Road Trip!

Okay, it has been 3 months since I have truly updated and I knew that this post is the one I needed to start with chronologically. I have put it on the back-burner because I knew it would take me forever to pick and choose just the right photos and do justice to a trip I won't soon forget. Here goes an attempt to depict a trip that held late night laughs with some amazing women that I can "let it all hang out" with; who are incredibly kind, witty, hilarious, wise, and just plain fun to be with.

The kids did surprisingly well on the 9 hour drive to Wichita from Denver. The drive home was a little more eventful with Caleb puking and Lucy choking and kids saying things like, "Mom, Harrison is looking at me."

Liz, Monae, Tracy, and I went to visit our good friend Leslie that moved away from us. While we were there we celebrated Monae's birthday. And yes, the candles are matches.

It was also a good reunion for all the kids.

"Come on Tracy!" It is amazing what our bodies can and can't do as we get older.

The Air Force Base that Leslie lives on was doing a Trick-or-Treat activity for the kids one morning. Caleb was a cowboy, Paul was the Tin Man, and Camille was Tigger.

I can't believe that Leslie had enough costumes and dress-up clothes for all 16 kids. The rest of the trip was full of sugar; the best kind of vacation!

The kids had a good time hanging out at night.

The kids played all day and when the drove us nuts we sent them outside. Here is a picture of the kids one night in the backyard with glow sticks.

Just Dance girl's night. Let it be known that I suck at Just Dance, but love it all the same.

We went to a corn maze. They had several activities for kids and the adults enjoyed them equally.

Leslie and I bushwhacking to keep up with the kids in the maze. Despite our efforts we still lost one.

Even better than a hay ride.

Caleb and Harrison in the 50 gallon barrel train ride.

Cute Camille

They had a huge slide that Caleb lived on.

A tricycle track

Monae in the middle of the coolest fall from the zipline any of us have seen in a while. What grace!

The Coolest part of the Corn Maze Place was the huge trampoline thingo! What a good looking group.

The chaos that followed.

Meet some of the most amazing women I know. Me, Tracy, Leslie, liz, Monae

Monae has all sorts of moves that would impress you. I think she could have been casted in that new Footloose movie. :)

Next stop on our list, Tracy's flat tire. We know what we are doing, right?

We piled the kids into Leslie's car to watch a movie while we changed Tracy's tire. Thank goodness for modern technology.

We totally have this under control. Okay, we need someone heavier than Tracy.

Or how about just someone different. A nice man stopped to help us. That left us with a lot more time to goof off and take pictures.

Hey!

We are so helpful.

Then we were put to work because the van kept wanting to roll off the jack.

Let's put the kids to bed early tonight.

What a fantastic trip. Thanks Leslie for a great time!

Happy Birthday Susan!

I don't get on here that often but I decided to come on and let everyone know that today is Susan's birthday and we celebrated tonight with a great Italian meal served under the dim lights. I had my two servers dressed in their best. They did a surprise as mom came in through the door and then properly guided her to her seat. They then plated the table and sat down last. Of course they loved the huge chocolate cake and the game that followed. I love my dear wife and appreciate all that she does for us! Happy Birthday Susan!

Camilley Bug

Our little Camille is 7 months old in these pictures. Some of the things she is currently doing is army crawling, feeding herself (no baby food), and jabbering quite a bit. She is not as smiley as she was several months ago, but she is still generally happy and good natured.

Snow!

It feels like winter to me. We stacked our firewood, we went sledding, and I'm cold. I love this time of year. When January rolls around I will have had my fill and I will be wishing for Spring. Until then I will enjoy the season.

I Love Candy, and Therefore I Love Halloween

I love experiencing the excitement of holidays through my kids.

My cute Ladybug!

Paul wanted to be scary.

Caleb wanted to be scary as well. When people would comment on the cute dragon costume he would correct them by saying, "I'm a scary dragon." Who could be scared of a dragon with a face like that though?

We are excellent parents, eh?

Grandpa Came

The kids weren't too thrilled about the corm maze. They preferred the jumpy castle and the other kid activities.

It is always fun to see Grandpa. We sure love it when he comes.

Caleb Turned 3

Caleb had a couple friends over for a birthday celebration. Diego themed with a pinata and he was thrilled. I decided to make the pinata instead of buy it. How much is your time worth? It turned out cute and it served it's purpose. Caleb got a big boy bike and he had it figured out in no time.

