Father's Day Camping III: Belly Bumpers

Ten of the thirteen kids

Before we headed to the lake on Friday, I spent a good portion of my morning following Declan around as he tried to put every single one of his belongings in my car. He didn’t want to play with his toys. He cried when I got his trucks out. It was very confusing. I finally figured out that a raccoon had visited the Pilcher campsite overnight on Thursday and a Pilcher boy had described the nocturnal apple robbery in great detail to Dec. He was not about to have his things stolen by “Ricky the Racoon.”

Even while knowing it was a lost cause, I started with logic. Raccoons only come out at night. Nope – don’t care. Raccoons are scared of people. Super don’t care. So we fell back to creativity. I explained to Declan that luckily, I had remembered to spray all our stuff with “raccoon spray” – which they don’t like at all and keeps them away. Even his trucks. And that I bet Auntie Cheryl had forgotten to spray the cooler where the apple was. Dec trotted off to verify with C. Although she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, she gamely agreed that she had forgotten to “raccoon spray” that spot. And just like that, we were back on track.

With full confidence that our belongings were safe from that scavenger Ricky the Raccoon, we headed down to the lake. The water was surprisingly cold (just putting your ankles in was a bit of a shock), but with the hot and humid day, it felt really good to stand in the lake and watch the kids. The adults that chose to sit at the table in the shade were really hot and sweaty by the end of beach time.

Between the families, we had three kid kayaks and two regular kayaks. I spent a good part of my day in the kayak zone, helping launch people and occasionally swimming out to save a wayward kayaker (steering is hard). All three of our kids tried some solo kayaking. Fiona was really getting the hang of it, but still prefers to hang out in the big kayak and have Cooper paddle her all over the lake. It seemed that Cooper preferred that as well and was more than happy to take her out whenever she wanted.

After some analysis, Quinn tested out the solo kayak – and did so great. She even ventured out a little deeper than I expected she would. But she very much wanted to know I was watching and would retrieve her if needed. Dec did a pretty good job and loved when Cooper would walk in the water next to his kayak and help him paddle. He also took a turn (or four) on the Cooper Express in the big kayak.

After some quiet time in the afternoon, Brad and Cheryl pulled out the birthday present that we had given the boys – inflatable “belly bumpers.” Then we laughed and laughed as the kids tested them out for the rest of the day. Dec and Hannah were quite the pair and Hannah loved getting knocked over. There were also some good brother vs brother and sister vs sister matches. Mike and I even squeezed into them (squeeze is a very accurate word) – and were grateful for friends to help us get back out of them! Hot and sweaty does not make extraction easy!

In addition to the belly bumpers, Dennis found some water balloons and the kids had a great time throwing balloons at each other. After the fight, Dennis announced he would give the kid who picked up the most balloon pieces a dollar. And exactly no one was surprised when Quinn crushed that challenge. She did such a good job that Dennis gave her two dollars! My friend Wally came for dinner (he lives about 10 minutes from the campground) and we had a great time hanging out with him. There were s’mores and a repeat of late night campfire antics.

Saturday was essentially a repeat of Friday with a hot and sticky early morning run with Eric, a trip to the beach, and belly bumpers. The only difference was that it rained almost all morning, so everyone was a bit stuck in their own camper. The kids did a pretty good job with it, including a few games of Memory and inviting Hannah over for Play-doh. The rain stopped by lunch time and with the heat, other than a few mud puddles (which no short bikers seemed to mind), everything dried up quickly!

We went back to the beach, had a late dinner, made more s’mores, rode bikes everywhere, and swatted more bugs. The kids were grateful for the more packed dirt because of the rain. There were significantly fewer skinned knees on Saturday! The campfire crew didn’t last as late that night, but there was some late night game playing in Eric and Melissa’s camper. I chose bed. Mike did not. Neither did Eric. And yet, there he and I were Sunday morning at 7:30 am. Running in the pouring rain. About a mile in, the rain stopped. And then it was so hot, we wished for it to rain again. But we were incredibly proud that we put in about 10 miles during the weekend!

The dads had all claimed on Saturday that we would hang out until lunchtime on Sunday. But based on life choices the night before, they were ready to just pack it up and head home. Melissa and I walked our crew to the playground while Mike and Eric took our camper to the dump station and got the bikes all loaded it.

It was obscenely hot, but the kids did a great job on the long walk. Sweet Eli happily walked at Fiona’s snail pace and chatted with her the whole way (they were quite the little pair during the weekend … once I explained to her how all the “mean” things she thought he was doing was actually him trying to get her to play with him!). Ethan and Quinn set the pace and keep trying to hurry their slow-poke sibs up. At the park, E and E found baby toads. Quinn even held one in her hand (to my great shock!).

