{camp}

It was off to Scout Camp for Rick and Ryan last week, and besides my excitement for them (it was their first year!), my insides were full of trepidation. They would be gone for 6 nights, and that, to be honest, scared me a little. The days would be no big deal--I was used to that. It was that whole dinnertime/bedtime part of things that I knew would be difficult.

It turned out to be a really good week, and I'm still alive! We actually had our own "camp" (the girls were pretending we were doing scout camp, too), and filled it with a lot of really fun things. We went swimming, to the splash park, on an adventure with some friends to another town, made yummy treats, and made dinnertime very low key. Thanks to some wonderful friends, I was also able to enjoy the week with chatting time, treats, and even a night out.

Did we have our moments? Absolutely. Do I want to be on my own again anytime soon? Not so much. But I realized that I can do it--that I can figure it out, and make it work, even if it's hard. My girls stepped up to the plate, and were huge helpers--I think it was a really good opportunity for them to have more responsibility.

Splash Park:




Swimming:

Why did I buy EVERYTHING pink when I had the girls?



As for the boys, they couldn't have had a better week. Rick loved being with Ryan, helping with all the boys, and hanging out with his friends that were there, too. Ryan had been looking forward to it since last year, when one of his good friends was old enough to go, but he wasn't. It was everything he wanted it to be, and more. He bunked with one of his best friends, ate SO MUCH FOOD (Rick used an an entire vial of insulin while he was there!), and learned many new things. He and his two friends earned the most merit badges of their troop, and they worked hard the whole week.

Ryan, writing in his nature notebook for the Fish & Wildlife merit badge--Rick sent this to me from his phone.


Rick and Ryan, home from camp!


I also learned a few things...

1. Boys do not put a lot of emphasis on changing their underwear or socks, brushing their teeth, or changing their clothes while at Scout Camp.

2. I cannot send any piece of clothing that I want back in the same condition as it left. If only you could see the pair of socks Ryan was wearing when he got home.

3. Boys are boys. Through and through.

We missed them terribly. I'm so glad they had a great time, but I'm also so glad they're home!

{lost}

I started this post a couple of days ago, and uploaded more pictures than usual. I wasn't sure why, but I had just been sorting through them to see which ones I wanted to use. Today I was really, really, thankful I did.

This morning, my laptop died. Well, allegedly died. All of a sudden (and I mean that literally...I was right in the middle of using it) a black screen appeared, with the words "operating system not found" written across the top. Not so good. I went through every troubleshooting idea I could think of, but still nothing.

The whole time, the fact that line item #4 on my to-do list hasn't been crossed off---"back up hard drive, and copy pictures on to a CD"---was haunting me. I do have someone coming to look at it tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'm preparing myself for the very real chance that these pictures might be some of the only ones I have of my babies. I know. I want to cry.

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Ryan & Jack

Ryan & Henry

Kate & Jack

Kate...we found her like this a few nights ago on our way to bed. She didn't want to be in her bed, and decided to make another one on the landing.

This summer has been really fun to see the boys experience grass, the swing, and the park for the first time. Neither one of them love the feel of the grass, but Jack especially dislikes it. Usually I can put them on the blanket and they will stay on it, but this particular day they both got adventurous.

The foot in the air? Cracks me up.

Henry loves the swing! And I love his huge grin.

One of Henry's quiet moments. They are very few and far between. :)

This is our FAVORITE. He does it all the time, and we always race to the camera to see if we can capture it. Rick was finally able to this past week, and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

My girls.

So, I'm praying for a miracle. I will be SO sad to lose so many pictures and video from the last couple of months. Lesson learned...back up your files more often than every couple of months.

{last day}

I {heart} this picture. It's Ryan's kindergarten picture, and it is still my most favorite. I can still picture him at that age, and how utterly delightful he was. He was my only child, and it was just the two of us for a really long time. I cherish those days I was able to spend with him.

Yesterday was Ryan's last day of 5th grade, and of elementary school. I can't believe it. He's totally ready to move on...but I'm not ready to let go. How can this be? He's still my baby! Plus, aren't I still the same age? :)

Kindergarten:


5th grade:

I think I need a support group, lol.

{memorial day weekend}

This was a great weekend.
On Saturday we finally got brave and went looking for plants, bushes, and flowers to landscape our yard. We've lived in our house for two years now, and haven't landscaped a thing, so it was about time. I just had no idea where to start! A blank slate can be good...but it's also a little scary. A good friend drew out a couple landscaping plans for us, and that helped immensely. We are definitely in a new territory, but I'm really excited about what we got. It's just a start, but it will be nice to not be the only house on the block without a little greenery.

When we were working in the yard later that day, I was cleaning off the front door and porch. I was going to spray it all down, so I took the wreath off of the door. Guess what I found?


It couldn't stay on my wreath, so we took it off and put it up in a tree. I'm so sad for the mama bird. I don't know what we should have done, but I know she's not going to be able to find her eggs. If anyone knows, please let me know!

That night we went to a professional baseball game, and had a blast. It's right here in our town, so we don't have to go very far, and the best seats in the house are the lawn tickets. You can see everything, and the kids can move around. Add in some ice cream and cotton candy, and it's even better!

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Sunday was just beautiful. Can I just tell you how much I love being able to grill, and eat outside on the picnic table? I just sat there, looking around, and realized it was a perfect moment. Of course the watermelon and corn on the cob helped. :) We built a fire in the firepit and had S'mores later that evening, and even Jack and Henry tried their first marshmallows. (Jack liked them, Henry didn't.) It was already feeling like summer, and I knew we would have a hard time going back to school on Tuesday.

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Monday we had great plans. There is a huge Memorial Day parade here, and we look forward to it every year. A big BBQ with all of our friends was scheduled for that afternoon, and all of us were anticipating a really great celebration. We woke up to a really big thunderstorm, and when we checked the weather, it was supposed to rain off and on all day long. The parade was definitely off, but the BBQ was up in the air. It was 9:30am, our whole family was dressed, and the car was packed. That doesn't happen very often at our house, and so we decided to take advantage of it. We hopped in the car, and started driving! There was rain forecasted for the whole state, so we knew we had to go somewhere indoors. We headed for a large city just a couple of hours away. We shopped, ate at our favorite restaurant, and stopped to see the temple. It was just so fun. The kids did really well, until we were about 20 minutes from home, when they all started having meltdowns. We made it though, and tucked them right into bed when we got home. It was perfect. We had a few bumps along the way (to be expected), but it was a really great family day.

(at the mall, after a very long day!)

I'll just leave you with this...

Quote of the weekend: (Emma) "You've got too many kids, Dad".