Camera Catch-up

At home today, finally.  There’s nothing even on the calendar for tonight.  Yeehaw!  Let’s just say that it’s the first time in a long time. 

This was from that one time a couple weeks ago when I was having a good hair day….I thought so anyway.

   

Here’s a boy too tired to finish unpacking after his Ordeal camping weekend.  This was the sleep-out-in-the-open, limited food, can’t speak, hard manual labor camp-out he had to do to as part of his accomplishing Order of the Arrow.  I wish he would post about all the details.  It was interesting. 

I think the fact that Jack can lie on the cat-pee carpet (yes, sorry to say Nature’s Miracle wasn’t quite the miracle afterall and that smell still lingers!  Just ask Ross, my harshest van critic.) attests to his level of tired. And that this has to be one of the most uncomfortable positions ever.

Recently, Caroline and Sam called me outside to check out their Thank-you-Mom-for-everything-you-do “tribute?” And not even on Mother’s Day?   They had worked from the afternoon to after dark.  They made handmade cards with heartfelt notes.

Heartfelt by at least one I guess since they did seem to say the same thing….verbatim.

Dear Mom,

We love you so much.  You are #2 Mom.  #2 because 1st is the worst  #2 is the best  3rd is the one with the harry chest (A.K.A Dad)  No Affcence Dad.  We did this because we need to give something nice to you since you do all that work. (for us)

  

Sam’s did have the extra touch of him drawing some of my favorite things:

Me and kids, heart, flower, milkshake, hot tub, tree, and grass.  Love it!  Especially the milkshake. 

Then here was the back.  Not sure Caroline is the one Sam should be copying.  No affcence of course, but “suprise”?  (I see he did semi-correct some of her misspellings:  hairry, affcense, but had some of his own…. yo, Apirl, becuase) 

You know, I really, really just love ‘em at this age.

And the surprise was music playing for me outside from an iPod and portable speakers and this homemade hammock.

I thought it was a pretty clever set-up by these little yahoos with multiple ropes and fasteners, however, suffice it to say the pile of bricks that can weigh down the rope to hold Sam or Caroline didn’t exactly hold for me when I sat in the hammock.  : )  The whole thing was a riot.

And the bricks are still in the yard.

And where’s Grant lately?  Making up some lost time on tuba practicing after the last mid-term progress report came with a shocking grade for Band.   I have a cool video of what he’s playing here, but I can’t get it to upload.  Grr, weak ol’ internet connection.  Maybe later.

And then this guy….here’s what he looks like when he’s around.  Between Scout meetings and events and work travel, we don’t see him much at all lately.  : (

But this weekend we will!  Yay yay yay!