Camping out

So this is yet another belated post about our end of summer fun. Before it got too cold we really wanted to go camping and decided to be good LDS members and camp somewhere close so we could make it back by Saturday night so we wouldn't miss church on Sunday. Mackinaw Island will just have to wait till later. We went about 2 hours away to Wampler's Lake for our first trip to the wild. Did I say wild, I meant a campground with electrical outlets at each site with plenty of parking for RVs and horseshoe fields and a mini playground. But we chose the site closest to the woods--and farthest from the bathrooms--collected our own firewood instead of using the precut bundles other people got from the office, and roughed it with our tinfoil dinners and s'more desserts. The boys were thrilled just to be outside playing in the dark instead of being in bed. Flashlights beaming into the night were the best toys in the world. Our tent could only fit the single airbed and the two pool rafts for the guys so I slept in the van. I made the mistake of thinking that the back seat was long enough for my short frame. It wasn't. Not when it's freezing cold and your side goes numb from not being able to move without fear of being dumped to the ground and you've got no pillow but your arm. And I learned that though I enjoy sleeping in a fetal position, I really, really like the choice to stretch out and rearrange once in a while. I ended up climbing over the luggage and into the front passenger seat just before dawn to try to unkink myself. Anyhow, back to the good.
The next day we went swimming--rather the boys went swimming--in the cold lake. Keahi chased geese and Jarom wallowed in the sand. We even saw a snake swimming in the water. Yikes. We picnicked on hot dogs and tried to fly a kite. The boys can always find ways to amuse themselves. In one vid you'll see them sidestepping on the picnic bench which they found hysterical. Keahi stretched his artistic skills with the camera and laughed at some of his results. And they loved the friendly ladybug that visited us.

Then after we packed up and headed home we stopped at one of the minigolf places we'd passed on the way in. It was kind of a jarring image to see these aged signs saying COME SEE THE GRAVITY HILL or advertisements for haunted trains next to paul bunyan statues all amidst cornfields and silos. We had to wake up Jarom, but once up he was thrilled to play golf. The one we stopped at had bumper cars which we didn't do--such sad boys--and a decrepit arcade. The shopkeeper only charged us for two players, we chose our putters, and headed out on a 27hole run. The boys loved it and so did we. Jarom mostly ran around like wild and occasionally hit a ball. Keahi did each one and whooped with pride everytime he sunk it. And he especially liked it when he did better than me. Then we ate at a BBQ place--Famous Randy's, I think. It had a big statue of a cow that said, "Save a cow. Eat pig." And we did. The food was only okay, but the service was good and the place was fun to look at. A huge guy, maybe Randy himself, walked around giving out Mardi Gras beads after answering his triva questions and making shapes like stars and puppies on the end of the necklaces for the kids. And the boys rediscovered pork rinds. You can tell from the pictures that Keahi was hooked. For dessert we got the pecan pie because I figured it's hard to screw that up and after our last dessert experience at a bbq joint I was definitely playing it safe. We liked everything at Red, Hot and Blue except for their blackberry cobbler. It was bad. I mean really, really bad. When the waitress came back and asked how it was we said Good around the dry bits of dough in our mouths. Then we giggled uncontrollably once she left at our perjury.

Then we finished driving home. It was a great experience and I'm glad we did it before it got too cold.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Another Late Recap: Chicago in August

Israel took his clinical skills exam in August and chose the Chicago center since my sister lives there. Originally, when we were living in Brooklyn, Iz was going to fly out there alone. But since we now live 4 hours away, we all drove down to stay with the Burtons. And while poor Iz was stuck in a testing center for 9hrs, the rest of us played.
We went to the zoo. I think the kids had more fun playing with eachother than really looking at the animals. Well, what do you expect--with 3 kids we've got our own traveling zoo. None of the kids are all that athletic and you can see it in their haphazard running at breakneck speeds. We tried with limited success to get Keilani involved in the green light/red light game that's been pretty effective with the boys. Then Jarom started trying to get strangers to stop with him. People smiled, laughed, and walked around him.
We also played at the park and ran the kids silly to get out some energy before bedtime. I think the kids could live anywhere as long as there was a cool park nearby.
One other highlight was when the boys joined Keilani's swim lesson. Apparently there aren't any strict rules at their pool--unlike in Grosse Pointe--and the teacher welcomed the new additions. However, the pool was frigid. I mean turn-your-toes-blue frigid. The lesson was cut short and the two skinnier kids huddled in towels to thaw out while Jarom got right back into the water to explore the water playscape. But even he only lasted for one slide.
It was a good weekend and it's nice to have family closeby. I know that Lani lives even closer and we've really got to get together with them before we end up leaving Michigan....if we leave Michigan....I really wish we knew already where the heck we'll be living next year.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Birthday Blues

