Autumn

It has been quite some time since I have been here. I hinted (ad-nauseum) that I had lost interest in writing here, and I had - - it didn't feel like fun anymore. The whole reason I started writing this blog was to chronicle our every day life so I would be able to look back and remember all of those moments that get lost in the shuffle of time. I have been missing that, so, for myself, I am going to try again. Life has continued to get busier and busier, the older the boys get, and sometimes it seems as though it is hard to remember much of anything!

October was a rough month for us, from start to finish. I love Halloween but I have to say that I was quite happy to see the month come to a close. We are starting November in style, with fever and sore throats! Camden is spending today "laying low" and I am hopeful that by tomorrow he will be back to feeling well. I have been fighting some sort of cold all week that refuses to amount to much of anything, other than being annoying. This morning, Griffin is saying his throat hurts as well. Hmmm.

I am having a bunch of trouble with Blogger this morning, but I really don't know if it is Blogger, or the laptop I am borrowing...it is very, very slow. Anyway I had typed up a good three paragraphs, which promptly disappeared, so I will have to save that for another day. Bummer.

Scout is new to our family since joining us as a 6-week old puppy in July. She is a handful, but I am confident that once she is an adult, she will calm down and be a great pup. We are already noticing her mellowing out a little. "A little" being the key words there.

Time Warp

Roy has recently taken to getting himself up onto the roof of our house, and then claiming that he has no idea how to get back down. Here, he can be seen sticking his tongue out at me, when I told him he was on his own.

It has been a long time, and a lot has happened. I would love to catch up, but I wouldn't even know where to start. The school year has ended and I think the boys and I have been breathing a sigh of relief for the past week. Maybe it has been mostly me. This past school year was very challenging for me, as a mom. The pace was frenetic at times, and it was fraught with many obstacles. I am proud of my boys. They both faced some tough times this year, but they came out better for them. They also racked up a lot of accomplishments. They are both wonderful students and hard workers. I love them both more than life itself and as hard as the past few months have been, I would do it a million times over.

Steve has been in Cambodia for the past few weeks and will be back in Idaho tomorrow. We are all missing him and wanting him back home with us.

We recently lost one of our chickens. Stella died very suddenly one morning, and I suppose we will never know what happened/why she died. We have added two new girls to our flock - - Lucy and Lola are approximately 14 weeks old, and are currently finding their place. My older hens are pretty docile, but are still keeping the younger girls on a short leash.

Our bunny is doing great. I just love her. When she moved in with us, her cage sat in our living room so that she could get use to the sounds of our house and of our voices. That was over three months ago, and she is still in the living room. Kiara is a very social bunny, and I think we are afraid she will be too lonely anywhere else. Even Steve, who doesn't really possess that warm-and-fuzzy gene when it comes to animals, has said as much. I can also report that Kiara has a strange affinity for Steve. Why is it that animals are drawn to the person who could take them or leave them? I don't get it! 

Lots of fun things happening for us this summer. 4-H camps, swimming lessons, the Cherry Festival, the Gem County Fair, among other things. I am happy to have my boys home with me. Here's to summer!

Camden the Acolyte

 My sweet Camden was recently asked if he would like to be trained to be an acolyte at church. He immediately said yes, but when he realized it involved a uniform of sorts, he was even more game.

 

An acolyte is the person who lights the altar candles at the beginning of church services, and extinguishes them at the end. I was a bit concerned that Camden would struggle with these duties, only because the boy loves an audience. He proved me wrong, however, as he was all business when it came right down to it.

 

 

As usual, I was a very proud mom today as I watched him.

Camden Turns Nine

Somehow, my sweet baby boy has gone and turned 9 years old. I just can't believe it. I really don't know where these last 9 years have gone. I certainly hope the next 9 don't pass as quickly. The boys and I have spent much of today around the dining room table. Camden was told yesterday that he would be getting the much-coveted Lego Queen Anne's Revenge kit in the mail today (a result of Steve and I waiting until the last minute to go to the store and purchase it, which led to us having to order it from Amazon with overnight shipping! Camden has been asking for this particular item for at least 6 months straight, never wavering in his wish. So, we had to do what we had to do! Needless to say, Camden spent most of the morning sitting and waiting for the UPS man to arrive. This Lego kit is huge, and I estimated that it would take him 4-5 hours to put together, but here we are, 2 1/2 hours in, and he is just about finished. That boy is a Lego whiz.

