Camping Again!

After spending one evening and one morning getting ready to go, and then setting up a camper on a humid 90 degree day, we started to question if this whole camping thing is really worth it.  We weren’t seriously questioning it, but it sure is a lot of work to prepare for camping and get set up, especially with two very little ones underfoot!

Watching how much fun Alex had, and having lots of fun ourselves, we’ve decided it’s worth it…but it’s NOT a relaxing vacation with little ones!

This past weekend, we went with a group from our church to Indiana Dunes State Park.  It’s less than an hour from home, and it’s a pretty nice campground.  We had some rain, but not enough to spoil our fun.

Max wasn’t thrilled about sleeping in the pack n play, but he sure had fun playing in it!  (And after crying himself to sleep for each nap and bedtime, he did okay…but he still woke oncee during each night and got up for the day around 6 AM…ugh!) It’s really a lot of fun to camp with a big group.  Alex had a BLAST playing with all of his church friends – blowing bubbles, playing games, digging in dirt, riding his Buck, running around, playing at the beach…he was one very happy little boy!

I picked up a new bubble toy on clearance before we left.  It was fun for 5 minutes…until it got bubbles in the motor and stopped working.  Oops.Alex dug in the dirt.  A lot.  He didn’t care if he was alone or with other kids, as long as he could dig.  His bucket and shovels were a big hit with the little boys.

See the bike?  Alex was loving his friends’ bikes.  Oh, how he wishes he could ride a bike like a big boy!  Thanks, Jackson and AJ, for sharing your bikes with Alex!

When I asked Alex about his favorite part of camping, he said “playing John Deere Buck with Zach”.  They sure were cute together!

Miss Angie brought some fun games, and she taught Alex how to play Cariboo with AJ & Jackson.  (By the way, this game is out of production.  If you have this game & your kids have outgrown it, I’d *LOVE* to buy it off of you!)

I’m pretty sure Alex is happiest when he’s COVERED with dirt.  This is just his face.  You really should have seen the rest of him.  We learned that he hates showers, and had to resort to a sponge bath on the second night.  It takes a LONG time to sponge off all that dirt!

There was lots of chatting, eating, playing, and swimming…and some swatting at biting flies and mosquitoes, too.  Really, though, we had a lot of fun and we’re SO glad we were able to go! 

   Lest you think this is a nice massage line, look closely.  Jessi (in the front) was a good sport about getting coated in wet sand!

Max absolutely adored playing in the sand and shallow water.  He was so active that this is the best picture I could get.  In the rest of the pictures, he’s crawling too fast!  He got a few mouthfuls of sand, and he ate a few pebbles…but hey, it’s all part of learning what the beach is all about, right? ;)

We barely made use of the firewood we brought.  This was the only fire on our own campsite.  The rest of the time, Jack & Angie’s fire was shared by several families.  I offered to share some of our firewood, but Jack pointed out that our firewood is from HIS tree, so it wouldn’t really matter! ;)    After the campground church service, we had a great big, really yummy group breakfast.  Everyone pitched in, and it was delicious!  I think Mark’s sausage and potatoes was some of the best camp food I’ve ever eaten.  YUM!

Max hung out in the pack n play while we took down the camper.

 

Alex alternated between playing and helping Daddy.

  And here’s Max at dinner.  He fell asleep mid-reach for a bite of pizza.  I guess we wore him out! ;)

One more camping trip to go this year…Oak Lake again, with my brother’s family and some of my cousins…on Labor Day weekend.  We’re looking forward to it!

Family Fun

A few weeks ago, we spent a fun day at Grandma & Grandpa S’s house.  My niece Alyssa is working at Gino’s East for the summer, so we had an impromptu family lunch with Alyssa as our waitress.  Here are some photos from that day:

Our wonderful waitress, Alyssa :)

Everyone (except me…)

Headbutts with Uncle Dave 

Max in a can (which was fun until the can fell over…)

Grandma has the BEST bubble toys on the planet,
and they don’t make these anymore :(

Grandma found this out by the curb (for garbage) when she was taking a walk.  Alex LOVES it!

Moving to the other side of the family, we headed down to Jessica’s birthday party a few weeks back.  She decorated her own cake this year, and it turned out pretty cute!

Happy 14th Birthday Jessica!

Tiny Talk

A few weeks ago at dinner, Alex was purposely dumping food on the floor.  After being scolded, I warned him: “If you keep dumping food on the floor, you WILL vacuum it.” (I forget what it was, but it made sense to vacuum it…perhaps crumbs?  I don’t recall!)

He’s not a big fan of the vacuum.  He sits in the recliner in the living room, refusing to get up until I’ve finished vacuuming.  I figured that threat would be enough to stop him from being naughty.

It wasn’t, so after a glance at Keith, I followed through with Alex’s consequences and told him to come with me and get the vacuum.

Poor boy – his face went pale, his eyes got big, and he said (rather dramatically), “I can’t bacuum!  I’m just a wittle boy!” 

Oh, you should have seen that cute little face.  We felt terrible about it, but although he was nervous, Alex did just fine!

(Okay, scold us for being mean parents now…)

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Apparently, he’s getting good at the excuses these days.  Another one I’m hearing quite regularly changes a little each time, but it goes something like this:

Mommy: Alex, please pick up your cars and put them in the basket.

Alex: I can’t because I’m sick.

Mommy: You are?  What part of you is sick?

Alex: My bone is sick.

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And my current favorite:

Alex walked up to me today and said,  "Mom, I'm looking for a hooker!"

It turns out he was looking for a caboose to *hook* to the back of his toy train, but he couldn't remember the word.  That really got my attention for a second, though! I’m just glad he said it in the privacy of our own home ;)

Railcats Game

Two years ago we took Alex to his first Railcats game…

 

Last summer, we went again…note that adorable little bald headed boy! He’s changed so much in the past year!

 

This year, it was Max’s first turn to go to a Railcats game.  (Not that he got much out of it…)  Grandma & Grandpa S joined us for an almost-wet evening.  We didn’t stay until the end of the game, as it started POURING!  (The Railcats lost, anyway…)

They always have creative things to keep kids excited at the games.  This time, they had a “Kid Run” for kids ages 6 and older.  It sounds silly, but it really was a lot of fun watching this big line of kids run across the field!  I’m sure the kids thought it was pretty special, too.

Grandpa S offered me his old camera since mine is so close to death.  He took this cute picture of Max…  (THANK YOU for the camera, Dad!)

       

I guess that’s it until next year! :)

The New Sport at Our House

I’m not sure if this sport has a name, but it’s definitely fun to be a spectator! ;)

Max Speaks

Max is just starting to say a few real words in addition to his adorable babbling.  For a few weeks now, he’s been saying “Ha!” for Hi.  About a week later, he started saying bye-bye, too.

He also started saying up (up-bup-bup) in the past few days, and I think he says “ah-dah” for all done.  I’m not sure on that last one, but he’s done it three times.

Anyway, I’ve tried getting a video of him, but he just stares at the camera with a look of shock on his face.  I tried “hiding” the camera in plain view on the kitchen counter, and it worked.  (Excuse my rear end crossing through the video…oops!)

Alex is playing tractors in the background, and he’s saying “hi” a few times, too…just in case you didn’t know that he could talk! ;)

He’s definitely beginning that transition into toddler, and it’s a joy to watch him grow and learn!