Scouting FUN!

I was recently asked to be a den mom for the cub scout group a year above Ben's den. So I had the privilege to go to Day Camp this year. I loved it because it was Ben's first time too, and I loved that I got to spend two days with him. (The only hard part was that I had to get a babysitter for my other kids for 2 days--something I've never done before.) The pack leader and his wife are AMAZING. When they started being in charge of the pack, they decided that they could have a day camp at their house that would be very beneficial for the kids. Their whole goal is to expose the kids to things that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. The boys had a lot of fun.
Yesterday they got to gut and clean a fish, and then cook it in the fire. They each got one match to start a fire. They got to shoot BB guns, pellet guns, and paint ball guns. They also got to learn how to drive a cat (tractor).
Today they got to go and pick up garbage, learn knots, and they learned how to change bike and car tires. Then they let a chicken out and the kids tried to catch it. Then they each got to ride a sheep. Yeah, that was dangerous. I was very glad that Ben had the good sense to know when to let go of the sheep--not all kids were so lucky. After that they got to watch a pig get butchered, and then 2 buffalo. Lovely, huh?
I was very impressed with how well they did organizing this camp. I was proud of Ben for being so tough despite having stepped on a nail, and for being so brave to ride the sheep even though so many kids were getting hurt. And I was proud of Grant for exposing Ben to most of this stuff already. I'm sure that it helps our kids to feel more comfortable doing things like this in front of peers because they've done it before.

Family Pictures!

We got our family pictures back! If anyone in the area wants to know of a GREAT photographer, let me know, and I'll give you the information. The pictures where the kids are all jumping off the wall is the shot that Karmin twisted her foot on (it is slowly getting better--I think).

Break a Leg!

Ben was in his first play. His classroom at school put on a play called, "Save the Plants." It was about a school class that won an award to put in a new playground. But the only place the new playground could go was where the school garden was. So of course, a girl named Iris wanted to save the garden. Her fellow classmates couldn't find her to talk to her about the playground, and so on their journey to look for her they get lost in the garden and mysteriously couldn't find their way out. Along the way they meet talking aphids, a Burpee tomato, a field mouse, etc. Ben got the part of (ironically since we call him "B" at home) the bumble bee named, "Bumble." They practiced for almost 2 months at school. I couldn't believe how fast Ben memorized all of his lines...and there was a lot of them.
The play was so...extravagant. You know when you are watching a movie and they do a school play--and all the costumes are so detailed and exquisite? I felt like we were in a Hollywood movie because the stage was so stunning, and the costumes were amazing. It was not a cheap production (granted every class uses the same stage and costumes every year, so it is justifiable).
I was a bit emotional the day of the play, so tears came very easily when I watched Ben. He seemed SO grown up. I couldn't believe my little baby was so old and tall. (By the way, this play came a day after he told me he had his first crush--which said crush lasted about 36 hours.) Several years ago I ran into one of my Young Women's leaders (a church youth program for 12-18 year old girls) at a grocery store. She said that once her kids went to school, time just flew by. And it is, oh, so true. Time is flying.

So we had to bribe our kids

Since we went out of town for the weekend, the kids went over to their cousins' houses. On Friday night, they went over to Jim and Theresia's house--well actually they got to go camping, and then they went to their house until Monday afternoon. While they stayed with them they got to go to a Birthday party and "a very fancy restaurant." Then on Monday they went to Gina and DeWayne's house where they got to play with more cousins and friends. They LOVED it.
Grant and I started to worry that they were having TOO much fun without us. While we were still in Denver, we started brainstorming what things we could do with the kids so they wouldn't be sad that they had to be back home with us and not be with their cousins. So we had to bribe our kids to come home.
We came up with having a hot dog roast outside. It seemed to work. It's nice to be home with the kids again. I love the feeling of just having all my little guys tucked safely in bed--knowing that we are all safe and happy. Life is good.

We went to Denver

For Grant's Birthday/Father's Day, I surprised him with a trip to go see his parents over the Memorial Day weekend. We left our kids with two of Grant's sisters for the weekend. (Lydia got to come with us.) It was our first time away from the kids for that long and that far away. I handled it quite well. We both love visiting his parents. By Monday I was homesick for them to be back home. The weekend went by so quickly. We enjoyed our time by talking, going for walks, and eating. Lydia has been having some serious social anxieties lately, but Nana and Papa did very well trying to make her happy even though she wasn't so sure about being in unfamiliar surroundings. However, she did do just fine sleeping in Papa's arms and eventually she even said "Papa" (her first official word). It was a lot of fun, and we are excited to go back with all the kids this summer.