The Long Overdue Vacation Post

I realize this is only going to be interesting to about half of you, but one of the main reasons I keep this blog is to preserve some family memories. So if this bores you to tears…skip it. No offense will be taken.

I think I mentioned before that one of my older brothers is a program director at Camp Fairwood in Westfield, WI, a few hours from where we live (You can check them out on their website or on Facebook)

Anyway, earlier this year while pondering what, if anything, we could afford to do for a family vacation, I happened to be flipping through the brochure for their camp and that’s when an idea struck me, “What about family camp?”

Although both Dave and I have worked at various youth camps in the past, neither of us had ever really had any experience with family camp, but we thought it could be fun and it was definitely within our budget so we decided to give it a try.

And I’m so glad we did! We had SUCH a great time!

As I mentioned, Lily had a fabulous time getting to see her cousins. She and Mykaela are just a year apart in age and were practically joined at the hip all week. They would’ve slept together if we’d let them…but we knew there would be more giggling than sleep going on if we had allowed it!

Sophia and cousin Adyson had fun playing together too, although they weren’t quite as giggly as their older sisters were

But apart from seeing our family, there were so many other benefits to choosing a week of family camp:

First, being able to enjoy the great outdoors. The camp has acres and acres of gorgeous land. Tons of walking trails. A lake.

Playgrounds

And on one part of the land is a pine plantation. I just can’t get over how perfectly spaced these trees are. It’s like walking (or riding a horse) down a long pine tree hallway.

Cool, huh? And yes…that is me on a horse. Don’t laugh. But that brings me to the next great thing about camp the activities.

We didn’t really even get to scratch the surface of all the fun activities they had to try – paintball, canoeing, tubing – but we did manage to squeeze in a few fun and special activities that we couldn’t normally try at home.

Obviously, horseback riding was one of them. Dave and I went just the two of us during naptime one afternoon, and then later we went with Lily and cousins Eli and Mykaela.

Lily wouldn’t ride with Dave or I, but we were able to persuade her to get on the horse with Mykaela.

I wish I had video…riding behind these two was incredibly entertaining. Lots and lots of giggling and some interesting conversations about horse poop…

Lily loved watching the horses run in the pasture together

and even got to feed one a treat, which she thought was pretty awesome

And even Sophia got in on the fun – although she couldn’t ride the horses, she definitely liked touching them!

Dave and I also played in the 4 on 4 volleyball tournament. Check out Dave’s sweet spiking skills.

And…not that I’m bragging or anything…but our team totally won the whole tournament It felt great to play somewhat competitive volleyball again, and really made me want to find a league to play in this winter! (Sidenote: not really sure what is going on with my face in this picture…apparently I’m super enthusiastic about that spike??)

The camp is really laid back and low key – their goal is to give you lots of opportunities to  be as active as you want, while also leaving room for just relaxing and hanging out, which we really appreciated.

We skipped out on some of the evening activities so the girls could go to bed but we did stay up to participate in a few – like this Minute To Win It game show they put together.

Look at that teamwork!

Last, but not least, one of my favorite things about being at camp was the food.

It was good. And I’m not talking about just “good for being camp food good.” I mean good, like, “I would order it at a restaurant” good.

Hot breakfast every morning, salad bar at every noon and evening meal, and super delicious main dishes – they even had a banquet night where they babysat our kids and we got to eat an entire meal without having to wipe up spilled Kool Aid or cut meat into itty bitty pieces.

Oh, and did I mention, desserts after every lunch AND dinner? Chocolate chip cheesecake, peanut butter pie, Oreo truffles…I’m surprised any of my pants still buttoned at the end of the week. Honestly, I’d say the food alone(and the fact that I didn’t have to cook it OR clean it up) was worth the price of admission!

The very last night was a picnic under the pine trees…

So that was our 2011 Vacay. Definitely something we’d like to repeat in the future – and maybe next year we’ll bring a few friends along!

