Summertime Fun, Part 3: Camp!

This was the first year Little Miss was old enough to go to church camp....overnight, sleep-away-from-home-for-2-nights church camp. I have attended many church camps in my lifetime in various roles: camper, counselor, kitchen staff, ministry group, etc. I'm just as comfortable in a camp dorm as the staff housing or the kitchen.

It's a different story altogether when you're preparing to put your firstborn on a bus full of children and send her two hours away for three days. It's an even bigger deal to do it when she's never slept away from home.

So, we arranged for friends to watch Little Man while Hubby was at work for a few days and Little Miss and I headed off to camp.

Getting ready to load up!

I'm not sure who was more nervous. While this was her first camp experience ever,  it was my first experience in more than 10 years! To be honest, I wasn't sure my body would ever forgive me.

I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. If you've ever been to camp (and loved it...which I did!), it doesn't take long to fall in love with it all over again. I think Little Miss has fallen in love with it as well. From the cafeteria chants to the chapel services and even the Mud Games...she seemed to love it all. I think I see a new tradition in our future. (I reserve the right to feel differently in another 10 years!)

The Green Team...Go Ireland!

A very tired camper...glad to be home!

 

Kick Off to Summer

Little Miss finished school last week, and we celebrated all weekend long with some early summertime fun. Friday night we visited a favorite park of ours for a picnic dinner and some fun playtime.

This park has a huge butterfly garden (which wasn't open when we were there),

and this awesome playground.

Little Miss loved the butterfly.

Little Man loved the caterpillar slide.

Saturday night, Hubby's employer provided tickets to a

local Minor league baseball game.

It was Little Man's first "live" baseball game. He was fascinated by every play

and loved every minute of it. I believe we have a baseball fan
on our hands...Go Cards!

 Little Miss was all about the food...a girl after my own heart!

Finally, we officially wrapped up the school year with an end-of-school party
at Little Man's preschool on Tuesday. Little Miss got to be his special guest.

Summer vacation is in full swing here. Let the fun begin. What summertime fun do you have planned? 

A Hello Kitty Party

Last weekend we celebrated Little Miss's birthday. It would not be an exaggeration to say we celebrated all week long, but Saturday was the "party." The theme...Hello Kitty, of course! What 7-year-old girl doesn't love Hello Kitty?

Setting up the craft table...waiting for guests to arrive.

 The birthday girl with Mommy (I love

how happy she looks here)

 The birthday girl with Daddy

 The party girls! (and my Little Man...poor guy was
severely outnumbered, but it didn't seem to bother him!)

Pin the bow on Hello Kitty

What's a party without a pinata?

Time for presents

(No, those are not prescription glasses, simply a fashion statement)

My Happy Birthday Girl!



Happy Spring!

In the Spring Time

an original poem by Little Miss

In the spring time the birds sing!

The kids play!

The flowers bloom!

The creep around!

Happiness!

Happy Spring, everyone!

40-B4-40: Fun Mommy

**40-B4-40 is my 8-month journey in bidding adieu to my youth and embracing

the next chapter (a.k.a. decade). Thanks for joining me!**

A couple of weeks ago, the ladies in our small group were sitting around discussing "mommyhood," as moms usually do. One commented that it's her husband who is typically the "fun" one.
As she put is, "When Daddy comes home, the circus has arrived." We could all relate. It seems that, in our homes anyway, Daddy provides the fun and laughter and Mommy provides the structure and organization.

Our so-thoughtful hubbies even try to help us out occasionally by leading with something like, "Look what Mommy thought of, isn't she so fun?!" Still, our children glance our way with knowing eyes as if to say, "I'm not buying it, Dad. We all know you're the fun one!"

So, we came up with a challenge for ourselves: Create one "Fun Mommy" moment each week. It could be as simple as eating dessert first before dinner or 30 minutes of playing "Tickle Monster" on the bed. (The last one probably works better with toddlers and preschoolers than teens...just sayin'.) It simply has to be fun.

Imagine my delight, then, when I was awakened this morning by a call from Little Miss's school saying school was cancelled due to inclement weather. I had my Fun Mommy moment handed to me in our first snow day this year. Here's just a glimpse...

There was sledding

And snow angels

Then of course hot cocoa when we came in

The best part? I let go of my to-do list, embraced my aging "Fun Mommy" side, and joined in with them. I'm pretty sure my almost-"ahem"-year-old body will feel it tomorrow, but I'm also sure my kids (and I) will remember it for much longer.

What Fun Mommy moment have you created lately?

1000 Gifts: Unwrapping My Gifts

"I begin the list. Not of gifts I want, but of gifts I already have...I don't even know they are gifts until I write them down. Gifts He bestows. This writing it down--it is sort of like...unwrapping love."  

--Ann Voskamp in 1000 Gifts.

(I apologize again for the length of this post...still catching up to my late start this year!)

