There are GIRLS in my house!

My nieces, Addison and Pendley are here visiting us till Monday.  Jordan and Amber are in Wyoming visiting friends of theirs.  Dad brought the girls up here and then went to visit two of his sisters in Fayetteville.
We had a busy day!  The kids all played on the swingset and we went over to Scott's parents and picked green peppers, squash and plums.  Addison wanted to wash them for me so she did!

The over ripe or ones that we wouldn't be able to eat got thrown into the woods.  Scott had caught a pretty big turtle that morning while working and showed the kids the turtle.

He got it out of the wheelbarrel and it zoomed and I mean ZOOMED into the garage...peeing the whole way!  Scott got it out and put it where he found it and the kids kept watching.  Then back to the house for playing and lunch.  While I was getting ready to fix lunch, I glanced out the window and saw something at the end of the driveway...wasn't sure what it was but it started coming our way...I called Scott and had him come over because it went in the garage.  Scott found it and long story short killed it.
                      
We really are not positive as to what it was but we think (from facebook poll) that it may have been a badger.
After that I got lunch ready and fed the kids.  Then it was finally naptime!  Addison claimed the princess toddler bed so that meant Xander and Pendley (almost 3y/o and 2.5 y/o) were in Xander's bed.  It took awhile but they both fell asleep!

After nap there was more playing outside and then Scott decided to take the kids to the pond and go fishing.  Since he choose the pond over here we took all the kids in the truck and drove through the field and took the kids fishing.  Scott would cast out and then let the kids take turns reeling back in.  Pendley decided she didn't want to do it.  Xander and Addison had fun!  Scott got a nibble and Addison got to reel it in!

She was so excited!

Xander was trying to eat the fish from inside the truck.

Waiting to do some fishing

Xander's turn.

We didn't stay long since it was dinner time.  We came back and had fish for dinner (not what we caught...that one got thrown back) and baths then BED!  Day one was a success!

Our New to Us Playset!

Our church's preschool is getting a new commercial grade playground and so were trying to figure out what to do with the old one.  Scott's cousin Kim is the director and offered it to us for free, we just had to move it ourselves.  On Monday, Scott and I went and got the swing extension, swings, ladder, and rock wall off and brought those home.  We really thought that we would need some help getting the rest of it but Scott decided that we would try it ourselves.  So Tuesday morning we went back and got the slide off and got the rest of the set in the truck...Scott did most of it but I did help too.  We got it up into the truck and brought it home.  It didn't take long and the boys were able to start playing/swinging on it!

Before we get the set out of the truck...

and after!  

Wrong Side of the Gate

Today the boys got to play in the water again.  This time I made it "contained play".  Xavier was not all that impressed with being put in the pin.

Xander wasn't all that impressed either!

Later, Scott went and got the window air unit from Stephanie's house and came and installed it in the boys room.  While we were working on that it was pretty quiet in the family room.  I came in to check on the boys and this is how I found Xavier.

He was pretty proud of himself!

First Water Play!

Today we got out the boys summertime outside toys for them to play with.  Aunt Stephanie had given us Phoebe's old water table and the boys LOVE playing with it!
The pictures tell about the time they had!
Scott thought that the table should be under the shade in the yard...

that worked for awhile.

Then Xavier figured he would give himself freedom and started crawling all over...we have more dirt/sand than grass in the back.

Mama made the decision to start over and move it to the porch.

Xavier decided to get away...

Xander said that Xavier was going to Aunt Mary and Uncle Don's house.

After playing and baths...Daddy was gaming with his friends and got himself a popsicle.  Xavier LOVED the stick.

Working with Daddy!

Xander came to school with me today. He was so excited to see what Daddy does all day. I was excited too. He had his bag all packed up and ready before it was even time to go. Mommy took pictures and walked us out to the truck. We waved bye, got hugs and kisses, and were off to school.

