Family Fun

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Camping Fall 2015

The annual 3-family camping trip once again occurred in early October, maintaining a fun tradition that's been ongoing since 2010. For links to previous camping trip blog posts, click the links below:

2010 Camping Trip

As in years past, everyone had a great time this year. With the kids getting older, they enjoy a bit more freedom to explore the campground together. Luke sometimes joins the "big kids" for their excursions but also is happy to spend time with Mom or Dad around the campsite. The playground is an attraction that Luke enjoys more than the big kids, so Mom and Dad will take him to the playground without the big kids. At the playground he usually meets and plays with other kids near his age. All of the kids enjoyed other typical camp activities like swimming/playing in the creek and pool, swinging into the "Tarzan hole", fishing, camp games, smores, and evening viewing of the local raccoons and skunks. This year, the kids put on a play for the parents on the last evening at camp. They spent an afternoon writing and rehearsing the play, and the "big kids" even included Luke to introduce the play and call out the "scenes" (see video link below). Enjoy some of the best photos (and video) from our 2015 fall camping trip!

Night time dance party with all kids on the "dance floor"

Four girlfriends

Luke enjoys the "big swing"

Maddie on the "big swing"

Luke and Dad sit by the campfire... Dad looks mad (confused?) but I promise, I was not

Camping provides lots of time for the girls to sit and chat

BFFs

Girl power in the river

Sharing a seat around the campfire as night falls

Nature comes out at night

Luke introduces the play (note: "Guesstures" game prop borrowed from campsite game room)

Luke and Dad break down the tent on the last morning

Four girlfriends, again

On the last morning of camping, all of the kids write in their camping journals

More chatting at the camp site, waiting for breakfast

Luke enjoying the outdoors

Mom and Luke play corn-hole

Muscles on display from Mr. Marty and Luke

Maddie on a rope swing

They hope the weekend never ends

Smile!

Luke and Dad await dinner one evening, note Luke playing with his iPad!

Luke adjusts the score on the corn-hole board

One of Dad's favorite camping activities: reading/relaxing/etc in the hammock

Tarzan hole swing and plunge into the water

Luke on the playground...boys need more than trees and logs to climb!

Link below is video of the play (skit) that the kids performed on the last night. The play is a Harry Potter parody. The audio is poor, but you can see how much fun the kids were having. It's relatively long, approximately 9 minutes.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Rules, God and Rocketships

A rare photo-less blog post (my first one?)... but the dialogues here stand on their own with no visuals needed. Conversations with kids can be so refreshing, so innocent, so sincere and so unpredictable. They can inspire, lift us up, make us laugh (or cry) and remind us of why parenting is the most rewarding (and challenging) endeavor in the world. Over the years we've always treasured these simple moments. These are a few exchanges I had with Luke from the past weekend - definitely worth sharing.

Pulling into the church parking lot.
Luke: "Dad, how about I take my iPad into church and keep the volume off?"
Dad: "No, you can't do that. It's against the rules."
Luke: "So many rules... how do you remember them all, Dad? When we get home, please write down all the rules so that I can remember them when I'm grown up."

At mass, returning from communion.
Dad (motioning to the kneeler): "Luke, please say a prayer. Church is almost finished, we're going to leave in a minute."
Luke (kneels down, crosses hands together, bows head and closes his eyes): "Dear God, I'll see you next week."

Saturday evening, about 45 minutes after Luke has gone to bed, but he has not fallen asleep. I've heard him scurrying about in and out of his bedroom several times to get a drink or peek at the TV show that Maddie is watching. Finally he walks into the office where I'm on the computer.
Luke (squinting his eyes and pulling up his PJ shorts): "Dad, something on my leg is bothering me."
Dad (kneeling to examine the leg): "I don't see anything. Let me carry you back to your bed."
Now in Luke's bedroom
Dad: "Were you scratching your leg?"
Luke: "Yes, and I put some Chapstick on it."
Dad: "Oh... okay. Chapstick isn't for legs, buddy. It's only for lips"
Luke: "Can you write that rule on the list too, Dad?"

Upon preparing to leave to pick up a few items at Home Depot, I ask if anyone needs anything while I'm out. Luke hands me a list with the following items:

Rockets
Connectors
Bed Legs
Steering Wheel

Dad: "What are these for?"
Luke: "So we can build our rocketship!"

Monday, August 10, 2015

Kayaking in Watson Lake

Last weekend we took a day trip to the cooler climes of Prescott Arizona and spent some time kayaking on Watson Lake. Some clouds and nearby storms almost ruined our plans, but the weather passed and we hit the water. The lake is a reservoir surrounded by huge granite rocks and outcroppings. In certain areas of the lake, you're completely surrounded by the rock formations giving the lake an appearance that is almost unworldly. The lake has lots of fingers and branches that make exploring in a kayak fun, at times it almost feels like your exploring a new uncharted world.

The kids had a good time exploring the lake. Luke was "captain" of the kayak and guided his boat from his position in the front seat ("go between those rocks", "go left", "go right", "go faster", etc). Maddie is big enough to "pull her own weight" and she helped paddle the kayak, taking turns paddling with Mom and paddling with Dad. At the midpoint of our journey, we stopped on a granite island (outcropping) to stretch our legs and swap kayaks. It was a relatively isolated area that produced a great echo - Luke loved yelling and hearing himself echo in the distance. Maddie fed some fish a handful of potato chip crumbs, but we're not sure if the fish ate them or not.

On our paddle back to the dock, a competitive race evolved with both kids urging their boat-mate parent to "paddle faster". In the end, both kids claimed victory (Luke touched the dock first, Maddie got to land first) and both parents assured the kids that they're both winners, thus diffusing a potential argument (phew). It was a great day and it's sure to be a place we visit again in the future for another kayak adventure.

Rock formations surrounding the lake

Rock formations surrounding the lake
(notice the high water marks on the rocks, about 12' above the current lake level)

Maddie and Mom navigate pass some rock formations

Luke guides us to our destination

Luke and Dad chatting during a camera break

Girl power!

Dad and Luke paddle away from the girls

Girls enjoying the scenery (and working hard too)

Luke says, "Head for that rock"

The girls made a pretty good paddling team (though not as fast as the boys)

Taking a break on a rocky island... perhaps a picnic spot on a future visit?

Luke wants to climb to the top of the rock... a sheer 30 foot cliff to the left. We didn't try.

Maddie takes a short break

Dad and the kids enjoy exploring the rocky island during our rest

Mom and Luke paddle back toward the dock

Maddie paddles to catch Mom and Luke (ahead on the left)

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

First Day of School 2015

It's hard to believe that the new school year started nearly 3 weeks ago. This year Luke is enrolled in a pre-K class that meets 3 days each week. He is back at the same preschool that he's attended for the past two years so he is already comfortable with the school environment, and he recognized a few familiar faces of students in his class on day one.

This year Maddie started 5th grade. Like Luke, she is also returning to the same school that she has attended for several years. There was no anxiety (or complaining) about the start of the new school year. In fact, I think that both kids were excited to start the new school year.

Enjoy some photos from the first day!