Thursday, June 28, 2018

Summer Camps


We just finished school a couple days before the middle kids went to camp. 


Charlize and Phoebe have gone to camp together for four years now. Charlize's mom usually drives with us to take the kids over and pick them up. Makes the time pass quickly when you have someone to chat with. Eve is from the Bronx, so she certainly has some stories to tell. 


Elizabeth went to a camp with some friends in town. She skipped a week of school to do that, so she is still schooling into the summer. But she had a good week at Camp Eagle. They keep you hopping!



Tether ball, nine square ~ Phoebe enjoys these games at camp. Jonathan loves gaga ball. I'd not heard of gaga ball or nine square till we moved to Texas. 


Jonathan and Harrison (friend, not brother) met at camp and have become good friends since we found out he lives only half an hour away. 


Phillip was also away visiting his parents and Cody in Missouri while the middle kids were at camp. So it was just myself and Liz and Harrison at home for a bit. Harrison learned about caves this year in school, and he didn't remember going to the caves near us when he was two, so he and I had a little field trip to Natural Bridge Caverns.


He was excited at first. And then he got nervous and asked me if I was going to make him go. And when I assured him that we were going to go, but would he trust me to let him know that it was going to be okay, he reluctantly complied. He told me several times in the cave that he was glad he came because it wasn't as scary as he thought it would be. He thought they were going to turn the lights out to see how dark it gets. But they didn't. I think they did that at the caves in Hannibal, MO. Or maybe it was somewhere else I've been. I know I've experienced that somewhere......


My phone didn't get the colors very well, but this is called cave bacon. They are drapery formations that look like strips of bacon. Better pictures here


Liz and her friend Adelyn cooked for me one evening. They made fried rice and cauliflower with orange sauce. Kind of like orange chicken, only with cauliflower. It was DELICIOUS. The kids are supposed to do more cooking this summer, and this was a great kick-off. 


Back from camp. 
Phoebe often gets sick once she gets back. She's a person who needs lots of alone time and down time ,and you don't get that for a solid week at camp. So once she gets back, she can be out for a good week with one sickness or another. This year she spiked a very high fever for about 12 hours, had chills and sore throat, stuffy nose, earache and hives. The fever left, but the rest of the gunk is kind of clinging. 


Jonathan back from camp. 
He pretty much just misses his friends and wishes camp was still going on. He does not test out as an introvert. He's an extrovert in a house full of introverts. Funny, because I grew up an introvert in a house full of extroverts. 

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Harrison Celebrates His 8th



Happy 8th Birthday, Harrison! 

We celebrated early because Elizabeth will be at camp on his birthday and she wanted to be here (and who will make the cake if she isn't here?). 

Stromboli was requested for his lunch; then we opened his gifts. 



A really cool Star Wars drone that is most definitely too old for him, but not too old for big brother and him. 



Phoebe's gift to him was a Star Wars ship of some kind. 


And a new bike! 
We finally took the training wheels off his old one a few months ago, and he was more than ready for a bigger bike. And we got it for a good price at the Toys R Us going-out-of-business sale.



He wanted Minecraft grass blocks made out of brownies as his 'cake.' 


And he wanted to go to some gardens with mom for his birthday, so he and I went to the Japanese Tea Gardens on this very hot Sunday afternoon. (so hot)


It was super fun to be with just him exploring the gardens. He's enjoyed the nature book we did for school called Plantlife in Field and Garden by Arabella Buckley. I think that made him interested in plants and flowers. 




Phoebe dressed him up the other day as a hunchback. 


Liz is baking Harrison's brownies and showing the kids old Vines. I think I figured out that Vines are to my kids what commercials were to me. They quote Vines all the time and I remember we would quote these short clips from commercials, or maybe from movies (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anyone?). It was fun to see them enjoying something together.