I digress...I tend to do quite a bit of digressing when I have a deadline to meet and lots to do.

And hey...at least Thomas will have a nice new blankey to snuggle with on the trip. I'm waiting for my iron to heat right now so that I can press the fabric I bought today. He's a big blankey kid. In fact, he pulls his blankey up to his face and just covers himself up with it. The problem is...it freaks his mommy out. She's neurotic, you know. I'm just so afraid that he's going to suffocate or something (if my sister Tiffany read this, she'd totally roll her eyes). It's at least far too hot under the heavy blankey he uses now. When I dig him out after a nap, he's just sweating. He also has terrible eczema, so that kind of body heat doesn't do his poor skin any favors.

So I'm making him a new blankey! I bought two complimenting flannels and some silky (sateen, I think it's called?) binding. He seems to love that binding on his current baby-suffocating blanket. It should be simple enough to make, and I plan to finish it tonight.

I have, oh, a good 12 hours tomorrow to get ready for my trip.

Oh, good Lord...will you please save me from myself and my procrastinating ways?!

UPDATE: At Least All The Important Stuff Is Done