extra campers..

We went camping recently, and we thought we scored by choosing a campsite right next to the playground. However, a few other kids took a likin' to us and hung out at our site the WHOLE day while their folks relaxed by their own campfire the WHOLE day. (grr.) I thought this scene was kind of funny....three little campers hovering around Tim...none of which were OUR SIX. It was cute for the first six hours or so, but then at dinnertime when NINE kids were hovering and getting hungry I had to get pretty firm to send them packing. :)

Link issues....oh, and finger surgery

I don't know why, but when I click on my link to the Pioneer Woman's website it's sending me to this "Pipes...feed" something or other. I have no idea why, and I have no idea how to fix it. This "pipes" thing lists her posts, but is nothing like her actual site. If you've never visited the Pioneer Woman, you MUST. She is stinkin' hilarious, she has great recipes, gives Kitchen Aid mixers away all the time, and is just generally great fun to read. The site is at www.thepioneerwoman.com. Anyone know how I can fix this link problem on my "blogs I read" list?

In other news, I've gotten lazy about photos again. I'll have a great new one after today, because Tim pounded off the tip of his finger while pounding in a ground rod (I don't have any idea what that is). He called me from the express care about an hour ago and said they sent him to the hospital to have a surgeon fix it. I get calls like this about once a year. I'm used to them now. The last one was about a year and a half ago when he called saying he thought he broke his ankle (which he did)...he was calling while driving himself to the doctor. So I plan to take a photo of the finger. Perhaps it will be too gross to post, we'll see. I don't know...the Pioneer Woman posted pictures of a mama cow's uterine prolapse! Certainly a missing fingertip isn't as bad as a cow's uterus! Until next time.....

Five candles, and hold the sprinkles, please...

Today my baby boy turned five. FIVE. It didn't really hit me until today that he's FIVE. That's a big deal! (Especially at our house....that I haven't given birth in five years!!) The photo is of his birthday list..I'll get to that later. I offered to have a little party for him with his two or three buddies from church (he's never had a friend party before)....but he flatly refused. Family only, he said. I was a little surprised by this, but then he went on to say that he wanted a lemon cake, no "theme", no sprinkles, no ice cream, and no games. Good grief! Who is this child? He didn't even want to go to a park to have his party (which ended up being a good thing since it rained cats and dogs all day). Nope, he wanted to stay at home and have his cake with no sprinkles and no ice cream and no friends. Alrighty then! What's the catch, because this is too easy. Or is there some deep-rooted psychological reason he didn't want sprinkles or ice cream or friends? Oh, I'm just kidding. I didn't really wonder that. Really, I didn't. Really.

So, today we had a very nice and low-key birthday, complete with lemon cake (he did cut me some slack and let me put on a few sprinkles...and the rest of us had ice cream). A few days prior he had made a birthday list. I always like to keep these, and thought you all might get a kick out of this one. I'll translate for you:

Start
Go
0. IPOD (yeah, right...I don't even have one!)
1. vidyo game (video game, which he didn't get. The Wii is still fresh.)
2. calindr (calendar)
3. map
4. legos
5. go otor (we couldn't figure this one out, and he couldn't remember, either)
6. cumpyoodr (computer, um..I don't think so)
7. clock
8. seeydy (CD)

Other than the computer and the ipod, I thought these were pretty simple requests. His favorite gift? A 2009 Veggie Tales calendar I found for $.97. He said it was his best birthday ever. Now if I can just get the other kids to have these same expectations!!

Happy fifth birthday to my fresh-faced little five year old Peter!

lane closed

I love my kids. I love interacting with them, listening to what's on their minds. However, it seems like all day yesterday, I did not experience five consecutive minutes without hearing my name (Mom) called in request for help of some kind. Usually for food. This really gets me when I'm on the phone or talking in person with someone (they have been taught OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and....that if I'm SPEAKING or LISTENING to another person, that they need to WAIT their turn and not interrupt - unless there is blood involved, of course.) I get real tired of having to stop and tell them that they're interrupting and to wait. I do realize that part of the problem is me failing to give a consequence when this habitually happens, but also that sometimes the kids are just one track minded and so focused on what's in their little brains that they forget. So I was thinking how handy it would be to have a light on top of my head that would automatically be "on" if I'm free to talk or answer questions, and "off" if I'm engaged in conversation with someone else. Lane closed. Find another lane. (DAD's lane, perhaps? :) I'll bet I'm not the only mother who would invest in such a gadget.

ball.....camp......

Scroll down two posts to "ballpark fun", and in the first photo you'll see Sam's baseball team lining up to "good game" the other team. (Sam's team is in the navy blue.) You'll see numbers 9,3,6,1,7, and two coaches (I think the second coach is very handsome and manly, by the way..). Anyway, Sam is number 1. In that same post, I mentioned something that didn't bother him about his baseball experience this year. Can you guess what I'm talking about?

In other news, the boy returned from camp today with lots of stories, camp memorabilia, smiles, and a suitcase full of clean, folded laundry. Which means he pretty much wore the same thing for three days. But he did say he took one shower. He and Janie had fun swapping camp stories in the van on the way home.....that was fun to listen to!