More from the camping adventures and other summer tidbits

Just a few more pictures from our camping trip last week.  Glenn wore the dogs out playing catch in the water.  I think they might have had the most fun of any of us on the trip.  They got to go jogging, run in the water, sleep for hours, guard the campsite, bark at other dogs and lick marshmallow covered hands.  Not a bad way to spend almost 48 hours.  And Trigger has outgrown his nifty little habit of barfing in the kennel whenever he's in the truck so that's nice for everyone. 

Will took this picture of Glenn and I on the beach.  He used my phone and it came out really well!  Okay, so he took about seven shots of my feet and legs, one detailed close-up of his own finger and then this one.  Not bad for a budding photographer. 

Along with the guard dogs, we also this soldier guarding our tent.  I want to point out that he's not holding just a plain old stick there, that's a double-sided lightsaber, naturally. 

This picture isn't from camping, but we signed up both kids for tball this summer.  Sports Boy up there loves it - they are on the same team and Will's on the upper end of the age range.  La Reina is not so impressed.  Before the last practice, she came downstairs wearing this ensemble.  I said "Reina, are you wearing that to tball?"  Her reply?  "Yep!"  For posterity, that's a "my first birthday" bib around her neck and snowboots to bring it all together. 

Today, I took the kids shopping because Will needs some new tennis shoes.  He's been asking for weeks for a pair of shoes with that slash thing on them (Nike) or Reebok or whatever else cool 6-yr olds want.  I warned him that those shoes are really expensive but if we could find a good sale, we could probably get a pair.  Well, we went to three stores, looked at probably a dozen sale pairs and came home empty handed.  He's pretty particular about his footwear.  Either the shoes were too white, not white enough or had the audacity of including a tiny speck of pink somewhere on the shoe.  He was also bothered by the color of the laces until I pointed out that laces could be changed pretty easily.  So the search continues.  The days of me bringing home a box of something with Star Wars/Superman/Ninjas on them and slapping the shoes on his feet are looooong gone. 

Summer, Volume 1

We traveled to Nebraska this past weekend for our annual Lake Minatare camping trip with Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt.  We had the best weather we've had in our three years of going there - not too hot, not too cold, just right.  The kids and dogs wore themselves out playing in the water and running around the campsite.  Glenn fished and I finished a book.  All told, it was a really nice weekend.  Here are some pictures from our adventures. 

It's not a camping trip without a few swords and battles right?  Glenn is somewhat handicapped by the 4-yr old wrapped around his neck and Will's getting ready to go for the kill.  I think Glenn's cat-like reflexes kept him from any real pain.  This time.

Even gangsters like hanging out in Nebraska's only lighthouse. 

It's pictures like this that make me fearful of the future.  Goodness.  The timing of the head turn.  The blonde locks blowing in the wind.  The jaunty hand-on-hips pose.  Just please just let it be something respectable, like the cover of Golf Weekly or how about the Smithsonian? ... and not Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.  (whimper)

Cheetos!  Cheetos Time!  Aunt Vicky brought a giant bag of cheetos and she was the most popular person on the trip.   Except when Uncle Matt took people on boat rides.

Future archaeologist?  Or mud wrestler?  Will was busy on the beach for quite a while. I was reading in the shade and periodically looking up to make sure no one was in the water.  When Will finally walked over, he looked like this.  That's mud in his ear and nose.  Ewww.   The reason for all of the mud is below.

He dug a hole as deep as him armpit.  He was pretty proud of it.  Ironically, we went back to the same beach the next morning and Will accidentally stepped in his own hole and got mud up to his knee.  He was wearing dry, clean clothes up until that point.  This is part of the reason why I had nine loads of laundry when we got home.

Aunt Vicky took this picture and I love it.  Glenn trying to take a short rest and Reina wasn't tired.  Sooooo boring.  And shoeless. 

The last day of kindergarten

Yesterday was Will's last day as a kindergartner.  This school year flew by too fast!  This morning he woke up bright and early, dressed in his "sports clothes" and ate breakfast. I drove him past his school to the place where he will attend parks and rec camp all summer, and as we passed the normal drop-off spot, he said, "I'm a little sad that I won't see my teacher today."  I think that one sentence sums up his kindergarten experience.  Lovely.  He (and we!) liked his teacher a lot, he did very well on his report card (yes, I know it's just kindergarten but it's still nice to see high marks) and he grew up so much.  The fresh-faced little ninja-shirt-wearing 5-yr old has morphed into a sports-obsessed, hat-wearing, please-can-I-have-a-nike-backpack first-grader. 

Let's look back.  First day of kindergarten.  Those shorts hardly fit today and the shirt has been relegated to the back of the closet because it's not made of performance fabric. 

 Baby face!! 

Now the last day of school.  With Grandma Hansen who was celebrating her Last Day of School Ever.  Happy retirement Grandma! 

Last week on the monkey bars.  He's so proud of himself that he can cross all by himself.  He couldn't do that at the beginning of the year. 

 I'm not sure how tall her grew since August but it feels like 3 feet. 

Will now has TWO loose teeth and at his dental check-up this morning, the dentist told Glenn that Will needs to keep wiggling the teeth or even have Will's mommy wiggle them so that they'll come out faster.  I thought Glenn was pulling my leg but apparently moms have smaller hands than dads.  Will's dentist has apparently never met me (Mrs. Man Hands) plus I get queasy even thinking about helping him loosen his teeth (I really just shuddered and gagged a little bit typing that) so, yeah. 

OKAY - retraction time.  While telling Glenn that I was putting that story on the blog, he giggled and said that he was just kidding and he told me that just to freak me out.  Mission accomplished eh?  Glenn is officially in charge of all things involving tooth extraction. 

Today was one of those days of the year when I woke up and wished that I had gone into teaching.  Alas.  While I don't have a long summer vacation ahead of me, the kids do and we have a lot of fun things planned.  Bring on Summer 2013!

Darth Reina

This picture just about sums up life with Reina right now.  No, she's not the leader of the Dark Side (most of the time).  She's just a little goofball.  She has a wicked sense of humor.  Glenn was traveling for work last week and when he called home on the first night, Reina informed him that we had two new dogs (named Princess and something else that I can't remember) and that Trigger had died.  She's also not a shrinking violet.  She makes her presence known and she's not shy about voicing her thoughts.  While watching baseball on tv with her Pop-pop, he yelled something at one of the players and she let him know that "Pop-pop, he can't hear you."  When I came back from my jog this morning, I took my shoes off and one of my socks was bloody at the top.  My foot didn't hurt and as I was taking my sock off, I told Glenn "I can't figure out where the blood is coming from."  Reina was standing next to me because there's nothing a 4-yr old loves more than looking (or talking) about someone else's booboo and she matter-of-factly told me, "Mom, the blood is coming from your foot."  Like, duh lady.   Besides, the bossy, smartypants thing that she has going on at times, she's also a sweetie.  After diagnosing my foot, she told me that she wanted to come sit with me while I showered in case I needed any help.  Darth Vader certainly wouldn't have done that for anyone.