Huh?

This is what happens when a 2 yr old gets ahold of the camera:

Time to play a little catch up

Yeah, yeah. I know! It has been WAY too long since I have posted ANYTHING! I have sat down many times to find a picture to post, write about something or just post SOMETHING, but, alas, have gotten interrupted in one way or another.

So here it goes:


Jake got to go to Camp Smith for 3 days of Cub Scout Day Camp... Had a BLAST, but I didn't get any pictures of him going or coming or anything. He made clay creations, binoculars out of toilet paper rolls, shot bb guns and bow and arrows, had water fights and always came home exhausted!

Chris went to Gilbert Ranch for a 3 day, 2 night Cub Scout Camp. He was nervous about going and it showed when I got a random call from him saying Hi - only to hear in the background after a min some other boys saying that he wasn't supposed to be using that phone and then it hung up! I did get a call on the last day from the camp "nurse" (they called him something else but I don't remember what it was) because Chris had a nasty spider bite and the "nurse" wanted to give him Benadryl and needed verbal consent - go for it! Chris also got to do bb guns, bows and arrows, arts and crafts, tent sleeping, horseback riding, and I am sure much more that I will hear about. He also got a pocket knife that he now doesn't get to use!

So Summer has been just that, Summer.

Late nights, movies and too much TV, sleeping in, naps, Tangleboxing, swimming and more swimming, laziness and hard work, hot days, friends and family, travelling from one place to the other and back again, fun and (of course) some not so fun... But, like every summer with kids, I am both looking forward to and dreading the start of school. This coming week marks the Annual Lowen Camping Trip with my mom's side of the family. From my Grandparents to the great-grandkids, we just about take over the campground with 7 cabins, 2 tent sites and 6 RV sites (I think that I got that right)! It is one of my favorite times of the year and it never seems to last long enough for before we know it, we are packing up to head back home to the daily grind of life - but it is worth it!

Off I go to try to pack and get ready for our camping trip!

Jokes.

Isaac: Mommy - Knock, knock.
Mommy: Who's there?
Isaac: Maaaaaannnndiii!!!
Mommy: Mandi who?
Isaac: Mandi's with her mommy!!!!

(now repeat about a bazillion times and you are close to how many times I have heard this joke)

Bribery?

Last summer, my dad challenged the grandkids to climb the rope swing that he made and put in their huge tree in the backyard. He said that he would give them $10 if they could make it to the top and touch the branch that it is attached to. Chris took the challenge to heart and was the first to make it up to the top (with the slight advantage of height and we are there much more than the other grandkids).

This summer, Jake made it to the top of that rope swing,
earning his $10.

And now, Grandpa offered $20 if they could get to the top of the other swing (that has no knots and is a bit farther up). It took Chris a few times, but he made it!!!
and earned his $20

They were both very proud of themselves (rightly so) and so were we as we cheered them both to the top...

WAY TO GO BOYS!!!