Camping with Grammy & Gramps

We spent Friday night at Lake Altus / Quartz Mountain with Grammy & Gramps in their new camper. The boys had a great time!

Canoeing was hilarious fun for the whole family! Grammy, Braden, & I were in one canoe and then Gramps, Dustin, & Seth were in another. Grammy & I got the whole oaring thing down and were speeding down the lake in no time. The boys on the other hand had a little trouble. After ten minutes of Gramps trying to get Dustin to coordinate oaring with him, Gramps gave up and switched spots to let Seth give it try. It took them another ten minutes before they started making progress. We all had fun splashing each other with the oars, but Braden didn't enjoy us rocking the canoe too much!

That evening we hiked up a mountain of sand (Seriously, the sand was knee deep and it was a steep climb!) to get to the beachy part of the lake. The kids enjoyed playing in the water for about a half hour, until I decided the unsupervised little boy was casting his fishing line entirely too close to my kids' heads! Time to go!

The next day we hiked the New Horizons Trail with Grammy. It was more of a rock climbing trail than hiking like we hoped. We climbed a ways up the rocks and turned back. It was super hot and the boys know that serious hiking and climbing has to be Dad supervised. (This is so I am not held responsible for any major injuries that may occur!)

We then stopped at a water slide for an hour before driving home. It was a small family owned place with two tube slides that dumped into a 3 ft pool. We climbed the 65 stairs up to the top and slid down over and over again for an hour. We definitely got in our cardio for that day! The kids were linking up their tubes and having a blast! It was all good until I lost my tube completely and had to go down the concrete slide on my belly! I have a few bruises in odd places from that one!

In conclusion, Lake Altus / Quartz Mountain State Park is a great weekend get away! There is plenty to do and beautiful scenery. The kids are already asking when we are going to go back with Dad and climb the big rocks! Thanks for a great weekend, Grammy & Gramps!

Injury Roster

My boys are the most accident prone kids I know! I know all boys play rough and get hurt, but my boys seem to take the cake. They get hurt when they aren't even doing anything. The summer is only just beginning and we have already got a good list going...

Seth has a busted lip from being hit in the mouth with a tennis ball.
Seth also smashed his pinkie finger between two drawers (actually Dustin did it for him).
Braden's leg was punctured by a cactus while hiking, which left a good bruise with a hole in the middle.
Braden ran his shoulder into the wall while racing Seth to the back door and has a good three inch bruise that he has nursed all evening.
Seth also has a big bruise on his thigh from Dustin pelting him with a tennis ball. (I assume the reason we use tennis balls instead of baseballs is obvious at this point.)
Braden has two knots on his head from wrestling and hitting the ground too hard.
Seth also has a big open yucky spot where he popped a blister on his knee. (Why he had a blister that size on his kneecap, I have no answer for that!)

It seems Dustin is behind in injuries at this point, which is good for him seeing that he has been to the doctor, dentist, and is seeing an oral surgeon tomorrow. He has plenty going on without any additional hurts!

Picnics, Parks, and Discovery Center

My sanity relies on keeping these kids busy. You can only hear "What are we doing today?" so many times before you just give in and hunt up something that is hopefully entertaining for the kids.

When Derik was off, we took the kids hiking in the canyon. We hiked a trail for a little while and then up to the top of a cave. We've been in the mouth of the cave several times, but this time I led the boys up to the top of the cave and in through the hole up there. We enjoyed the cool cave air very briefly as there was a 12 foot drop off directly in front of us and it made Derik a little nervous. It was a great hiking trip, if you leave out the hike back down where I got all light-headed and weak in the knees. Probably should have eaten lunch before going hiking in the heat of a summer day! Thankfully my wonderful husband hiked back to the car and drove to where I was under strict orders not to move. I think he was expecting to find me laid out in the dirt when he got back. I was about to say we made it out unscathed, but I almost forgot Braden's leg was attacked by a cactus. He pulled the cactus poker thing out of his leg and then freaked because it started bleeding. He and I put an end to our hiking, so we headed for ice cream in the air conditioned comfort of Braum's. Nice day!