0021. modern medical imaging that can see what our eyes can't

 

 

0022. the words of kind medical staff who help ease my edgy nerves

 

 

0023. a husband content to be there for me...for 2 hours in a waiting room

 

 

0024. a good report from the doctor

 

 

0025. words...written and spoken

 

 

 

0026.  e-mails from far-away family

 

 

0027. surprise encounters at the grocery store, and leaving encouraged

 

 

0028. prayer meetings

 

 

0029. being part of a community of believers

 

 

0030. coffee

 

 

0031. those who are willing to stand for truth

 

 

0032. the man at Little Miss's school who is there every day with a smile 

to help her out of the van and give Little Man a high-five

 

 

0033. books, lots and lots of books

 

 

0034. holding little hands while we walk

 

 

0035. friends with "kindred spirits"

 

 

 

0036. a napping child

 

 

0037. the imagination of my children

 

 

0038. the scent of a freshly-cleaned house

 

 

0039. Little Man's laughter

 

 

0040. watching my husband with our son

 

 

0041. seeing my husband in our son

 

 

0042. Sunday afternoon naps

 

 

0043. watching my son sing about God's love and dance with delight in children's church.

 

 

0044. waking to freshly fallen snow

 

 

0045. a snow day at home (a.k.a. PJs and no-makeup day)

 

 

0046. hot cocoa in cold cheeks

 

 

0047. encouragement from a friend

 

 

0048. a date with my love

 

 

0049. snow angels

 

 

0050. warming by the fire

 

 

0051. "fresh" blueberries frozen from last summer's outing

 

 

0052. footprints in clean snow

 

 

0053. warm bread and soup on a chilly day

 

 

0054. big dreams

 

 

0055. not-so-tiny hands that still need help.

 

 

0056. the beauty of imagination + art supplies

 

 

0057. learning to "let go."

 

 

0058. squeals of children playing outside

 

 

0059. simple ideas that turn out so well

 

 

0060. a good night's sleep

A Lightning McQueen Birthday...Ka-Chow!

As you know, Little Man turned 4 a couple of weeks ago. I'm finally getting around to posting some pics.

We are all about the Disney movie Cars around here. Mater, Sally, Luigi, Guido, Doc, Sheriff, Ramone...we can name them all. Especially the star, Lightning McQueen...Ka-chow Pa-pow! (You can't say his name around here without adding his signature catch phase). So, it was pretty obvious what theme we would go with for this birthday party. And lucky for me, Lightning McQueen party supplies are everywhere these days!

I found this scene setter at Party City. At over 6-feet tall it served as the main decoration and doubled as a fantastic backdrop for pictures. (Bonus: the kids loved standing next to their favorite characters from the movie.) It may actually find its way into Little Man's room to serve as decoration until we are ready to paint and decorate in there.



A Cars table cloth and some Lightning McQueen balloons set the stage for the main attraction...cupcakes! We even had a remote-controlled Lightning McQueen doing laps around the cupcakes thanks to a Geo Traxx track we already owned (a big hit with the 4-year-old crowd!).



Hubby built a custom race track through the middle of the living room for the kids to play with as they arrived. We also had a racetrack carpet with a basket of cars and a Lightning McQueen and Mater puzzle to keep them occupied (all compliments of our own playroom!).

We hung a few race flags (also from Party City), and we were good to go!

The presents

The cupcakes (egg-, soy-, and peanut-free for the birthday boy)
with Lightning McQueen and Mater cupcake toppers

The birthday boy

Finally...time to open presents
(he had been asking since he woke up that morning)

Thank you grandma & grandpa!


Most of the presents fell in line with the theme, too!
(No complaints from Little Man about that!)


Helping Daddy build his new bike.

Ready to ride! (Of course it's a Lightning McQueen bike...
did you expect something else?)

Happy Birthday Little Man!

XOXO --Mommy

I Did It: My First 5K!!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to be running a 5K in celebration of my health journey this last year. Well, today was that day!

I must admit, I was pretty nervous. I am not what you'd call athletic. I never have been. I workout regularly...in the privacy of my own home, but rarely do I attempt anything that requires any amount of athletic skill or coordination in front of others. It's one thing to run 3.1 miles on my treadmill in the comfort of my own basement. It's quite another to do it on the back country roads of southwest Missouri with 1,000 of my closest friends.

That's why I was so glad to have my running buddy, Sheila. I'm not typically one who likes to run with someone else (and neither is Sheila), but she offered to run with me and I accepted. After all, she's kind of the one who inspired me...another stay-at-home mom with little athletic background, Sheila has begun running 5Ks, 10Ks, and even half-marathons. I figured if she can do it with three kids, I can do it with two! So I did. (Thanks, Sheila!)

Me and my running buddy, Sheila.

