The Great Outdoors

Growing up, "camping" was staying in a cabin for a week in Wisconsin Dells. Mom packed lots of food, Eric and I packed our swim suits (and maybe a few outfits) and Dad drove us all to our resort. Grandma even came with us most years, teaching us how to fish. Eric enjoyed it much more than I did. I preferred to swim at the beach with my vacation friend. Every night we roasted marshmallows around a campfire at the resort. That's camping, right?

Meeting Derek changed my definition of camping. Being so in love, I agreed to go camping with him for a few nights of our honeymoon. Notice I didn't agree to every night. We set up a tent and roasted hot dogs over a campfire. I quickly learned how my cabin in the Dells was drastically different from camping. Time went by and we went on a few more camping trips. We learned not to camp over Memorial Day weekend. I learned how to camp with a toddler. I also learned I didn't like it very much. Zipping up my sleeping bag (and failing) while 7 months pregnant with son #2 was all I could handle. No more tent camping for this girl.

Derek's been dreaming of buying a camper for a few years now. He thinks I will enjoy camping again if we have a camper. Maybe I would. But for now, I'm quite happy to let him camp with our boys. He knew my "camping" experience when he married me, and once a cabin-in-a-resort-girl, always a cabin-in-a-resort-girl. :)

I love to ride my bike, swim in pools and lakes, and go for walks. I catch lightening bugs and ladybugs with my boys. I think I'm a pretty cool outdoorsy mom, regardless of my feelings towards camping. But at the end of all that outdoor fun, give this girl an air conditioned house and a comfy bed. The other night while letting Ginger out one last time, June bugs buzzed clumsily around my head, mosquitoes buzzed in my ear, and I couldn't wait to get back inside. The slithering snake I'd seen a few hours earlier was burned in my brain too. I always knew there were snakes in that alfalfa field, no matter how Derek tried to convince me otherwise!

All that to say, I'm raising my boys to love the outdoors. I'm also showing them it's okay to pick and choose how much to like. Or I'm showing them they can marry a resort girl like their dad did. Maybe she will agree to go camping on their honeymoon. :)

Some of the fun we're having this summer in the great outdoors. :)

Sons and Fathers

Braylen had fun with his camping buddy

Braylen may be on the verge of adolescence, but on Friday I couldn't tell. I pulled into the parking lot at camp and was welcomed with a hug from my son. He watched for me and sprinted across the grass to arrive at my door before I turned the engine off. Oh, that does a mommy's heart good. :) While holding him close I noticed three things. First, he didn't smell like he'd been at camp for a week. Second, he looked tan--not burned. Third, he seemed taller. Maybe that last one was because I'd been with his shorter brothers all week. Still--seeing him healthy, whole, and CLEAN was such a relief. Camp looked good on him. :) As the day unfolded, I learned more about his week. Yes, he had fun with the other guys. Yes, he did plenty of swimming. Yes, he camped outside one night and loved it. Most importantly, he committed these verses to memory. He's recited them several times since he's been home.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes through strict training. They run to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I will not run like a man running aimlessly. I will not fight like a man beating the air. NO! I beat my body and make it my slave. So that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

There's no better way to use his memory skills. He also learned to "redline" his faith at camp; to live for Christ at top speed, with high rpm's. Carspeak for my boy who has always loved cars! I think it's funny that when Grandma asked him about his favorite things at camp he replied, "eating and sleeping." Thankfully he did more than that. :)

For Father's Day weekend, Derek enjoyed a fishing trip with his dad and brother. They might not have caught many fish, but they sure had a good time. The boys and I joined him at the lake on Sunday, effectively ending their time of R&R. :) I tubed with Braylen, the boys tubed together, and I planned on skiing. Slicing my toe on the prop changed those plans. Big bummer. After warning the boys to stay away from the prop while we swam around the boat, I had to go and do it to myself. I guess there's always next time, right?

Derek with his dad and brother. Don't they all look alike?

Back at home that night, we celebrated Derek. I knew I loved him when I married him, but seeing him as my sons' daddy adds a whole different dimension of my love for him! Braylen made Derek a duct tape wallet. Doesn't every dad need one? ;) Aaron made him three cards because one is never good enough. Kaleb enjoyed the honor of presenting Derek with our brand new "time in a bottle" Father's Day gift. Each boy decided how he would like to spend one day with dad all to himself, wrote it on a slip of paper, and put it in our special bottle. Derek has a whole year to decide when to do each special day. Braylen wants to spend a day 4-wheeling with Dad. Kaleb wants to spend his day at a local fun center. Aaron wants to spend a day fishing with Dad. Good thing Derek has all year. :)

13 Years and Counting

How can I be married for 13 years when I remember what it was like to be 13 years old? One of life's mysteries. :) June 21st is one of my favorite days of the year. It sure was the most anticipated day of my life! Happy Anniversary to the one who waited for me, pursued me, and asked me to become his bride! How glorious to celebrate our wedding day on the longest day of the year. :) I love you Derek, always and forever!

Number 13 falls in the midst of our topsy-turvy summer. Still--you make do with what you've been given--so we grabbed a few hours this afternoon and had a fun picnic in the park. Kid-free. In fact, we brought Ginger along instead of the kids. She needed the exercise, and we love to ride our bikes together. We always have. I pray we always will.

I remember the moment when I knew this boyfriend of mine was going to be my husband. I remember saying yes. I remember saying "I do." I remember our first apartment, moving to Ohio, and then moving back. I remember telling him he was going to be a daddy. Three times. I remember him changing diapers and warming up baby food. I remember him teaching all three boys how to ride a bike. I remember our camping trips and our magical week in Hawaii. There is no one else I'd rather share these memories with. Derek makes me laugh. He listens to my wonderings and my worries. He takes me by the hand and suddenly I'm complete.

Being married for 13 years is SO much better than being 13 years old. :)

Big Brother

Braylen is at camp this week. That means Kaleb's enjoyed a week of being the big brother around here. He sits shotgun in the van, calls himself the man of the house, and leads Aaron around all day long. He's also discovered what's NOT so good about being the big brother. The other night he said to me, "Why are you so nice to Aaron and give him what he wants, but you're not nice to me?" Welcome to the life of the firstborn. Braylen will resume his role tomorrow when we pick him up from camp! Last summer he brought chicken pox and impetigo home with him. Hopefully this year he'll just bring home his dirty laundry.

I'm excited to get my boy back. I've missed him. I think his brothers miss him too.

We sure have been busy while Braylen's been gone. I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can get a little break from all of these fun activities I've scheduled for us! Whatever happened to lazy summer days, I'll never know.

Aaron's given me a few funnies this week. The first two center around cereal. My boys LOVE cereal. They like to eat a bowl of healthy cereal for breakfast and finish it off with a "dessert" cereal; usually Apple Jacks or Froot Loops. This week I shook things up a bit and bought Fruity Pebbles. Every morning Aaron says, "I want some of those fruity petals!" :)

Aaron's favorite healthy cereal is Life. He said, "We should get a Life plant. Then we wouldn't have to buy it at the store." I thought he said a "live plant." I had no idea what he was talking about. It didn't help that I hadn't had my coffee yet. I finally figured out what he was saying and felt like I'd accomplished something great. Yes Aaron, I'd like a Life plant--and a money tree too. :)

Finally, Aaron watched his big brothers put some models together last week. Braylen built a fighter jet and he helped Kaleb build a red car. Aaron just watched. When he found a model that hadn't yet been built, Aaron wanted it. I told him to ask Daddy, since they are Daddy's models. Aaron carried it around the house and said, "Can I have this object? I want this object!" His word for model is object. :)