At school, Xander helped me do morning bus duty. He even checked off the last bus of the year on the checkoff list. All the kids were so excited to see Xander. In the hallway, we saw teachers and Mrs. Thompson (the principal) even stopped to say hello to him.

Our next stop was breakfast. We got him a tray, then went into the library for a teacher's baby shower. He liked sitting with Daddy and with all the other teachers. He was just like one of the grown ups. He also got to try some of the food from the baby shower.

 

Since it was the last day of school, it worked out that I only had 2 classes that day. One class played limbo. Xander loved running under the limbo stick. He also got a spare stick and held it up for the kids to go through. The other class watched a movie. Xander sat with the kids to watch it. I turned the lights out and gave him a blanket and pillow. He didn't fall asleep, but he did lean over onto one of the girls and rested his head in her lap. They thought he was so cute.

The rest of the day, I was packing up and putting away the last of my classroom stuff. Xander helped me make many trips out to my truck with things to take home. He was a trooper. We would take breaks to visit the teacher's lounge and get leftovers from the baby shower. We had cookies, juice, and fruit. But Xander's favorite was the decorative leaves from the cake. "We can eat these leaves, Daddy. I like these leaves." I don't know how he fit it all in, but we also got a lunch from the cafeteria.

A couple of times during the day, we went out to the playground. Xander wanted to swing up higher than the other kids and touch his feet on the tree branches like they did. "Higher, Daddy. Higher." I didn't push him quite that high, but he did get up high enough to be happy. These other trips had to be cut short due to classes or other responsibilities. So I told him that after the day was over, and my truck was all loaded up, and everything in my room was all done, that we could go out to the playground. He was very ready to go. His bag was packed up half an hour before the kids left. (He packed it himself, which is why there were grapes strewn throughout the bag.)

After playing on the playground for a long time, we got in the truck and went home. It was my favorite day at work every. We both had such a good time, and he told me several times how much fun he had at Daddy's school.

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Today is Scott's 32nd birthday!  Last Wednesday we were able to go out on a date to celebrate without the boys and yesterday we celebrated with Scott's family.  Today I made him one of his favorite dinners, Honey Chicken in the crockpot.  I also made him a gluten free applesauce spice cake...well a small cake and a dozen cupcakes with a homemade vanilla frosting.
I am very thankful that I have an awesome husband and that he is such a wonderful daddy to our two boys!  Love you, Scott!  Happy birthday!

Camping at Haw Creek Falls

I peddled myself home yesterday, eager to get showered and changed. Our weekend camping trip at Haw Creek Falls lay ahead of us. I was eager to get my boys out in the woods where I have spent so many happy times.

After getting clean, we finished loading the truck and were off. We weren't a half a mile down the road when Xander spotted me eating my "secret" snack. (angry bird fruit snacks and peanuts). So the snacks got shared. How could I say no to my sons?

I hadn't been to Haw Creek in several years, and I really enjoyed seeing the familiar sights on the way. We arrived and drove around to see the different camp sites. I told Darcy about which ones I had already stayed at and which ones I liked. I don't think she was particularly thrilled with retelling of old camp stories about me and Ryan Miller and our manly adventures of youth. She also wasn't thrilled about the site that I picked out (site 6), but she relented sweetly since this was my birthday trip. That was my favorite from past trips. Ryan and I camped out at that spot at least once before and it connects directly to my favorite hiking trail with mossy boulders and trees like elder ents from Lord of the Rings. Side note: on a trip with Ryan, as we sat peacefully by the fire, we caught a raccoon foraging around our picnic table.

I checked the immediate area for poison ivy before letting Xander play, as we unpacked. Though we had no ivy, my poor big boy still managed to find ill fortune. He was walking (running) back and forth on the old railroad ties that outline the camp site, and he fell and bumped his nose. It wasn't soon after we calmed him down from that, that he started playing with bugs. He was laughing about an ant tickling him as it walked on him when he suddenly screamed. It had bitten him on the thumb and was still hanging on. Poor guy! We got it off and gave him more hugs. And, yes, we had told him already not to play with the ants. He decided to help me drive in the tent spikes, and he did a pretty good job for a (nearly) 3 year old. He could hit them with the hammer, and they went in a little.

