7-22-11

Checking out a grasshopper

Jacob picked me these flowers:)

7-21-11

Jacob cuddled on the couch with me until Adam and Eli woke up around 9am. After breakfast Jacob and Adam sat on the couch to watch Kipper. Eli crawled up to sit by his big brothers. The boys played with duplo legos. Eli loves to brush his teath. He sits on the counter by the sink and puts his brush under the running water. He also loves to "spit" just like his brothers. After lunch we headed to Salvation army.Then we went to the library for Move and Groove Time. Adam acted shy but still enjoyed it. Jacob had fun dancing with the other kids. Eli was dancing too. The boys played at the train table but Eli got fussy so we walked around to get some books. The boys each picked out a couple books and wanted me to read to them. We sat at the table but Eli was so tired and fussing. Eli was asleep before we left the driveway. We had to stop and get a few groceries. At home I tucked Eli in for a nap. The boys and I sat on the couch to read the books their library books. It was a very warm day.

7-18-11 (Camping Day 5)

The boys were up around 7:45am. I packed up the things inside the camper before eating breakfast. Jared took down the dining fly. We took a walk around the loop by our campsite and the kids rode their bikes. Eli rode in the stroller. We took the kids for a bike ride on the far side of the campground where there are alot of hills. Eli and Jack rode in the strollers. We finished packing the rest of our things. Then Jared helped Mel and Bruce while I took the kids to play at the playground. I gave lots of pushes and heard, "Push me as high as you can!" from them. I had Evan in the carrier and he slept the entire time. Norman is such a good camping dog. He sometimes growls at people though he is all "talk". He walks well on the leash except when he sees a squirrel. Then he gets a little distracted. We were heading home around 12:30 but stopped at McDonalds for lunch. We got home around 2:00. Truman was happy to see us. Eli was very giggly and happy to be home. Jacob and Adam played with Truman in our bedroom. I tucked Eli in for a nap while Jared opened up the camper. We got things unpacked quickly. Just as we were almost finished it started pouring. There was some loud thunder and lightning. Jared and I were watching the storm out the window. Our corn in the garden was sideways and all of a sudden we saw alot of large branches blowing by the window. We ran to the crawlspace with the three boys. They liked being down there. Eli was pretty sleepy. We were only down there for a few minutes. The corn stayed flattened. Lots of apples blew off the appletree and there were branches all over the yard. I tucked Eli back in his crib and he went right back to sleep. This evening I worked on laundry. The boys took a shower and had fun playing in there. We tucked them in bed a little early.

7-17-11 (Camping Day 4)

Singing

This is how Adam likes to ride down the hill.

After breakfast we took the canoe out on the lake. It was Eli's first canoe ride and he really enjoyed it. We all had a great time. Adam leaned over and had his hand in the water much of the time. We canoed to a small island and got out to walk around on it. After a while we headed back to the beach to see if Mel and her family were there yet. Jacob sat in front this time and helped paddle us back. I held Evan while Mel, Bruce, Hailey, Max, and Jack went out in the canoe. We went into town to get a few things we needed. After lunch we took a long walk around the park and the kids rode their bikes. Now the campground was really emptying out. The kids walked around the area across from our site to collect sticks for the firepit. Then they rode their bikes around that loop. It was a very warm day. We all went into town for ice cream cones. Uncle Bruce got all the kids drinks and they all picked blue. Soon after getting back we headed to the beach. Eli was very tired and did not want to get wet. He still had fun on the beach. Mel had made train tracks with the sidewalk chalk which the boys had fun playing on. They added lots of train tracks and rode their bikes on them. After dinner Daddy, Jacob, and Adam went out on the canoe. I took Eli to the playground and pushed him on the swing. The boys had a great time on the canoe with Daddy. Adam said they saw a Kingfisher which dives into water to eat little fish. They also told me about the squirrel they saw getting a drink from the lake. We sat by the fire and made smores. The kids were acting so goofy and had fun with their flashlight/glowsticks. The mosquitos were bad tonight.