More of the usual...

The last week and a half or so have been pretty uneventful. I think. I'll try to remember what has happened since I last blogged, we'll see how the memory is holding up this week. (I NEVER could have imagined that one day I would be using the word "blog" as a verb! I know what it stands for but it still sounds stupid...)

Last week we did the usual stuff, and enjoyed some awesome weather. When it starts getting warm for real is when I start getting camp fever. This is the time of year during college when I would have real trouble focusing on work and would daydream about camp starting. Not much has changed there. And it's not just because I won't have to cook all summer. :) We're golf carting everywhere these days, which is a terrific way to travel with four little kids. Unless you're in a hurry. Or hate pollen. It's not much good on Highway 129 here in front of camp either, since it's top speed is about 10 1/2 miles per hour. I guess since about half the people in White County drive that speed maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

Warm weather requires putting away one wardrobe and getting out another one (or buying it, in the case of the oldest kids). Shannon cracked me up this week. He was wearing flip flops and looked down at his feet, back at me seriously, and said, "Which one's flop?"

Let's see if I can drum up anything exciting from last week. (*Thinking* Ow.) Nope. Monday we stayed home. Tuesday we had a fun playgroup at Sarah's house. Wednesday morning I got to ride, then we took Macy home and went to the grocery store. Gymnastics has moved to Thursdays at 3:30. Not the best for naps, but we're nearly done with gymnastics for awhile anyway.

Wednesday afternoon Amelia had to be at church at 4:00 for choir practice. Her kids' choir is doing a musical this Sunday and she has a starring role as a clam puppet. Well, it's not really starring...and tecnically it's just her hand. It's a beach themed musical, and it promises to be really cute. All the muscials the kids choir have done in the past have been terrific. This is the first year she has been in this choir, and I see lead roles and solos in her future. For now she's pretty excited about being a clam for her debut. Usually 4:00 is when the little ones are getting up from naps, so that was a little tricky, but after dropping her off we headed to Alison's until it was time for church to start.

Thursday we (oh dreaded thought) stayed at home ALL MORNING again. I wonder if every kid likes to go places like ours do. They always get up each morning asking where we're going. We headed to gymnastics in the afternoon, then went to the Knott's house for dinner. We got a freak thunder/hail storm, and Shannon planted himself by my side until it was over. I remember the feeling of security I used to get by being near my parents. When you're a kid you think adults, especially your parents, have it all together and can protect you from anything. I'm happy to continue the illusion for as long as possible.

Over the weekend we had two retreats at camp, so James was tied up taking care of them. We did get to eat a few meals in the dining hall, which is always nice. Friday I had a vet out to take care of our horses' vaccinations and Coggins tests (a yearly test for Equine Infectious Anemia...like AIDS in horses), and had a mare with an ulcer on her eye looked at. It's the same unfortunate one that's bald with rain rot, and now I'm having to finagle a way to put medicine in her eye FOUR times a day. No easy feat with all these kids. Just loading them up in the car is a process. Thankfully they're really good and patient.

Here are some photo highlights from our week:

Thursday we took a hike. The leaves have finally shown up just this week, and so many things are blooming. The azaleas, dogwoods, and wild azaleas in the woods are beautiful right now.

You can't hike without a walking stick. Or a jogging stroller, if you have a heavy baby.



This has been week-o-tattoos. (That's Spiderman on his arm.) They were in the boys' Easter baskets.

You shouldn't take a hike without your goggles either. You might need to repair something, or build a house while you're out.

Look at my toes!

Fishing without hooks, line, bait...or fish, since this lake isn't stocked.

Winston, who belongs to Daniel, our fellow camp director. He loves sticks.

Even if he has to steal them from little boys.

Siblings to the rescue!

Self-portraits taken from arm's length are never very good.

The kids ask daily when it's going to be warm enough to swim. They settled for washing the golf cart instead.









Elizabeth found her way out onto the porch while the kids were spraying each other. She's still not actually crawling but she can scoot pretty good while sitting up. She reaches forward and gets in a half-crawling position, then scoots a little, then sits back up straight. She's now saying, "Mama, Dada, uh-oh," and is tries to copy what we say. She's been consistently saying the same sound for "thank you," whenever we say it.

My mommy lets me play with filthy shoes! How great to be a fourth kid...

I'm still not sure how we ended up with a baby with so much hair.

I like how small she looks in the doorway.

Pseudo-crawling.



On Sunday we had a family dinner. My dad's parents are from Cleveland, so I have a lot of extended family here. My Granny was one of eleven, and they still get together several times a year. Sunday after church was one of those.

While we were there my dad's first cousin Travis showed up in an ambulance. He is White County's only paid fireman. Guess he's a pretty busy guy, a superhero of sorts. Actually we do have a volunteer fire department, so he has some help. He's a great guy, and LOVES his job. He went over and above to show the kids the ambulance.



They had lots of questions. The boys wanted to know what every switch and button did, and he patiently answered all of their questions.





Avery even got a look under the hood.

This was a great day for big rigs. They also begged for a tour of Uncle Danny and Aunt Lynn's camper. Avery said it was "awesome," and when he got to the back bedroom asked Aunt Lynn, "Is this your bed?," then told her it was pretty.



We had another fun playgroup today at the Knott's house. Tomorrow morning I'll go riding (yeah!) and Amelia will have an early rehearsal at church again.

Right now I'm taking myself to bed. I should have done it a long time ago. I'm stuck in a stay up too late, get up too late rut. (Late around here is 7:30, but still...the stuff I could accomplish if I could just get up at 6:00! Or so I think.)

Farewell!