The Great Outdoors

Our first camping trip.

We not only survived, but we had a lot of fun. It helped that Corey took care of most of the food, and Lewis was a dream. I did come up with a few reasons that I like resorts though...

1. It is highly unlikely that raccoons will eat your ice-cream bars...or hang from your awning for that matter.

2. It probably won't sound like there are several hundred elves playing with hammers on your roof when it rains.

3. You most likely won't have to push the button every five seconds while taking a shower to keep the water on.

4. If you have to pee in the middle of the night, you only have to walk about 10 feet, not 100 yards (The boys didn't have this problem; trees were plentiful.)

5. Two words - continental breakfast

6. Two more words - central air.

Making a lake on the beach. Carter and Owen had a ball at the park, the beach, building a fire, roasting marshmallows...

Loving the outdoors. Lewis only cried twice while we were there. And both times it was because I wasn't getting his bottle ready fast enough. He slept through the night each night, and loved being outside all the time. We joked on the way home that he was happier there than he is at our house.
Aaaaah, this is the life.

Running around outside all day can poop out even the most powerful super-heroes.

Those aren't human fingerprints you see on that fridge.

If you can't beat 'em join 'em

As the wife of an avid outdoorsman who actually enjoys carrying all of his belongings on his back, while hiking through rugged terrain all day only to get to camp in the evening fix his own supper over an open fire and then sleep on the hard ground in a small tent which he has also been carrying around on his back all day, I am used to the call of the wild. It is just not a call that I hear in my head. The call I get usually includes a resort with an indoor pool, hot tub and a sandy beach outside...


But this weekend, I am sucking it up and going camping in the great outdoors with my four favorite guys. I guess I told Corey way back when we were dating that I liked to camp. Oh the things you will say when you are young and in love!! It really wasn't a complete lie. We camped quite a bit growing up. My camping experiences just always included a motorhome and modern facilities if you know what I mean. We have made a compromise that will make camping workable for me. We bought a used pop-up camper last summer, so I will get to sleep in a bed and have the modern convenience of electricity and a stove to cook on. I have also made Corey promise that if we are going to be a summer camping family, we get to go somewhere and stay in a hotel with a pool in the winter.


I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun, though I'm still a little leary about the whole thing. If it is just too much for me to take, I can always pack up myself and Lewis and come home. We'll only be about 20 miles away.

I'll post photos afterwards if I survive the trip!

Family Photo

Okay, so this photo is not great, but getting any family photo with three little boys is a feat in itself. Notice Owen's "cheese" face. Every time I ask him to smile for a picture, he says "cheeeeeeese", and that's what I end up with. It is better to catch him by surprise.

College friends and kids kids kids

We had friends from college over on Saturday to catch up. Jason and Brenda Willis and Rich and Kristine Vicker. The guys worked together and lived together for a while during their Iowa State years. We all got married within a few months of each other about nine years ago and have added nine children to the mix since. The kids sat still for about 5 seconds for the picture above.










While we sat and talked the kids who were big enough played in the pool and played super-heroes, chasing each other around the yard.













There must have been a bad guy hiding in the "forest". I can't think of any other reason that Batman (with a Darth Vader mask), a ninja warrior, Superman and the Hulk would all stop in their tracks to look.
We had a great time hanging out and decided we need to get together a little more often than every 5 years. The last time we were together, there were two kids among us and we were all pregnant.

The 4 men in my life

Here's a cute picture of the best looking guys in town.

It's a bird...It's a plane...

It took a little coaxing to get Carter into his Superman costume, because it's pretty small on him now, but I couldn't resist dressing up my boys for this Super picture!

Fish in the Water

Both boys just finished a week of swim lessons and are doing great in the water. Amazingly, it was less than two weeks ago I had to bribe Carter with candy to get him to put his head under the water, and now he is swimming and diving down to the bottom to find things. Neither one was very excited about their lessons, but they have a ball playing in the water.

Masterpiece??

Yesterday from the basement I heard Carter yell, "Mom, you gotta come see Owen's poop guy." Yes, Owen thought he pooped a masterpiece. Being the loving mom I am, I had to look. With just a little imagination, I could see where he was coming from. His masterpiece has since been flushed away. (Maybe I should have taken a picture for the blog...nah) I've come to realize that fascination with gross bodily functions is just part of being a little boy. Lord have mercy on me if it gets worse as they get older.

Superman, Spiderman and One Cute Baby

I don't know if you can read Lewis' shirt, but it says, "Don't mess with me...my brothers are super heroes." Very fitting, don't you think?

The many faces of Baby Lewis

Sometimes I'm quite serious.

Sometimes I can't contain my smile.

And sometimes I am shocked by the antics of my older brothers.

But most of the time, I am content to chill out in my bean bag. All we need is some popcorn and movie!!

Weekend with our cousins

We spent the weekend in Fremont, Nebraska with Corey's family. Unfortunately, Corey was gone on a trip with the youth group and couldn't make it. So I took a deep breath, said a prayer and hopped in the van with the three boys. I came home very tired, but the trip was worth it. The big boys always have such a good time with their cousins. And I had plenty of help with Lewis. The above photo is Garrett, Carter, Ian and Owen swinging at a park near Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Ian and Owen watching cartoons on Saturday morning.

Carter had fun using the super soaker to squirt his brother and cousins who were playing in the pool.

Lewis got tons of attention over the weekend. Everyone loves a baby. Especially one who is so cute!!! This photo is of cousins Garrett and Amina taking a turn with him.

BOX BOYS

Seriously, who needs toys when you've got a box!!