Getting ready to run

Originally my goal was to finish, but secretly I wanted to finish in 45 minutes. I set out to do a 3 min/2 min jog/walk interval for the whole race. (That's what I'd been doing in my training.) I started strong. I must admit there's something amazing about trekking down the road with hundreds of other people with the same goal in sight. It was especially inspiring to me to do a run at my church where so many knew my story and were cheering me on. It felt great every time I heard someone say, "Way to go, Nancy. You're doing great!"

The course was down-and-back, and there was a huge, long hill leading up to the turn-around. That did me in...Ms. Trained-on-my-Treadmill-Instead-of-Actual-Hills. I was pretty wiped out on the way back, and ended up walking more than I would have liked. My leg held up OK, but I could definitely tell a difference the last mile. The "bad" leg felt like it was twice as heavy as the other one.

I beat my best training time by a whole minute, so I was pretty happy with that. Hubby keeps reminding me that a year ago I was hobbling around on crutches with my leg completely wrapped from toe to thigh. Today I finished a 5K in 44 minutes and 16 seconds. I'd say I did alright! :)

My Parents: 40 Years of Love

Once upon a time, a long, long, looong time ago…

there was a little boy named Randy.

Randy loved reading books, watching TV, and playing baseball.

But his favorite thing to do was to visit his friend Danny’s house.

Danny’s house was always fun. There were yummy cookies to eat,

lots of games to play, and best of all…

Danny’s little sister, Diana.

Diana was kind of shy and quiet, but Randy thought she was pretty cute.

When they were older, Randy decided he liked Diana

even more than he liked Danny.

So they got married.

They had three perfect daughters ;)

Who found three wonderful husbands.

And now they are known as Nanee and Papa to their five amazing grandkids!

Oh, and they lived happily ever after of course!

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom & Dad! I love you!

Off to First Grade!

It's that time of year again: This morning I handed over my first-born to a woman I've only met once, trusting her to impart knowledge, wisdom, and character into my child for seven hours every day. While this year was not nearly as emotional as last year's drop-off, I was surprised by the sadness I felt again when I walked out of the school.

We did a great job of soaking up every moment of the summer. We went swimming, visited family, had numerous outings, worked on craft projects, and spent plenty of time just playing and being lazy. But I still felt a twinge of regret when I walked her to her class this morning. I couldn't help but think, Did I do enough? Could I have done more? For the next 9 months, she'll spend more time with teachers and friends, and therefore be more open to their influence. Have I done enough to prepare her?

I realize this may make me sound a little paranoid. Trust me, I am not wanting to wrap my child in bubble wrap or lock her away in a tower somewhere. We love our community and our school. Her teacher last year was a God-send, and the Principal is amazing. I've heard great things about her teacher this year, and I'm sure she'll have a fantastic year.

Part of it is simply my personality; I tend to get a little sentimental and misty-eyed over any change in our lives. But aside from that, it's also the fact that we take this parenting thing pretty seriously. Yes, we have other interests and responsibilities (work, church, friendships, etc.), but they all take a backseat to investing in our family and raising our children. We made a conscious decision six years ago for me to stay home to raise our children, because we feel it is our primary responsibility to train them and teach them. While we are thankful for a church, a community, and a school that support our goals in educating and training our children, the primary responsibility falls to Hubby and myself.

So that's why it's hard for me to walk away and leave my Little Miss in the more-than-capable hands of her first-grade teacher. I'm sure in a few days the emotion of it all will fade and the stress of the morning rush take over. But for now, thank you for letting me bask in the emotion of it all again.

[Parents] do not provoke your children to anger,(C) but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4, ESV)

Fun in the Sun

We are smack in the middle of summer heat around here with heat indexes of 100+. You would think that would make us stay in and take it easy, but for some reason it hasn't. We have been shopping, gardening, having playdates, reading (see previous post), picking berries (OK, we did that before it got too hot), and of course swimming, swimming, swimming! Thus, the reason for the bloggy silence lately. We've just been too busy to sit down at the computer.

We have a relatively quiet morning today, and while the kids are playing nicely together (for the moment at least), I thought I'd jump on here and share some pics of our summertime adventures. Here's what we've been up to...

Earlier in the summer, before the mercury jumped too high,
we went blueberry picking. This was our first time to pick fresh berries, and we loved it!

We went with friends which made it even more fun!

Of course, the best part was the yummy blueberries we are still enjoying!

We spent 4th of July weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's.
Despite the heat, the kids had so much fun climbing trees....

Driving the "tractor"...

And just being in the country.

What's summer without a trip to the county fair?
Little Miss and Little Man loved it all...the petting zoo,

The rides

And the food!
It's not the fair without sno cones and cotton candy, right?

Now that the heat has settled in, we've spent a lot of time in the water.

There is an awesome park nearby with a huge fountain for the kids to play in.
As you can see, it's a favorite water spot for us!

So, what have you been up to this summer?