How Many Brothers - Wordless Wednesday

How many brothers does it take to chop firewood?

Camping with the Extended Family

On Friday I drove home from Bethany Beach, helped Chris load the van, and then we met up with one of his brothers and his family for a weekend of camping at Westmoreland State Park.

It rained on us a little while we were sitting up our tents and while Amanda was cooking dinner. I regret that I didn't get any photos Friday night. Amanda cleaned ears of corn without fully removing the husks, pulled the husks back up and then soaked the ears in water. The plan was to cook them in the campfire but the rain was interfering with the fire. After the little kids went to bed, she tried again to cook the corn and it was delicious.

Chris was planning to cook chicken fajitas on Saturday night and I was looking forward to more corn cooked in the campfire. However, a deer ate all but one of the ears of corn during the night! We shouldn't have left it sitting out in a big plastic tub over night. The deer also knocked over a pot which woke us all up (we were in an adjacent campsite).

I did not sleep well Friday night even with earplugs in. I kept hearing strange sounds. I thought I heard deer right outside our tent. Lydia started crying a little before three AM. I got up to check on her and realized she was soaking wet because I forgot to put a diaper on her for bed time. She is doing great keeping her underwear dry during the day and sometimes even keeps her diaper dry at night. Of course this would be a night she really needed a diaper. So, at three AM, I took her to the bathhouse and gave her a shower. She was still woke up at 7:00.

Maybe that was why she was a little tired at the pool on Saturday. She didn't actually stay this way for long. She loves swimming and wanted back in the pool soon after I took this picture.
We talked Wesley into trying the diving board and he LOVED it! We had to drag him away.

So, when it is 90 degrees and you are tent camping how do you give your kids a nap? Chris and his brother, David, took two very different approaches.

Lydia fell asleep on the way out of the pool parking lot so we let her sleep in the air conditioned van. After lunch, Wesley also napped in the van while Chris played on my phone in the a/c.

So while my family chilled in the van, I went for a walk with David and Amanda and their girls. Lucy fell asleep for a short nap in the backpack carrier. She woke up as soon as David stopped walking.

In this picture she was thinking about going back to sleep.

After nap time on Saturday, we took the kids to get ice cream.

The Potomac River is wide and beautiful here.

After ice cream, we went to the playground.

Something has happened to the ground cover for the playground. It has either eroded or they removed it for some reason. (They were re-doing an area adjacent to the playground.) They need to replace it.

The kids enjoyed climbing and sliding.

Lydia showed her Uncle David and cousin Lucy one of her favorite activities - line up the chairs and pretend you are on a train.

Wesley and Claire looked for gold with the insect collecting tools.

Saturday night this millipede crawled across David's foot. Icky!

On Sunday when we were leaving, we saw a little fawn with some other deer. I wish I had my D-SLR with me. I think all the activity of the last week caught up with Wesley. On Sunday, Chris woke him up at 8:30. Normally Wesley is up and out of his room right at 7:00 (we tell him to stay in his bed until 7:00).

We took Claire home with us after camping. We went into Old Town to get ice cream and walk along the river and look at the boats.

On the way home from Old Town, Chris asked Wesley, "Which camping trip did you like better? This one or the one two weeks ago? " Wesley replied, "This one." Chris asked, "Why?" Wesley answered, "Claire."

So after three night at the beach and two nights of camping, guess what I started doing as soon as we got home? Laundry!

Around and Around They Go!

On Thursday night Michelle and I took her two younger boys and my kids to Rehoboth to enjoy the rides. I put enough money in the meter for 2 1/2 hours. Michelle said to me something about being sure we would leave before 8:30. Well, at 8:15 I was sprinting back to add money to both of our meters.

On a side note, I have a pair of those FitFlops. I didn't buy them because I thought they would tone my legs. I bought them for the arch supports and they are very comfortable. I don't think they work my leg muscles any more than any other shoes. However, when running in them I could really feel my lower legs working - mainly to keep the FitFlops from flying off. I was also carrying my diet Coke with me. I am sure I looked like a crazy woman.

I was running because I had left Michelle alone with four kids five and under at the amusement park.

Back to the rides...I was a bad influence on Michelle and we stayed in Rehoboth until 10:00.