 

Griffin deserves some sort of reward for being an awesome brother today. He has been sitting here, next to Camden, barely saying a word and watching patiently. If you know Griffin at all, then you know that it was no small feat! I am hoping to get these two outside and air them out shortly. However, Uncle Kevin tells me that the FedEx man will be arriving this afternoon with something for Cam. I don't think I will mention that to Camden though...we'll just let him be surprised when he knocks at the door!

Tonight will be Camden's favorite dinner, followed by some cake and ice cream and a family party. So glad that Nana and Papa are here to celebrate with him! Camden decided against having a "friend" party this year - - he has instead chosen to have his best friend Treyson come over for a full day of playing. I have a bunch of fun things planned for the two of them, so it should be a great day! Happy Birthday, buddy! We love you so much!

Thrift Store Score

I have mentioned here, many times before, that I love thrift stores. My mom tells me that the Idaho thrift stores are far better than the ones in Maine...I wonder why that is? Do we have better junk in Idaho? Or do Idahoans just let go of their junk, more easily than Mainers? Hmmm.

Anyway, there is a thrift store just a couple of blocks from our house, and the boys and I check it out on a regular basis. I seem to have a knack for stumbling upon the craziest thrift store finds, but that is another post in of itself. Stay tuned for that one.

So, the boys and I were out running errands the other day when we decided we would take a spin through the thrift store. So glad we did! While I was looking at dishes (the section I always go to first!) I heard Camden say, "Um, Mama? Come see this!!" Up on a top shelf was what I believed to be an interactive R2D2 robot. The boys were about coming out of their shoes. The price tag? $8.50. A bit more than I like to spend on something at a thrift store, but I knew a little bit about this particular item, as I am the mother of a couple of Star Wars Freaks, after all. I asked the clerk if it worked, and she assured me that it did. So, we made our purchase and headed home. I promptly fired up my computer and found that this little guy costs $199.95 new! Our final cost? $11.50 (after purchasing the 8 batteries it needed to operate, at the dollar store).

Now, I have to tell you that even I am amazed by this thing. It is the craziest toy I have ever seen. Essentially, it is a robot, and it understands 40+ voice commands. It struggles to understand children's voices (too high-pitched), but the boys have pretty much mastered getting it to respond. Completely hilarious!

Mom School 2012

Mom School 2012 kicked off yesterday. Last year, I used Scholastic workbooks, which I really liked. This year, I decided to go with Summer Bridge Activities books, and I am so glad I did - - they are fabulous! The books have three sections, with 20 worksheets each. Each worksheet covers more than one subject, which I think holds their interest better. These particular workbooks also put some focus on physical fitness and character, which I just love. Like last year, we are going to have "school" every weekday morning at 9:00. We are also incorporating myOn.com into this time, to make sure both boys get their reading practice in every day.

Last year, the boys would fill a sticker chart each week, and at the end of the week they got to choose a dollar store prize from my prize box at the end of each week. This year, the boys chose instead to forgo the weekly little prizes, and instead will earn a trip to Build-a-Bear Workshop at the end of the summer, when they have completed all of their work  - - something they have both wanted to do for a very long time.

We will certainly have days where Mom School will be met with groans and protest, but for the most part the boys enjoy it, and I do, too. I'd like to think that it helps keep them on track and helps them to start the school year off more smoothly. Don't worry, we definitely have lots of time for summer time fun, too!

Cub Scout Day Camp 2012

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking Camden and one of my other Cub Scouts, Patrick, to Cub Scout Day Camp. We had so much fun! My mom came along as my other Walking Leader, and it was great to get to spend the day with her. Thanks for you help, Mum! The theme of this year's camp was "Quest for Excalibur!", and there were so many great activities!

Here are the boys at their first station, which was "Storming the Castle". They made catapults, which they got to take home.

The second station was kickball, which didn't seem to be overly popular! It was pretty darn hot out, and I think most of these boys must play baseball. Kickball's rules are almost opposite of baseball (no stealing base, no sliding, no throwing people out), so everyone seemed kind of confused by the whole thing.

Next came Heraldry, where the boys designed their own shields for battle. Camden loved this activity because he loves to draw.

As you can imagine, Archery was high on everyone's list. Camden and Patrick did a great job, although Camden did inform me that it was harder than it might have looked!