Caleb is my assertive child in that he has strong opinions on his likes and dislikes. He is shy and reclusive in large group settings, but is rambunctious at home. His stuffed bear goes everywhere with him which makes him have the appearance of all sweetness, but he is one tough kid. I love my Calebub.



Caleb and Harrison

Brant

Flip Flops

Caleb asked to wear flips flops the other day and I told him we didn't have any that fit him. I explained to him that flip flops are the shoes that have the "thing" between your toes. So he stuffed baby wipes between his toes and in all seriousness declared he was now wearing flip flops. I laughed.

He also was outside the tub recently and stuffed a towel between his butt cheeks and declared he had a tail. I laughed and then washed the towel.


This sweet boy is growing up too fast.

Getting Bigger - I Think

Camille's cheeks just keep getting bigger. :) Actually, I am not so sure she is growing very much. I look at pictures from 2 months ago and she looks pretty much the same. She has a doctor's appointment for her 6 month immunizations next week so I guess we'll see.

I love how much she smiles and coos. What a pleasant little girl she is. She is rolling over and putting everything in her mouth. We tried the rice cereal and it didn't goes as well as I hoped. Lots of gagging and spitting. We'll keep trying because her stool needs to solidify. Something's got to change in that department.



I put Camille in one of my baby outfits the other day. She looked very similar to my baby pictures. Minus the red hair and freckles.

All By Myself

Paul dresses himself now. I try not to care what he picks out. For instance he will pick a long sleeve shirt and shorts, whatever. He will pick two different shades of red, (grimace) "they match mom." I anticipate color coordinating his clothes being a long term struggle. We had Paul tested for color blindness. The results were positive. He is still young so we will be able to get more conclusive results as he gets older. There are a couple color shades (some oranges and browns) he has trouble with pretty consistently.

Paul is loving preschool and doing well in it. He is also very good to his younger siblings. I love this boy.




Boxes are great fun!

Camping - Kind Of

Pat had to work at camp over the weekend so we went with him. It was a last minute decision that we made because the kids wanted to see daddy. I have been a little hesitant about camping with an infant. We ended up compromising with the kids about sleeping in the tent. We ended up sleeping inside a conference room at the camp and we set the tent up inside. We were all happy. Pat and I got beds and the kids got to sleep in the tent.


What a goofball. I love his silliness.


We went hiking.


Caleb on our hike. I am so glad he is a good hiker. There was a part in the hike that overlooked the camp. I have always liked to hike to this spot. The lake is farther and higher than the picture indicates.


Cute Camille entertaining herself. That tag rag she is holding is heaven sent. She loves it.

Berry Patch Farm

Paul picking raspberries.


Caleb is the strawberry patch. He didn't really pick, he mostly complained. :)


In fact, this is what he looked like for a large portion of the morning.


Camille was happy as long as I didn't bend over. She preferred the raspberries picking.


The farm had this huge pig that you could pet. He just wondered around. They also had chickens and a turkey. The kids enjoyed that. Caleb was scared of them and insisted on eating his lunch on top of the picnic table. Whatever kept him from crying... We may go back on a day that isn't so hot and the berries are a little more ripe.

Camille's 4 Month Check-up

Camille had her 4 month doctor visit with immunizations. She is getting chubby, but she is still considered small. She weighs 11 lbs. 7 oz. (8%) and her height is below the 5%. Not a new concept for us. Camille is sleeping through the night and happy most of the time. She is putting things in her mouth and starting to reach for things on the table if I am holding her while I eat. She has gotten her fingers in ketchup and the like. She squeals and makes noises that make me laugh.

Camille still doesn't enjoy tummy time.

176 Photos!

I went to download a couple pictures off the camera that I took at a service project. The cue came up on the screen saying, "downloading 176 files." Paul asked to take SOME pictures the other day on the camera. He took more that I thought he did. Some were pretty good, while others made me giggle. Here is a sample:

Camille's Baby Blessing

We blessed Camille at church. We had to take some pictures to document the event. Thanks mom for the dress.

What a blessing this child is. I am so grateful to have her in our family. One day I will have to share her with other important people in her life like a spouse and children of her own, but for now she is just mine and I am loving it.