Yesterday, after we drove across town to find the zoo closed on Mondays, we found a new playground behind the buffalo enclosure of the zoo. Great playground, but I wouldn't suggest it for a picnic. Between the faint smell of buffalo in the air and the odoriffic trash filled pond nearby, it really didn't create a picnic atmosphere. We soldiered through the smells and ate our lunch anyway. I got some great pics of the boys and they enjoyed playing, even if they were holding their noses half the time!

Today, we checked out the recently renovated Discovery Center. The boys loved the Birds Prey exhibit, which was complete with stuffed prey being torn apart by various large birds. There was also a mountain of 1200 field mice! The coolest part, in boy opinion, was the body exhibits. They loved the sneezing machine that would simulate a panda, baby, dog, or man sneezing on you. Sitting on inflated tires that create great extremely loud farting sounds were also a big hit with the boys. Their favorite was the outline of the body with different buttons activated various sounds, everything from chewing to burping to diarrhea, which naturally Seth pushed repeatedly until a Grandma nearby looked like she was going to be sick. They also played with all sorts of science based toys and built a roller-coaster. We skipped the space theater due to time restraints, not because of my tendency to get motion sick and throw up when I am in there!

I think I would suggest the Discovery Center as and inexpensive ($22 for all three of us) and fun way to spend an afternoon. It is way better than last year when we had written it off as a waste of time and money.

Thumbs up for Discover Center!

Thumbs down for the odoriffic new playground behind the zoo!

Back Home With Boys

Last weekend, we drove to Houston to visit Derik's family and pick up our boys. My step-sons, Dustin(12) and Seth(10), were ready to come to Amarillo for a fun summer. I hope I can deliver!

While in Houston, we got to spend some quality time with Derik's brothers, sister-in-law, various nieces and nephews, and his parents. It was a good time, but I am glad to be home. There's no place like home!

Yesterday was our first swimming adventure of the summer. We joined the WT Activity Center, which means at least a month of indoor swimming, complete with big water slide, lazy river, and whirlpool. I love not having to worry about sunscreen and the kids love the pool!

Today, we have Braden's best bud from next door with us. His parents both work full time so he is going to hang with us one day a week to give his grandma a break and give the boys a chance to play. We've been to the park, McDonald's (with the big playland), and library. Now they are playing guns and swords all over the house, while I relax in my bed.

Surprisingly we have had very little fighting so far. A few summers ago, that is all they did all summer long. I felt like a referee at a hockey game! It's been getting better every time they are together. Now, aside from some arguments over who gets the Wii vs. Gamecube, we are pretty peaceful. I hope it stays this way all summer!

Summer Reading

Last summer we started a reading time in our house! It is 30 minutes to an hour each day, Monday thru Friday, where all three of my boys sit down to read a library book. After they are done reading, we give them a chance to tell us what happened in their book that day. The boys really like hearing about each other's stories because they usually choose completely different types of books!

Of course, it is great to have them reading throughout the summer, but the big bonus is that I have a little quiet time which is rare with three rambunctious boys in my house!

In addition to the public library's great reading incentive program, which I have already signed them up for, I also found this cool website with great book suggestions. It has book suggestions for ages from babies to age 9. Below is a link to the site and attached is their suggested reading list for last summer.
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/summer/2008


Braden has already read three of the Black Lagoon chapter books. He is excited because we found a Rotten School: The Blueberry Barf-Off by R.L Stine and another spooky book called Something Wickedly Weird: The Icy Hand by Chris Mould. These are both lengthy chapter books. I am stoked that he is so into reading and picking challenging books. I hope he keeps this up throughout the summer!

It's Summer!

Today Braden completed the first grade! He made the A Honor Roll for the year, was chosen for displaying Fairness as a character pillar which got him breakfast with the Principal, and had all E's in conduct. He is such a good student that loves school! I couldn't be more proud!

We were late for the first time ever on the last day of the school year! We decided to pick up donuts for the class and waited in line for an eternity. We were a good fifteen minutes late, but came with donuts for kids and teachers which more than made up for our tardiness!

I stayed to to watch the Roadrunner Review, which is the talent show of 3rd and 4th graders. It was funny! There was everything from singing to dancing to piano playing. I was disappointed the skate boarders back out, but it was a great show. A group of about 20 4th grade girls did the Hoedown Throwdown from the Hannah Montana movie. They were great!