The kids had a wonderful time. On the balloon ride Joseph briefly tried to remove the light bulbs. Wesley and James rode most of the rides together.
James and Wesley on the motorcycles.
Can you see a trend with Joseph and the lights?
Michelle took the older boys to ride the Haunted House while I stayed with the two year olds. Oh, they were so well behaved and cute and fun and sweet that night. They had so much fun.

Until they knocked heads right before we left.

The two year olds had a second turn on the swings so James and Wesley could have a chance to ride them. After the ride was over Joseph tried to get out the entrance gate and Lydia ran back to get him. Right before she reached him, he realized he was going the wrong way and turned and started running toward to the exit - and right into Lydia who was still running toward him. He briefly cried but she really cried. She calmed down a little when I held her and walked with her. A young teenage girl came up to me and asked, "Do you want to give her this?" and held out a stuffed bear. I asked, "You want to give her your bear?" and the girls said, "Yes, she can have it." I think the girl had won the bear. It did the trick, Lydia calmed right down! Now she enjoys snuggling with the bear and taking it in the car.

That young teenage girl was so sweet and kind to give Lydia her bear. Wesley loved this ride. You can see the joy on his face. I rode it with Joseph and Lydia and they both liked it also.

It was a late night but it was so much fun hanging out with Michelle and her younger boys. John was at a swim meet with his grandmother so we missed him.

Thanks Michelle for a wonderful time. You are a great hostess and the kids and I truly enjoyed our time with you and your family.

More Drop-In Classes

The kids continued with the drop-in soccer and swim lessons on Thursday and Friday. I had planned on leaving early on Friday morning but the lessons (and our hostess) were so wonderful we stayed a little longer.

Wesley learned a little backstroke.
I think this is a great way to teach freestyle. Wesley had on a backpack and was holding a barbell. This allowed him to concentrate on the arm that was doing the stroke and then switch to the other arm. The coach who worked with Wesley on Thursday was also one of the soccer coaches. His dad was the other soccer coach and his mom was Lydia's swim coach and his sister also helped with swim lessons. What a cool family! They really know what they are doing when teaching the little kids.

I can't say enough good things about the swim lessons and I am not sure why more swim lessons aren't done the same way. All the kids in the intermediate (James' level) and beginner (Wesley and Lydia's) level start out with a backpack and barbell. The beginning level was divided up into three groups with Lydia being in the lowest and Wesley being in the highest group. The kids worked on strokes (well in Wesley's group at least) with the barbells and backpacks, then with just the backpacks, and then the backpacks were usually taken off.

Lydia had no problem participating and staying with her class on Wednesday and Thursday. Here is what she can do sans floatation device.

Wesley participated a lot more at soccer on Thursday and Friday. However, he really wasn't motivated to learn the different skills. Maybe that is because he has never really seen a soccer game.

As I watched Coach Henry working with James and Wesley, I thought, "If Henry could find a way to bottle all of his patience and sell it to moms of preschoolers he would be a rich, rich man."

During these drop-in soccer classes (that cost $3) the kids first practice skills for about 30 minutes then they play a game. The coaches do a good job evenly dividing up the teams.

During the game on Thursday Wesley and James got interested in chasing a butterfly. I wish I had videoed that! I think I was too busy laughing. At times they were off the playing field chasing the butterfly and at other times they were running through the game after the butterfly. Several times Coach Henry encouraged them to leave the butterfly alone. Finally the butterfly left the area and James returned to the game; however, Wesley started playing "red light, green light."

These lessons were just one more reason why we had such a good time with our friends at the beach. Now I want to spend the summer there too! (I can dream, right?)

An Afternoon at the Beach

Yesterday after naptime we went took the kids to the beach. Wesley and Lydia loved it, of course.

John filled up a little pool for Lydia and Joseph.

All the kids (except for John) soon started filling the pool with sand.
Aren't these two cute?

My kids loved playing in the water. The waves were very strong and we played right on the edge. They loved the waves washing over their legs and the sand moving around their feet.

The both got covered in sand.

Michelle brought all of her books with her to the beach.

Wesley and Lydia were supposed to be sharing this lemonaid but Lydia had most of it.

Michelle and Joseph took a little stroll by the water.

The kids also enjoyed running around in the sand.