Well, the morning part really was the highlight of the entire day since the rest of the day consisted of managing a whinny, demanding Jarom on some kind of whine-intensification diet. By the time Iz got home I was so ready for bedtime. It didn't help that I was starting to feel sick. But we ate at Burger Pointe accross the street which was yummy and didn't involve me cooking and finished off with birthday cake--or rather an Apple Tartin from Trader Joes which was not as delectable as the blueberry tart. Then it was bedtime for the kiddies and Thursday night shows for the parents. Yup, we're pretty much addicted to tv. I was feeling pretty blue by this time. I kept thinking about Mariko's blog post from ages ago about how you somehow expect something--either good or bad--from the universe in acknowledgement of your birthday and all the mixed feelings that come with it. It probably didn't help that I knew my sister had recently had surgery and was feeling depressed and my mom called and talked with me for a while about how depressed she was now that the reality of her accident was sinking in and she knew she couldn't go back to work for months. So then I knew logically that I had no reason to be depressed since I hadn't had surgery and I could walk and everything. Which just made me feel guilty. So not the best birthday ever. Especially since the sickness really took hold and I couldn't do any of the fun things on Saturday for my birthday either--no sunrise on the beach with hot cocoa or time at the gym or a date later in the evening. And now it's Monday morning and I've finally gotten to the hacking-green-nastiness-in-great-big-coughs stage. So, woe is me. I'm not looking for a job or recovering from surgery or had a tree demolish my house (like the guy we visited last Tuesday for mutual). But woe is me.

Birthday Morning

I don't know what the rest of the day will be like but so far I'm very happy with the start of 31st b-day. When I went to get the boys, Keahi immediately burst into a lovely rendition of the birthday song--and he's currently singing it again for me now that he's finished his breakfast. And he gave me an imaginary Warm Fuzzy (all you Joy Schoolers know what that is). His bright cheerfulness made up for Jarom's extreme whininess and refusal to tell me happy birthday after daddy came in and tried to prompt him. Then when we walked downstairs I saw why Iz had come to bed so late. The house was completely sparkling clean. Yay! No cleaning for me today. Iz left to go to Einstein Bagels for our breakfast while I made some yummy Trader Joe hot chocolate. I accidentally stepped on Jarom's toes and he began to wail. Keahi quickly ran to him and gave him a hug before I even got to him. Then he kissed his feet repeatedly while I tried to cheer him up with songs. Tried and failed. Jarom only cheered up when Keahi ran and got him a red warm fuzzy from yesterday's joy school lesson and had it waddle up Jarom's arm to his shoulders. Then when Jarom spilled his hot cocoa on the ground I got two paper towels for us to wipe it up and Keahi sprang out of his chair and said, "Let me do that for you!" Wow. What a great helper. Then we enjoyed a breakfast of bagels and pastries and now I've gotta go get ready for school and the gym. Oh and I got a birthday spaceship of magnaforms from Keahi and a photo message on the desktop from Iz. A great start, don't you think?

Happy Birthday Iz

It's 7am right now and I'm trying to keep the kids quiet so the birthday boy can sleep in. We'll see how long that lasts. In the mean time, here is my top 10 list of why my husband rocks.

-He doesn't hold grudges.
-He's very humble and doesn't judge other people's shortcomings.
-He does wacky, crazy things to get his family to laugh.
-His family is the most important thing to him.
-He makes me feel beautiful and special.
-He cares and worries about the world around him.
-He loves the work he does and he'll be a great doctor.
-He never mocks my sometimes juvenile interests.
-He fits well with my family.
-He is a good man. A kind man. (If you get the reference, brownie points for you.)

And he's up now so I better get going.

Happy Birthday, love.