This station was called "DaVinci's Workshop", which was simple machines. Camden told me that this one was one of his most favorite. The boys tried using pulleys and levers and different methods of lifting heavy objects. My mom and I got a kick out of how intently Cam payed attention to the presentation!

This station was called "Squire Training" and it was Patrick's favorite. It was a really neat medieval obstacle course.

Next came "Leather", where the boys got to do some stamping on a small piece of leather. They also got to try their hand at calligraphy, using a quill pen at this station.

This station was called "Page Academy" and the boys got to try different Minute-to-Win-It type games.

Last but certainly not least, BB Gun Shooting. Camden was thrilled about this one, and he had pretty good aim!

We had a great time, earned lots of achievements for the coming year of Scouting, and I am quite sure we will be participating again next year!

Yellow Belt

Earlier this week, Camden participated in his first test in karate. He has been taking karate for the past school year at our local rec center, and his instructor, Mike, is just wonderful. Camden is more of an "individual sport" type of boy, and although karate has been a lot of hard work for him, he has done a wonderful job. This has meant practice two nights per week, often times when he was tired from school and not wanting to go. He stuck with it though, and was awarded his yellow belt. It was so much fun to be there for his testing, and we are so proud of him!

A Titanic Week

This is a big week for our resident Titanic expert, for it is the centennial of the sinking of Titanic. I don't remember exactly how Camden became interested in Titanic, but his passion for it has never wavered. Over the past few years, he has amassed quite the collection of books and documentaries, and they are among his most treasured possessions. To mark the occasion, we are having a dinner on Saturday evening, using recipes from the actual ship, and food that was served on the night the great ocean liner sank.

I found the cookbook on Amazon, and it was chock-full of all kinds of details I never knew about the ship. My plan is to make a dish or two from each class menu (the first-class menu is an eleven-course meal, and I can assure you, I won't be doing that!). I think I expected to find porridge listed as the third-class dinner, when in fact, they dined quite nicely by today's standards. Camden plans to make a speech and say a special prayer, and I think it is going to be a lovely evening.

I might just be biased, but to know Camden is to love him. He is a precious boy with an imagination that knows no bounds, and that just might be my favorite character trait of his. I love being able to share in his interests, and he has so many of them, so life is certainly never boring around these parts.

Bronze Star Ceremony

A few days after Steve came home, he held a little ceremony for the boys, to award them for their bravery while he was deployed. He cooked this whole thing up on his own, making up the certificates, and ordering the certificate folders and bronze star pins while he was still in Iraq.



Anyone who knows Steve won't be surprised by any of this ~ he is completely and utterly dedicated to his role as father, and he doesn't take it lightly

He missed his boys so much while he was away, and didn't waste any time at all, jumping right back into family life. He's been taking Camden to school every morning, and picking him up in the afternoon. During the day, he pretty much does whatever Griffin wants, which of course, thrills Griffin to no end!

I love seeing my three boys together, and I'm so proud that I married a man who sets such a good example for our children.

First Day of School, Third Grade Edition

Can't believe my big boy is in the third grade! Here's to a wonderful school year!

Mom School

The boys and I have been loving these Summer Express books from Scholastic this summer! All three of us do much better when we have structure to our days, so I decided that part of our summer structure this year would be "Mom School". Every morning at 9:00, the boys sit down and tackle a new worksheet for the day. The books are geared for "between" grades, so Camden is working on the "between 2nd and 3rd grade" book, while Griff has the "pre-K and Kindergarten" book. Each week has a corresponding sticker chart where they track their completed worksheets, along with their daily reading goals. I can't recommend these workbooks enough ~ they are wonderful.

My mother found some great books in the dollar section at Target ~ Junior Classics for Young Readers ~ she picked some up for Camden and so far he's read White Fang and Pinocchio. He loves these books and I hope I can come across some more titles for him. He has a reading goal of 30 minutes each day, but he usually averages at least 1.5 hours ~ I'm so proud of my little reader! Griffin's reading goal consists of him looking at books on his own, as well as me reading to him.

I'm hoping that our extra work this summer will have both boys in good shape at the start of the school year. It has been a lot of fun for all of us, and I definitely plan to do the same thing next summer.