And We’re Back…

Whew! Has it really been more than 3 weeks since I last posted? I didn’t intend to take an impromptu blog break, but…life happens, and I don’t always have time to write about it

So…what’s been going on? Too much to write about…some good, some bad, some just plain difficult. We’ve dealt with a bout of the stomach flu, a broken-beyond-repair refrigerator, and the death of a friend after a long battle with cancer.

We’ve also enjoyed a week of time away as a family at camp…more on that later.

Sidenote: On an average Monday, I do 4 loads of laundry – 1 white, 2 colors, and 1 “little girl clothes” load.

While we were on vacation, I did 3 loads of laundry…thinking {optimistically} that would leave me only 1 or 2 loads to do when we got home.

I have at least 7 loads waiting for me in the laundry room as we speak.

How did that happen?

Anyway…given the amount of laundry/unpacking that awaits me, I’ll just leave you with one picture that pretty much sums up Lily’s week:

Quote: “Mykaela is my best fwiend.”

Happy Monday!

Country Boys and Girls Gettin' Down On the Farm

My family has a tradition. Every other year for the 4th of July we all travel to my grandparent’s farm in Kansas for a little get together. We eat, we talk, we play games and just hang out – it’s a good time.

And, when it gets dark, of course, we have fireworks. We pool our resources and purchase the best fireworks we can afford and the guys put on a show for us. And it’s a darn good show, if I do say so myself. When we were younger it mostly consisted of a few Roman candles and some fountains but every year it gets a little bigger and a little better.

(This is only a fraction of the fireworks we had…nothing like seeing your money go up in smoke – literally! But as Dave reminded me…memories were made)

This year was no exception. We even set up a pool for the kiddos to splash in.

Lily was a *little* afraid of the big fireworks, and ended up hanging out with Great Grandma in the farmhouse while everything was going off.

On the way home we had this conversation:

Lily: There were beautifuh and pwetty colors, but it was sca-wee.
Mommy: Well, they’re not really scary, but they were loud.
Lily: No. They were sca-wee. But…we don’t have to be afwaid. God made the…cracker things.

Yes, God made the cracker things…sort of…

I thought for sure this little girl would fall asleep before the fireworks even started {Lily slept through them when she was her age!} but she was up for all of it.

Another tradition – we always make homemade ice cream. There are so many of us we have to have several electric mixers and we even broke out my grandparents old hand crank ice cream maker. Everybody had to get in line and take their turn cranking – you gotta work if you wanna eat

It was lots o’ fun but suffice it to say that after three days of waaaay late bedtimes, skipped naps, and crazy schedules…we were pooped…and maybe just a wee bit cranky.

Vacations are fun, but I’m so thankful we have a quiet routine to return to!

{Re}Fresh

So, I mentioned we went to Chicago. It’s a trip that’s been in the works for several months…like, back before Christmas time.

Dave’s BIG Christmas present from me was tickets to see his favorite NBA team {the Boston Celtics} play the Bulls in Chicago.

He’s always wanted to go to an NBA game and while I would’ve loved to have been able to get him tickets to see them play in Boston, Chicago was a little more feasible for our time schedule and budget.

Not only that, but one of our favorite TV chefs, Rick Bayless, has a restaurant there that Dave has always really wanted to try.

{And yes…I’m aware that most of you probably don’t know who he is because you have cable TV and Food Network, but for us, PBS cooking shows are all we’ve got }

So anyway…the game was April 7, just a couple of weeks after Dave’s birthday, so we decided to leave the girls with my parents and make a nice long weekend out of it. And let me tell you, it. was. WONDERFUL!!

Some highlights…

The game…

I like watching basketball, but I would have to say even if you weren’t a fan, the atmosphere is just so much fun! This was the view from our seats.

Not courtside but not in the nosebleed either.

The food…

Chicago style pizza at Giordano’s (honestly, I'm still salivating when I think about that), yummy Mexican at Frontera Grill, and hot dogs at Portillo’s…if you know me, you know how much I love a good hot dog…I’m weird like that

And I didn’t even really feel guilty about all that food, because we walked everywhere! Apart from our trip to the United Center, our car stayed parked pretty much the entire trip.

