Upside Down and Backwards Day!

We're 10 kinds of crazy here today! For the last couple weeks of summer, we're having a fun day when have time ... and today we did. We started off by having lunch food (PB&J, chips and Danimals) for breakfast, and tonight the kids and Dennis are going out to enjoy breakfast food for dinner! But, it's not WHAT we ate for breakfast that was really wacky ... it's HOW we ate it: UNDER the table, instead of on top! So silly ... Then, I risked odd looks at the kids' dentist appointments, by letting them dress "backwards!" Abby's hair was shooting out at all angles (but we still wore bows ... I mean people, seriously!), her shoes were mismatched, and all of the clothes were backwards. But interestingly enough, today the underwear was not! That happens on a semi-regular basis anyway. :) No real craziness planned for tomorrow, but I think we have some fun in store on Thursday. And, do stay tuned for pictures from California. I have them all posted in draft form, just need to add some sparkling (HA!) commentary!

Christmas in July

I don't know if it's because I am in denial that our big summer trip has come and gone, or that the task of posting all of the pictures from our fun is too daunting ... but I just can't seem to get updates from our trip up on this blog. You might not even have known we were on vacation! I meant to post a note back a week or so ago, that I would be M.I.A. for awhile, but I was too busy preparing for the trip! When we got back (mid-last week), it took a few days to recover from the jetlag and lack of sleep while on vacation too. And to top it all off, I had to keep up with my busy little kids, one of whom was experiencing "Christmas in July" at Art Camp. Abby made Christmas ornaments and more all week long, and at the end of the week, Tyler and I stopped in for their Christmas party! Guess who else made an appearance? That's right ... Santa wasn't very busy this month, (or at least not as busy as in December), so he stopped by to pass out gifts and sample the Christmas cookies the kids made earlier that morning. Tyler was a good sport ... there were only gifts for the campers ... but he gladly accepted a hug from the big guy.

What a fun way to end Abby's first Art Camp experience!

Vacation Bible School Wrapup

You actually don't need binoculars (even these cute homemade ones!) to see what a great time Abby and Tyler had at VBS last week. We've been involved (make that somewhat involved) at St. John's since Abby was a baby, but we really became invested in the children's programs this past year, when the kids started attending Sunday School. I'm so glad we all participated in Vacation Bible School, as the kids learned a TON, and we all finished the week with a great feeling about our involvement in the church and the sense of community we're establishing! As I've explained in previous posts, the theme last week was "Camp E.D.G.E." So, the whole church was transformed into campsites, mountain tops, etc. The kids and Dennis helped me make make the art room fit the theme, by papering the walls (thank goodness for hot glue!) and making mountains, waterfalls, etc! Abby is pointing to the mountain peaks, because she thought it was cool that we covered them with batting. But, Mom, Dad and Aaron, it sure does appear that she's saying, "Look ... there they are!" doesn't it? (a Janet and Judy reference from the 80s) I painted a mural on another wall (not shown) that we used as a backdrop for our photos later in the week. My favorite part was this sun, which I copied from the Camp E.D.G.E. logo. I couldn't find orange paint, but I did find this sponge in the resource room. Funny ... just about every kid called me out on that. "Do you know you have a sponge in the middle of the sun!?!" Um, YES ... I was being creative, ooooookkkkkay!Dennis fashioned this cool signpost out of cardboard, and we used plastic tablecloths for the snow below...Abby and Tyler both had great groups. Of course, Abby and Anabelle were joined at the hip. But Tyler surprised us by making a new friend. Oh, he enjoyed his little buddies (several from his regular Sunday School class), but he was enamored with Mary Margaret, one of the youth helpers assigned to help his group. She kind of adopted him for the week, which I think made Tyler feel pretty special!On Sunday, the kids joined about a dozen or so kids who had attended VBS (there were 85 or so in all last week, not even counting the youth helpers) ... and performed some of the songs for the congregation during our 10:00 service. This was so cute. We're really looking forward to participating again next summer! But I think I'll need that long before my hands recover from doctoring paper towel rolls and stapling them into binoculars!