Star Wars AT-AT Walker Birthday Cake

This is the AT-AT Walker from the movie, "The Empire Strikes Back". Camden got a toy of this for Christmas and has literally played with it every day since then. Of course he knew months ago that he wanted to have a Star Wars theme for his 8th birthday party, and he wanted me to make an AT-AT Walker cake. What he really wanted was for me to make a cake that looked exactly like his toy, and while I am sure it is possible, I made the executive decision not to go down that road. Instead, I opted for making a cake in the shape of an AT-AT Walker by piecing it together from 3 sheet cakes.

I could have made this work using two sheet cakes, but Camden wanted both lemon cake and chocolate cake, so three it had to be. I ended up with quite a bit of cake scraps left over, but I suppose cake scraps don't have to be a bad thing!


Using his toy for a model, this is what I cut out.


I then used a rather large star tip, and simply piped the entire thing with grey frosting. It proved a little tricky in some spots, but wasn't too bad over all. My mother helped with the piping which was great because my poor old hand isn't what it use to be when it comes to all those little piped stars.

Here is the end result. I was going to do some detailing with some darker grey frosting, but Camden wanted it left the way it was. He pulled some guns off his AT-AT Walker toy and added them to the cake, and then positioned some Star Wars figures around it.



Camden told me after his party was over that this cake was his favorite cake that I'd ever made him. I love making special birthday cakes for the boys. I have so many good memories from cakes that my mother made for me growing up, so I hope my boys will, too.

Camden's Star Wars Birthday Party

Camden's birthday fell on Father's Day this year, and what with all the Cherry Festival excitement that weekend, we held off on having a party until this weekend. Since Camden was turning eight, he got to invite 8 guests, so we mailed out invitations and got to our planning. The theme, of course, was Star wars.

I found a great idea on the Internet to make light sabers out of pool noodles. My mom ended up doing most of the work on those and they came out just great. The boys loved them!

The party started with a bang, with a light saber frenzy on the front lawn.

Riley found a new best friend in Camden's buddy, Race

Riley got so wrapped up in all of the attention he was getting, he just decided he was one of the boys and joined right in the party

Camden requested an AT-AT Walker cake, and he declared this evening that it was his favorite birthday cake ever. Phew!

The boys eating cake and ice cream

Steve arranged for a bounce house to be delivered, and we totally lucked out when the bounce house people asked if they could deliver it a day early, free of charge. So, the boys had been bouncing for hours upon hours when this picture was taken. See that lump on the lawn, on the left of this picture? That's Riley - - he passed out cold after everyone left. The poor old pup was partied out. Camden had a great day!

Camden Turns Eight

How did this happen? How is it possible that this sweet baby boy is now eight years old? I just cannot figure out how the time has flown by so quickly.

Camden's day started with presents, and despite some technical difficulties, Steve was able to join in via Skype, which was great. The rest of the day was spent at home - - we never left the house - - because the boys literally spent all day in the living room, playing with the aircraft carrier from Nana and Papa that Camden coveted for months, and the new Lego set from Uncle Kevin, Aunt Rachel, and Violet. Dinner was tacos, at Camden's request, followed by cupcakes. Camden declared it "an awesome day".

I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of summing up how much Steve and I love this little guy ~ he is a unique and wonderful little boy, with a huge, tender heart. He makes us proud every day, and we love being his mom and dad. Happy birthday, buddy!

AT-AT Still Life

Camden loves his AT-AT Walker, his Papa, and drawing. So, he announced the other morning that he was going to 'go over to Papa's house' so they could sketch pictures of his AT-AT Walker. I'm pretty sure this picture will be one of my favorites, for years to come.

Hello, Spring? I Know You Are There...

Our weather has been kind of strange lately. I suppose it is our typical spring weather, but we keep getting a warm-weather tease (mid-to-high 60's) followed by a drastic drop in temperature. Just the other day, I got a little too much sun doing yard work, and just two days later, it was spitting snow. I'm more than ready to put this fickle weather behind me and move right into summer, frankly.

On one of our recent balmy days, the boys got right to work, burying each other in the sand box. This is something that Griff particularly enjoys, for whatever reason. I am really looking forward to days on the patio, watching the boys play. Come on, warm weather!

More Fire Station Fun

As if we didn't have enough fun this past Wednesday with Griff's field trip, our city fire station held its annual open house and chili feed yesterday, and of course we went, like we do every year. We missed having Steve with us though, and Camden mentioned he is glad that Daddy will get to come with us next year. The boys had fun climbing on all of the trucks and checking everything out. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser!