Golf Camp 2012

I cannot say enough good things about our kids' first golf camp experience.  The PGA coaches did a phenomenal job, and the kids learned so much.  Had the camp not put such a dent in our wallets, we would have sent them back for more weeks of camp.  While I've never enjoyed golf myself, I think the kids could grow to truly love it.  My dad and my husband's entire family would rather be on a golf course than most anywhere else, so our kids will fit right in if they continue to nurture their love of golf.

Science Camp

Our daughter always looks forward to Science Camp each summer.  This year, the camp covered some of my favorite physics topics.  I was thrilled about the subject matter, but I think she was more excited about being around lots of people for three hours a day. 

On the first day, the students learned about simple machines.  She learned the definition of a lever and made a dog puppet (perfect for our animal lover) with paper pieces connected with a fastener to illustrate how a dog's jaw acts as a lever to chew food.  She also learned to classify familiar objects as either first, second, or third class levers.  As an aspiring golfer, she was eager to classify a golf club.  For her creative reinforcement activity, she designed and built a golf course hole for her golf club lever.

On the second day, she learned more about inclined planes and was surprised to discover how much we use simple machines in every day life.   She also learned about the various forces on an object that are applied as it moves up an inclined plane.  She used a spring scale to determine how friction force varies when an object is moved across wood, felt, rubber, and sandpaper.  The students also learned to calculate mechanical advantage so they could then determine the most efficient dimensions for an inclined plane.

Day 3 was especially fun for her as she learned basic wheel & axle concepts and got to build pulley systems to reduce effort required.  Day 4 was all about gears with plenty of hands-on gear assembly.  On the fifth day, the students learned about Isaac Newton and his three laws of motion.  They loved playing with Newton's Cradle and learning the ramifications of force = mass x acceleration.  They talked about Newton's discovery of gravity and dropped balls of various sizes to discover that they they all landed at the same time because gravity is constant, but the one with the largest mass landed with the most force.
 


 

Spring 2012 Sports

Spring sports are some of my favorite, and with the weather so pleasant this spring, the kids enjoyed their sports activities all the more.  Gymnastics, swimming, softball and golf were their sports activities this spring.  I'll discuss the first three in this post and save golf camp for another post.

The children's sport that best conditions the body in all ten domains of fitness, in my opinion, is gymnastics.  Both of our kids really enjoy gymnastics, but they are interested in so many other sports that they have not chosen gymnastics as their passion sport.  Yet, I think it's important to at least provide the kids with a few gymnastics classes each year for basic conditioning.  This spring was our son's turn.  As in previous years, he was in a class with all girls, but he did not seem to mind.  He had a habit of calling out to me and waving during class to make sure I was watching him.  While I was glad he craved my attention, I had to remind him not to interrupt the class.

It has become a tradition for the kids to take a few private swim lessons each spring to refresh their memories and to reactivate their swimming muscles.  They took a few lessons this spring and can't wait to do lots of swimming with their cousins in Oklahoma who have always had a pool in their backyard and swim like pros.  I keep hoping to get them on a swim team some day where they can become stronger swimmers, but their busy travel and camp schedules always get in the way.

Our kids got to play church league softball for the first time this spring.  This league is so laid back that they don't even keep score at games.  The team volunteers are more focused on teaching the kids to hit, run, pray, make friends, and have fun than on who wins or loses.  I was thrilled to get both of our children assigned to the same team, the Curveball Crusaders.  Next year they will play in different age groups, so we'll have twice as many practices and games to attend.

Clockwise from top:  Post-game pizza party, Making sure Mom & Dad are watching,  Pre-game prayer

Top left:  Pre-game warm-up;  Bottom right:  Softball teaches patience.

 

Interesting tidbits from the last softball game:

• Our daughter may not look very intimidating, but her line drive almost knocked off a kid's head.
• While I was surprised to see an attractive, pregnant mother in stiletto heels and skin tight pants at this rural ballgame, I was not surprised to see her depart in a BMW convertible.
• The players were more concerned about seeing who could get the muddiest than in winning the game.

Summer 2013 - Short and sweet...and sometimes stressful

Summer has been a whirlwind for our family with our trip to Ireland, the kids' trip to the beach with Grandma and Grandpa, multiple trips to Nana & Pops' house, selling the house, moving into an apartment, and beginning construction on our next home. 

Speaking of building a new home, aren't you impressed with the progress they've made since we signed our contract with the builder five weeks ago?

Me neither.  While we have purged the house (giving away over $10,000 worth of items to charity while selling another $1000 worth), packed up boxes to fill two PODS, an extra large storage building, and a 3-bedroom apartment, moved all these items, completed the rigorous process of applying for a new private school that made college applications seem like a cake walk in comparison, set up the new apartment, and selected every last detail and option for the new house, the builder has done...well...nothing except to apply for a permit.  Apparently the town administrators really took five weeks to issue a building permit.  We meet with our builder on Friday and are eager to see some real progress on the house as we deal with one maintenance issue after another in the tiny apartment.


Despite all the changes, the kids have squeezed in some fun along the way.  Both kids took golf lessons this summer.  Our daughter doesn't love it, but she will learn to play golf if she wants to keep her surname.  And she plays quite well for her age.

Our son enjoys golf more than his sister does, and I look forward to seeing him on the golf course with his dad, both grandfathers, and three golf enthusiast uncles in the future.

The kids attended a fabulous VBS program near our house where one of our neighbors served as our son's teacher. She has a boy our son's age, and they live only a few houses from us.  They are a precious family who ended up buying our piano before we moved.  Oh how I wish we could have met them sooner instead of just two weeks before we moved out of the neighborhood.

The theme for this year's VBS was trusting God.  The kids learned to overcome fear by trusting God and to embrace the changes life in this roller coaster world brings.  The messages each day were perfect for our kids as they faced the changes associated with moving into a tiny apartment temporarily and then into a new home in a new town and moving to a new school for our daughter and back to homeschooling for our son.  The final presentation ministered to my heart as well as I have struggled more emotionally with this move than any other (and I have moved MANY, MANY times in the past).  God's way of giving us the precise word we need at the moment we need it most astounds me and reminds me of His nearness, faithfulness, and love.

Our son's class performing for the parents

Our daughter's class performs for parents

During our daughter's class song, our son sang along with them using his hands and voice.  His teacher (our former neighbor) sent me this video:


The kids' shortened summer also included play dates, slumber parties, pool outings, and community group gatherings..

Our daughter's new school operates on a modified year-round schedule, so their summer was about 25% shorter this year.  Even science camp will be truncated next week since school starts next week!

The blessing of neighborhood friends

I had been praying for years for God to send me friends who live nearby and share our values and have kids similar in age to ours.  A few years ago, the Lord prompted me to host a Christmas Party for the children in our neighborhood as an outreach.  My goal for the party was to reach out to lost neighbors, have lots of fun celebrating together, and give a simple gospel presentation.

Instead of reaching the lost, God sent us the best neighbors we have ever had as an answer to my prayers.  I was blown away to learn that they are also members of our church located so far away with countless other churches to choose among between here and there.  They have young children who have become fast friends with our kids.  We are like-minded with regard to everything from faith and politics to child rearing, home improvement projects, and education.  She was there for me when my cornea ripped leaving me in excruciating pain and unable to see, much less drive. They are always ready and willing to help in any way they can and love our kids as if they were their own.  I would do anything for them as well.   We take turns hosting play dates, and they have provided childcare in times when we were desperate for a sitter.  We share frustrations, joys, and anxieties, and offer comfort to one another when needed.  Our kids even share clothes and toys.  She's helping our 8-year-old learn responsibility by "hiring" her to babysit her youngest on occasions when another adult is present. 

Proverbs 17:17a
A friend loves at all times...

The kids loved attending golf camp and swimming together this summer.  Soon we will be attending group piano lessons and recitals together since their son will be taking lessons from our kids' teacher this year.  When we have had short notice home showings, we have often fled to their house or picked up their son and taken him out for ice-cream or smoothies.

A few weeks ago, I took their son and my kids to Adventure Landing.  Here are some photos from that outing as a reminder of how much we love spending time with this family. 

Their son had recently lost his two front teeth, so when the kids chose scary teeth from the prize box at Adventure Landing, I thought that was a nice way to keep him from singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".  We stopped by a grocery store on the way home for some milk, but I didn't realize until we were walking out that both he and my daughter were wearing those silly teeth. No wonder the check-out clerk gave me funny looks and checked me out so quickly!

My son was so funny in the way he played mini-golf.  His buddy was so focused and careful while our boy would not even look at the ball when carelessly swinging his putter. Yet our little 5-year old nailed at least three hole-in-ones and beat us all in the first nine.  Our fun-loving boy also liked to pretend his golf club was a guitar and rocked out with the music as shown in the video below.  His sister joined in on the fun, but our more well-behaved neighbor just kept his eye on the ball.  Unfortunately, I cannot seem to get to the sound to upload with the video. 

Thank you, God, for giving us these precious friends to "do life with" on a regular basis.

Just another day in the life of a mom

This post could be alternately entitled, "Sometimes a mom needs to vent a little."
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I awoke with excruciating pains running down my neck, shoulders, and back.

Our son, who experienced his first ever fever yesterday (102.5 degrees F), felt something in his throat this morning. Instead of coughing it up into the toilet, he decided to spit puddles of phlegm all over his room.  I did not discover these puddles until I stepped into them with my bare feet while pulling the germ covered sheets off his bed for a sanitizing wash.

Due to his sickness, I had to cancel some long anticipated play dates with friends I rarely get to see.

Our dishwasher flooded the kitchen this morning.

Our half bath toilet also stopped working properly.

Since my husband had a music ministry commitment this evening, I had to go get our daughter from horse camp instead of having him pick her up on his way home.  Due to rush hour, torrential rains, an electrical storm, and stop lights that were not working properly, that trip took over two hours.

The rain created quite the off-road adventure as I took my vehicle with its brand new tires and new alignment over the muddy, hilly, bumpy, winding, unpaved (no gravel either) rural 1-mile trail to the farm hosting the camp.

Our daughter has been experiencing her dream come true at this outdoor camp all day every day this week with a large variety of stinky animals.  The heat index has reached 107 degrees this week.  Only two Porta-John toilets are provided (no running water) to service the 40+ campers.  Yes, she has loved every minute of camp.  She arrived home tonight completely exhausted.  She was so tired that I almost had to wrestle her into the shower.

After she had finally showered and I had begun washing the three outfits, cowgirl boots, swimsuits, shoes and towels that she had dirtied today, she sat down for supper and immediately spilled a full glass of milk.  She cried over that spilled milk, too.  Meanwhile something nasty leaked all over the refrigerator so I had to pull everything out and clean every nook, cranny, and refrigerated item.

While cleaning the fridge and wiping up the milk, I administered medicine and begged my sick boy to eat something - anything - since he had refused to eat all day.

Then, right in the midst of all that chaos, a detective rang the doorbell.

Thankfully, this kind detective had come here to buy golf balls (my side business).  After completing his transaction, he entertained my kids by showing them his shiny badge and his car's flashing lights. 

Every kid loves a shiny badge

Now I need to go put sheets on the beds, finish scrubbing farm mud off the floors, and tuck in my precious kiddos.

Just another day in the life of a mom.......made sweeter because a kind detective took the time to put smiles back on the faces of sick and weary children.....and their mother.

Addendum:
After the kids were asleep, I returned to the kitchen to wash dishes.  When I went to put the bagels away after packing breakfast, snacks, and lunch for our daughter's next day at camp, I found a fly inside the bagel bag chowing down.  I mushed the fly, so my lovely day concluded with bug guts all over my newly opened bag of Bruegger's bagels.

Spring Break 2012 (Part 1): "A spoonful of sugar..."

Our daughter's school only operates 133 days per year compared to the 180 days required by public schools.  We took her out of school for a week to go to Disney World, so she's had even fewer days of school.  Almost every other kid I know would LOVE to have so many days off from school.  The kids at our daughter's school, however, dread Christmas break, spring break, and teacher workdays because they enjoy school so much.  We have to try REALLY hard to make our daughter's breaks from school as enjoyable for her as school seems to be.

She got to start her spring break early. She had to miss the last day of co-op for the year on the day before spring break began so that she could attend the Y Princess spring outing.  This year's camp had a pirate theme. Arg!

 

Camp always begins with a sugar fest.  Ironically, she missed my heath and PE class that day in which I taught about the harmful effects of eating lots of sugar.  After feasting at the ice-cream sundae bar that first night, her body rebelled and expelled.  She later told me that even when I wasn't there to nag encourage her to avoid eating too much sugar, her body sent the message for me.  My son's AWANA verse this week just happens to be Ephesians 6:1.  I think she believes it, now.

What she doesn't know is that my adorable and thoughtful PE students gave me a boatload of scrumptious treats that day, and I, too, was guilty of overdosing on sugar that same evening. Oops!

Considering that my husband slept in a bunk bed with four other snoring fathers and five lively, giggling girls, he did not sleep well that night.  He was up before sunrise.  Surely the view that morning helped offset any negative emotions that sleep deprivation could have evoked.

The weather was absolutely perfect during last year's outing, but this year brought lots of rain.  So, the kids had to be entertained indoors.  Of all the inside amusements available, I would have never chosen to play with snakes, but my girl loves all God's creatures both great and small.

Jake, the black snake

 

She could not pass up the opportunity to earn a patch by unlocking the secret code through a series of riddles. Can you decode this note with only the clues shown below? My husband didn't photograph all the riddles, but they did solve the puzzle using all 7 riddles.

Fill in the blanks using the riddles below.

Last year, when the weather was warm and sunny, she enjoyed archery best and the zip-line least.  This year, when the air temperature hovered around 50 degrees F, she decided she liked the zip-line best.  Rumor has it that one of her tribe members took a video of my girl and her daddy shivering down the zip line with their lips all shades of blue.  I can only imagine how cold the water must have been.

I'm disappointed that a lad walked in front of my husband's camera at the wrong time, but at least it serves as a reminder that both the Y guides and Y princesses attended the camp at the same time this year.  I was concerned that the boys would be a distraction, but thankfully, our princesses were too busy enjoying each other's company to notice the boys.

My little boy always wears a smile on his face with dimples gleaming.  Our deep thinking daughter, however, usually has a serious expression on her face, especially when she is asked to pose for a picture.  Or perhaps in this case, she really is upset about being asked to stop her play and stand still for a photo.

Ferocious Fireflies

Last year, our girl cried a river when she had to come home after that wonderful weekend at Y Princess camp.  This year, there wasn't enough time for boohoos.   After they came home, my husband only had 45 minutes before he had to go to church to rehearse for praise team duty that evening.  Those 45 minutes were just enough time to restore my son to equilibrium after he missed his daddy so much that weekend.  He kept his nose glued to the window pane for much of the afternoon looking for them to return   Meanwhile, I rushed my daughter to her own choir practice, and then we washed their soiled camp clothes and packed for a week at the beach.

While daddy and daughter were away, my son and I enjoyed a nice long visit with some of our favorite neighbors.  The kids had a blast playing outside and all over the house inside.  We went for a nice walk around the golf course and ate a semi-healthy dinner together. Then the kids worked together to bake and decorate horribly unhealthy desserts.  I guess sugar has become the theme of this post.  The evidence of our sugar crimes are pictured below.

Disclaimer:  While I did let the kids create these sugary concoctions, I did not let them eat them.  That permission had to come from their parents. 

Boys like tools...even egg cracking/separating kitchen tools

The boys' colorful brownie cake

The girls' Easter cross brownie cake

School Stuff, Kid Quips, & Parental Ponderings

"Be careful little children what you hear." (Philippians 4:8)

 

While driving around town today with my 8-year-old in the backseat, I heard him muse, "I don't know how many times God has forgiven me because I can't count how many drops are in the ocean."
I'm assuming those thoughts were inspired by the song, "Drops in the Ocean" by Hawk Nelson. Music can be so powerful in the way it sticks in the memory and in the heart, erupting at the most unexpected times. While I have been comforted by recollections of psalms, hymns, and other spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16) over the years, too often I find myself humming, "Play that funky music, white boy!" or "I've Got the Power", for I did not discover contemporary Christian music until I was over twice his age.

 

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I gave up on nagging my kids to keep their rooms clean years ago....deciding that it was better for our relationship and my heart health if I just stay out and let them have that one area to the house to keep however they like. I was feeling proud of my control freak self for this progress until....
I asked the kids to collect water samples from a variety of sources (ponds, lakes, groundwater, rain run-off, etc.) for a water microbiology class I'm teaching, and one kid brought me a golden sample saying, "Look Mom, the water in this bottle is 4 years old! This is the water I took to golf camp when we lived on the golf course!"

How much money  we spend to move and store that water twice?
Thank you so much sweetheart for your contribution. I'll let you watch "Hoarders" again tonight.
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Why is it that whenever I place something new on the dinner table, the kids assume it is healthy & tastes terrible and then refuse to try it, but when I bring a new (to them) foul smelling substance into the science lab and warn the students not to eat it, they all sneak a bite? ‪#‎ReversePsychology‬ ‪#‎ForbiddenFruit‬

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When the rain and flooding caused us to cancel our fall break travel plans, the kids, with pouty lips drooping, lamented that the break would be too boring. But look how much excitement we've already had on day one! This early riser has a shiner. If you think he looks bad, you should see the ice that hit him at the skating rink.

 

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My daughter asked me to take her shopping at the fabric store for supplies for a gift she's making for her brother. I commented on dozens of designs I would like for myself as we perused the selections, but she replied, "Mom, I would gladly make one for you for Christmas, but I only have enough money for my brother, not you." Should I be proud of her for the way she loves her little brother or feel dissed?
  
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The kids had to clean all the van windows together to help them learn how to get along nicely and be patient with one another. Then just after one kid wiped the windshield nice and clean but before their dad could inspect their work, a bird pooped all over the glass. I guess the birdie thought they needed a little more practice

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So my daughter spent 7 hours today as an extra during the filming of a short (3-5 minute) movie. Exhausted, she lamented, "We shot the same scene over and over and over all day long." Now she has a better appreciation for what goes into making a movie. She's been reading books on script writing, laboring over the computer writing the script, teaching herself video editing software, recruiting actors and designing sets for a "movie" she wants to self-produce, so I wonder how today's experience will impact the length of her movie and her willingness to continue. Time will tell....but she sure has vision.

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And this guy knows how to recycle the Sunday comics.

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The third graders took a field trip to a working farm / public park near our previous house.  I've taken the kids there before, but it was like a brand new experience for our son since he's older now.   Here are a few pics from that rainy day (just like most days this month) in the mud.