We spent basically all day Friday exploring the city – shopping on Michigan Ave. (well, window shopping – we didn’t actually buy anything), Millenium Park and the infamous bean…

…and just admiring all the buildings. The detail on the architecture is just crazy! I love it! I’m sure professional photographers just go crazy in places like that because everywhere you turn, there’s something to photograph.

The Tribune building was one of my favorites:

Buckingham Fountain…admittedly MUCH cooler when it’s warm and the water is on…

We ended our little trek across the city at Shedd Aquarium, which was SUPER busy…this is where we were in the line to get in.

And PRICEY! Holy cow…but it’s huge and definitely worth it. I’d love to go back with the girls someday. Lily would have loved it!

On a side note…if you are planning a trip to Chicago, I would highly recommend the hotel we stayed in for a few reasons:

1. Location, location, location! It’s right in the heart of downtown, near Michigan Avenue and within walking distance of pretty much everything…although it’s a good hike to the museums, but you’ve kind of got to expect to walk a lot when you go to a city like that. PLUS…
   
   
2. The price! We were able to get a discount through a friend of ours who used to live in Chicago and has some connections but even without that, it’s extremely affordable for that area (you can find cheaper hotels near the airport but you won’t be right in the middle of everything)
   NOT TO MENTION…
   
   
3. Free parking! This is almost unheard of – at nearly every other hotel you’ll pay an additional $50 or more/night just to park your car. With this hotel, parking is included.
   
   
   It’s not a 5 star resort or anything, so if you’re looking for super luxurious accommodations…go elsewhere. But it was very clean (a MUST for me) and comfortable and relatively updated. I would definitely stay there again.

Ok. I’m done plugging the hotel, promise

More than anything, it was nice just to get away, spend some time focusing on each other, have a little down time, and just RELAX. We slept…a lot…and it was wonderful. We came back feeling refreshed and ready to get right back into the thick of this busy, blessed life we’ve been given.

Thank you Lord for our beautiful children…and also thank you for giving us a chance to have a little break from them  

Happy Friday!

This, That, and The Other

Well, hello there!

I sort of took an extended Thanksgiving break from blogging. No particular reason, really.

Our Thanksgiving included a trip to Michigan to visit family. We played games and laughed and shopped and ate like kings but I’ve got no pictures to show for it because our camera is broken.

Speaking of broken cameras, ours is damaged beyond repair so we’re in the market for a new one. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just a good quality point and shoot that takes clear pictures. I don’t know much about cameras. Any suggestions from those that do?

While we were in Michigan we went to the adorable little town of Frankenmuth. It’s a super touristy but very picturesque German “village”. If it had been warmer, I would have loved to stroll along all the little shops but it was FAH-REEZING so we just went to this place:

Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland -- I have never in my life seen so much Christmas stuff. Seriously. Insanity.

They offer free personalization on all their ornaments, so we picked up a special one just for Lily. It looks just like this one and says, “Lily 2010”

She loves it. So much so that she has a hard time not walking by the Christmas tree without yanking on it. If that tree doesn’t fall over before Christmas, it will be a miracle. A Christmas miracle!

Anyway.

Dave’s mom traveled back with us and is staying for 2 weeks. It’s like having a built in babysitter. I keep forgetting that I can actually leave the house! By myself! In the middle of the day! It’s awesome :)

I’ve been doing lots of Christmas decorating. I love pulling out all the stuff I got on clearance last year. It’s like a little early Christmas present to myself :) Like these giant candy ornaments I got 90% off at Target last year:

Fun, no?

For some reason it’s taking me forever to decorate this year, and by the time I’ve got it just right, it will probably be time to take it all down again. Oh well!

I’m also in the middle of like, a bajillion different projects. Three wreaths, some Christmas pillows, and hair bows. Hopefully I’ll be able to show you pictures.

If they turn out good.

And we buy a camera.

So in other words, don’t get your hopes up.

That’s all!