Joseph and Lydia jumped in this big hole. They jumped in and climbed out over and over again.

I rinsed Wesley and Lydia off as best as I could in the foot shower on the boardwalk. Thankfully Michelle has an outdoor shower.

I love the beach. It wasn't extremely relaxing since I didn't have Chris there to help with the kids but I did have a very good time. I could also steal a couple of moments every once in a while to stare at the ocean, listen to waves, and take deep breaths. The kids all had fun playing together and it was fun to see Wesley and Lydia having so much fun in the water.

The Best Activities

Yesterday the kids and I drove to Delaware to hang out with the Best family for a few days. Last night Michelle and I took the five kids out to dinner and it went well enough that we would try it again. Lydia didn't want her dinner but she had no problem eating Joseph's dinner. Afterwards, we went to the boardwalk and got ice cream. I forgot to order Lydia a "kiddie size".
I didn't get a lot of pictures of the kids last night but I did get this one. Wesley would love an older sibling so he attached himself to John.

This morning Wesley participated in a drop-in soccer class with James and John. Well, he participated about 25% of the time.

Lydia got bored and tried to escape through the gap between the gate and the fence.

Here is a picture of Wesley doing what the coach asked him to do.

After James and John had a tennis lesson, we headed to drop-in swim lessons which were amazing. In the beginning group there were three levels and everyone started with a barbell and a backpack.

That is Joseph with the goggles and Wesley is in the green trucks.

This was Lydia's first lesson without me. She did okay for about ten minutes and then she wanted out of the pool. (She did the same thing when I did Toddler and Me lessons with her and I just didn't let her get out.) You can see the coach's solution. Lydia liked it.

At the end of the lesson her coach took off Lydia's backpack and let her swim to the pole on the stairs and then to another coach. Lydia sank but moved forward and wasn't scared at all.

Wesley's coach worked on backstroke and freestyle with him. Today was the best I have seen Wesley do (but I didn't get the best picture).

Mornings with the Best family are exciting and fun! My kids are now taking an early nap before we head out to the beach.

Vacation Bible School Rocks!

Last week, Wesley and Lydia went to Vacation Bible School for the first time. One of my good friends told me how much her daughter loved VBS at a local church last year and that they have a two year old program. She also said that the church puts a lot of effort and money into the program and she was right!

The theme was Son Rocks Kids Camp. That theme is stuck in all of our heads because the kids love singing the theme song and they keep requesting to listen to the CD they received the first day.

The program centered around five truths: Accepted by Jesus, Protected by Jesus, Saved by Jesus, Forgiven by Jesus, and Living for Jesus.

Wesley was able to retell the stories, especially the one about Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:13-36). With this one, he could really remember the details.

Each day the kids had fun snacks that were camping related. The first one was blue jello, a gummy worm with a little licorice (I think) and a pretzel for a fishing rod. One day they had in Wesley's words, "real little hotdogs". They also had s'mores with marshmallow fluff (I think). On Friday they had ice cream.

The kids also did fun crafts and played outside. On Friday there was a moon bounce.

Needless to say, Lydia came home exhausted. She and Wesley had a blast.

On Thursday night there was a program for parents. It was so sweet to see and hear the kids worshiping God.

Lydia loved being on stage. (Yes, I know I need to read the manual for my D-SLR).
Lydia cried when Wesley went up to sing. She really wanted to go with him. Every time a different class went up front, she said she wanted to go.

Near the end of the program, Wesley "read" the Bible. After the program, we went to their classrooms briefly and then had some refreshments. Here is Lydia on one of the rocking horses that were in her class.

He Can Swim!

On Wednesday, Wesley started swimming without a floatation device. He had been practicing swimming three feet to the wall (and practicing it without whining for his backpack). Something clicked and he realized he could swim! No, it's not pretty and he needs to work on his technique but we are all thrilled.

Later Wesley asked Chris, "How did I learn how to swim?"

Now Wesley is constantly asking to go to the pool. On Saturday he decided to try out his swim goggles in the pool instead of just wearing them around the house.

He kept them on when he took a little break.
Lydia is also improving with her swimming and she just started using his backpack which makes her work harder than when she wears the arm floats. She also enjoys practicing her acrobatic skills.