The last day of school was emotional for us though. Our neighborhoods have been re-zoned with the building of a new elementary. Many of Braden's friends will not be returning to school with us in the fall. Poor Braden was on the verge of tears when he said goodbye to his teacher and friends. I was too!

Thankfully we leave to get his brothers tomorrow! The boys always make everything better! And so begins our summer of fun!

The Party Is Over...

And boy am I glad!

The 1st Grade end of year party was today. I spent the morning gathering tricycles, baby pools, splash balls, super soakers, tattoos, and ice cream sandwiches. Got it all set just in time for the kids to come out. Had plenty of parents to help run all the activities. Rotated the five classes through the five activities with perfect timing. Just at they all finished up their last activity, it was time to go home! Whew!

The kids all had a great time. Pats on the back all around for a party well organized. It was a lot of work, but I was proud that is was such a hit with the kids and done on such a little budget. We used left over money from Christmas and Valentines so we didn't have to ask for any more. There is so much to shell money out for at the end of the year as it is. I was glad the party was covered.

I did get sunburned, which is becoming a regular thing. Not good considering the history of cancers in my family. I really need to remember to put sunscreen on me and not just the kids! I look rather odd with my red arms, neck, and even the back of my legs got it. Needless to say, I am hot and shivering all at the same time! Oh the joy of fried skin!

The best news is that we have school til noon, which consists of donuts for the class and then watching the talent show. Easy breezy day and then we are DONE! I can't wait!

Some Inspriration for an Old Hobby

I used to blog like crazy and like with all other hobbies, life got busy and it fell by the wayside. A friend started a blog of family trips and comical moments and inspired me to starting up again. Sadly enough, I have changed emails and cannot even get into my old blog. So here I am, starting from scratch. Woohoo!

Memorial Day weekend was nice and relaxing. It began with a night out with my two friends, Mattie & Mindy. A little free pampering, airbrushed tattoos, and dinner. It was fun! The rest of the weekend was pretty typical. Some shopping with my mom, movie night with Braden, and then Derik was able to come to church with us. He was dog tired and I was so impressed that he was up to go. We played at the park and saw the new Night at the Museum. It was nice and made me wish the next four days of school were already over with!

Speaking of the movie, my seven year old now thinks he MUST see the Smithsonian and all other points of interest in DC. He has wanted to visit New York and Seattle since he was three and now has added DC to the list. I guess we better start planning better vacations!

Vacation this summer is either going to consist of two short trips to OKC and Carlsbad Caverns OR one longer trip to the Grand Canyon and back home via Carlsbad Caverns. It's a toss up. We can't decide whether the kids would rather see one of the 7 wonders of the world or go to a zoo, water park, and amusement park. Considering they are boys ages 7, 10, and 12, I am betting we end up in OKC. Carlsbad is a given either way because my husband really wants to go there. I've been to all of the above so I guess my vote doesn't really count.

I mentioned we have four days of school left, which won't fly by fast enough. Tomorrow is the awards ceremony, which I am excited to see my son get his First Grade A Honor Roll Award and Citizenship Award. He is one of those kids teacher's love to have. He is smart and always tries to please his teachers. I am also picking up our class's teacher gift from my amazingly talented friend who painted up a director's chair for us. It is awesome and I will post pics as soon as I get them. Wednesday I think is a regular day, but Thursday is the end of year party and early release. This party has been the source of my frustration for a month!

This year, I was not just a room parent, but the room parent coordinator for the grade. All this meant is that it was my job to call planning meetings, send out parent letters, and be responsible for all the money collected for parties. A job I will not be repeating next year! I am sure I did a great job, but I am tired of it. I struggled with ideas and participation from other room parents. This party at the end of the year is supposed to be the big bang for the kids. I am afraid it is going to be a big bust! We collaborated on ideas, then adjusted to meet the principal's new rules, and it just doesn't sound like a ton of fun to me. I just want to get it over with and get out!

Considering I have to be presentable for the awards assembly at 8:30 AM in the morning, I better get off this blog and get some beauty sleep!