Bathroom Broohaha

My bold little dude really threw me for a loop the other day. On Friday, I took he and Abby to a special dinner out at Red Elephant (a thank you for their patience during a busy week of VBS) and before dinner even arrived at the table, Tyler announced he had to use the potty. Well, as I started to get up, Tyler darted down the hallway leading to the restrooms (we were sitting pretty close to them) and right into the MEN'S bathroom! What do I do? He's at that age where he's too short to reach the toilet comfortably, so he has to completely manhandle it to get on to do his business! And that's JUST yucky! But I also couldn't run in after him, for obvious reasons. So, I loitered outside the men's bathroom for several minutes, before grabbing a pre-teen boy and asking him to go in after Tyler. He did, and out comes Tyler ... grinning like the cat that ate the canary! I asked, "did you wash your hands?" and he quickly turned around to head back to complete that task "by myself!" But, I figured we'd give them a REALLY good wash in the women's restroom! Fortunately, Abby was able to run into the bathroom herself (I'm okay with this ... she's been doing it for awhile), but as she informed me when she returned, she "couldn't reach the soap," so she, "just scrubbed hard!" These children!

A peek back in time...

I was looking at one of my favorite blogs tonight (trying to catch up). Anyway, the author of one blog did a fun thing - she posted pictures from a few years ago. I actually think she had one particular photo she wanted to share from a few years back (and a really crazy story to go with it) - what a great idea! I started this blog in December 2007, and we've only been digital since May 2007, so pictures before that would only have been shared in print form. It would be a pain to go back before we were using the digital camera (I'd have to dig out the CDs or for goodness sakes, the negatives (gasp!), which I'm not doing!) So I thought it would be fun to see some pictures from June/July of 2007 - almost exactly TWO YEARS AGO. It's amazing how much the kids have changed... and how much they've stayed the same!Abby still sits this way (maybe she always will) ... How about that baby face! (I mean on the one in the blue shirt! HA!) And those jeans that are SO cuffed so they would fit, are long outgrown!I still can't get over Abby's curls, and how much they've disappeared in two years.But even when he was a baby, or a little guy like this, Tyler has always made the same funny expressions!Okay ... the END for now. I remember taking this photo (and laughing myself silly as I did!) Abby was dressing up as a ballerina, and Tyler followed suit, but we were in the middle of a diaper change or something. So funny! I don't know what Tyler would say if he saw this! I've scheduled this to post while I'm at our last day of Vacation Bible School ... enjoy the pictures. Maybe we'll take another peek back in time a few months from now.

Over the E.D.G.E.

As you may have noticed (if you're one of my few regular readers!), I haven't been blogging much this week. In addition to a bunch of work deadlines, I've been inundated with Camp E.D.G.E. (our church's Vacation Bible School). While it is relatively easy (one craft per day, the groups all come to me, about 50 kids total) - it is tiring. But that's mostly getting me, my craft supplies, and the kids ... all there by 8:30 a.m. And might I add, along with the stuff we need for our afternoon activities. Yesterday this was lunch, bathing suits and such for an outing to the lake/mini-beach at Maclay, tomorrow it's gymnastics, etc.

At this point in the week, I think we should change the name to "Camp - I'm over the - E.D.G.E." In the craft room, I've helped the kids make camp bags, paper stars, binoculars (love those paper towel rolls! But did I like staying up until 2:00 a.m. cutting them and stapling them together? NO!)

Friendship bracelets. We did this today, a very easy craft ...

But don't ask me to help you make a yarn star! I completely failed on this craft on Tuesday ... didn't prepare! So, I quickly changed it to stars of Bethlehem, made from paper plates/coffee filters. Here's what the yarn starts are supposed to look like! (I stole this picture ... and the others above from the Internet. Didn't take the camera much this week)Tomorrow is the last day - picture frames to hold the kids' camp pictures. I was to have made these from popsicle sticks, then the kids were going to decorate them. But I hit the $1 aisle at Michael's and bought the frames instead. I figured it would be our monetary donation to St. John's! My creativity is tapped and I'm ready for a week away with my hubby! I even skipped Bunco tonight because I just needed some time at home to clean up some of the messes I've made over the past two weeks. I come home each day with a bag of leftover craft materials, storytime props, or dirty clothes and artwork! And there's no magical bag fairy that empties these out and distributes the goods (can you believe it!)

Okay folks ... check back mid-morning tomorrow. I've scheduled a post that should give you a giggle. It's a peek back in time!

We're SUCH Nerds!

Dennis and I MAY be in the live audience during Big Brother's eviction night next Thursday. As you know, we will be in California for a wedding, and we arrive that afternoon. So, we signed up for tickets just to see if we would get them ... well, we did. But it's going to be VERY tight getting there from the airport. We probably won't get to Studio City in time. And if we don't, we'll just tour around and see other things. We're flexible ... and we're SUCH nerds. But how fun would that be?