Fast forward. The camp is set up and we head to the water. We headed up to the top of the falls and looked down at the water below. Xander was excited. So was I. "Look daddy! A giant waterfall!" Then I see a crawdad about the size of a small lobster. I pointed it out to Xander, and though I am not sure he actually saw it (not sure how he couldn't), we decide to go down and look for more. As it turns out, we could hardly take a step without seeing crawdads. We made plans right then to come back the next day with his bug box and catch some. But for the moment I skipped rocks and Xander copied me, trying to be just like his daddy. Big smiles from me. Darcy showed up at the top of the falls and we hiked back around to her. Xander splashed while I held his hand. We warned him about how slick it was, and I caught him when he almost slid. But later, the poor boy went back to the same spot without Daddy holding his hand. We tried to call out, but were too late to stop him. His feet came out from under him and he went down hard. His back of his head banged into the rocks. He screamed and cried. It was so sad. We ran over and I picked him up. He had slime on his clothes and in his hair, and tears running down his sad little face. He was okay, but he still has a bump on his head.

After cleaning up and changing into dry clothes (and trying to get the slime out of his hair), I started a fire. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores for supper. Delicious. Even though the sky was still light, we were all wiped out. We hopped into the tent, read a few books, and played on the ipad. Note: We didn't take the ipad on our last camping trip, so Darcy and I figured we could cheat on the "roughing it" this time. And then there was the night without sleep.

The ground was fine for me, but it's not a bed. And my nose got really stuffy. Darcy's did too. I'm not sure why. My allergies weren't really bothering me otherwise. Not bad, anyway. But that was one looong night. And isn't it odd that when you're camping you wake up and have to use the restroom at least 3 times more than usual? One of those times, I clumsily trampled all over Darcy's feet, waking her up of course. And the last time, Darcy refused to let me leave because she heard a "big animal" and was afraid it would "eat me". Eventually, I could wait no longer and told Darcy it was either in the tent or out of the tent, but it WAS going to happen. As you might guess, I wasn't eaten.

In the morning, I whipped up a good fire, and Darcy whipped up some eggs and bacon. Nothing tastes as good as camping food, especially when my wife fixes it.

Off to the crawdads! We took the net and the bug box. We, the mighty hunters, departed on a quest to capture the mighty creek lobster. Xander got distracted with throwing rocks into the water, but I stayed the course, calling him over when I saw a likely suspect. It backed under a rock. I told Xander to watch carefully to see how daddy caught it. Slowly, I lifted up the rock. I saw movement. It took me a moment to realize what my eyes were seeing, but I knew it was too large and that it was moving. I am not afraid of snakes, but I let out a yelp and it sprang from its hiding spot. I backed away and grabbed Xander. When Darcy walked up, I thought she would want to go home right then, but she handled it very well. We moved spots and ended up catching 3 crawdads and 2 minnows. I also showed Xander how I could stand still and let the minnows nibble at my legs and toes. Xander tried to do it too, but he had a problem with the "standing still" part.

Next, Xander, Xavier, and I forged a path through the forest...on well established nature trails. We saw dry creek beds, broad-leafed plants, a giant millipede, and those boulders and ent-like trees I mentioned before. We had to go back and tell Mommy all about it. Although this day was much more enjoyable than the night, we decided to head back that day, instead of the next. We had done enough camping to satisfy us, and the campgrounds were getting crowded and loud.

We had just sat down to lunch when my Mom and "Nanny" (her mother) drove up. It's a good thing they showed up when they did, or they would have missed us. We had a nice talk and they played with the kids while Darcy and I packed up. Then we visited the water with Xander one last time and headed out. It was an adventure we will surely take part in again.