We had such a fun time … and next year’s sites are already booked. Same time, same place, same group. Can’t wait!

Father's Day Camping III: Bumpy Start

The wonky June weekend weather continued over Father's Day weekend, which we can officially classify as both too wet and too hot. Luckily the "wet" was mostly during convenient times (overnight and one morning) and the too hot was easily remedied by hanging out in the lake. Or having a epic water balloon fight. Our camping group ... we're problem solvers!

The problems started early. Mike took the camper to work on Thursday with the plan to bring it up to the site, come home to have dinner with the rest of us, and then we would all head up for the weekend. As I was heading to pick up Declan, he called to tell me that he would be later than expected. Because his car and the camper had been t-boned on the way. Another car had tried to cut across several lanes of traffic and hit Mike's car at the driver's side front wheel. However, Mike was moving forward at the time and had a lot of momentum with a 5000 lb camper behind him. So the guy's car dragged down the entire driver's side of Mike's car and dented in the front corner of the camper.

It was not ideal, and we are still dealing with insurance, driving a rental, and waiting for information on where to get the camper fixed. But - we are so humbled by all the positives that came from it. Thankfully, Brad was able to rescue Mike (and the camper) from the side of the road. Mike was not hurt and the camper, while damaged, was still very campable. Our lovely neighbor Jesse was no match for the pathetic looks the kids and I gave him and he lifted Yogi into my car so that we could drive up to meet Mike. And Eric and Melissa volunteered to go home the very long way on Sunday so that their Arcadia could haul our camper home. It could have been way worse in a hundred different ways. And it wasn't. We feel very lucky and very grateful for amazing friends!

Our camping group is now five families with thirteen kids strong (ages almost 9 to 18 days old). So when we finally got up there, even though it was technically close to bedtime, I couldn't make the kids turn in right away. They happily ran around with their buddies and found all the bugs in the woods. Eventually we tucked them and then made some questionable life choice around the campfire. I ended up being voted "chaperone" by the rest of the wives and finally convinced the boys to shut it down around 1 am. Full disclosure: I do not mind hanging by the fire, so did not mind my nomination at all!

Even with a really late bedtime, Eric and I dragged ourselves out of bed to go running at 7:30 am. I'm not certain either of us really wanted to, but neither of us will be the one who wimps out. It was a million degrees out and so humid, but we did it nonetheless. Then it was off to feed everyone breakfast and get ready to head to the lake. It was time for camping weekend to really start rolling.

Music Man

There has never been a question that Declan is a music lover. Looking back at the blog, it has been a common theme. As he gets older, his joy in music only becomes more apparent. Not that it would ever happen here in the house of perfectly behaved children … but he may or may not be known to steal Fiona’s mp3 player and hide out in some inconspicuous corner to listen. Or position himself on the counter and sing loudly and proudly …

Speaking of singing, Declan loves to sing! Real songs. Made up songs. Made up words to real songs. These are all fair game. Unlike his dad, D is pretty good at remembering lyrics. Or looking to a sister to be his cue card (see video below).

We went to the theater for a 50^th anniversary (of the theater) party last week. They had a band and Dec simply could not sit still. He was more than happy to get up and show off his moves. And thanks to spending camping weekend with a bunch of almost 8-year-olds, he’s working on his “flossing” skills (mom and dad, that’s a new “trendy dance” … the kids [or Mike] will demonstrate in person next week!). Mike and I were joking that between his singing, dancing, and cute factor, the theater is probably going to try to recruit him. Until they discover that he does all of those things on his own time and not so much on demand!

Whether Hollywood (or musical theater) comes calling or not, we are enjoying his love of music and hope it continues to grow!

Singing a song from High School Musical. 

With an assist from Fiona.

Dancing to the band

Dec is Four

Every year, we have Dec's party one weekend, his actual birthday during the week, and go camping the following weekend. Yet somehow it always surprises me how chaotic those first few weeks of June are. Needless to say, this post is a bit late. 

But you guys, Dec is officially FOUR. How is the baby four!?!?! He told me the night before his birthday that he was now too big to sit on my lap. Then a sister came by, squished him, and he decided maybe he would fit after all. I'm taking it, because I'm afraid that he really is not going to fit sooner than I would like. He's becoming quite a big kid. While we were camping over the weekend, he hung with the big boys like a pro. He also learned some new tricks on his bike that made me cover my eyes. A lot. 

Preschool was the best change ever for Dec. He loves to learn and is intrigued with letters, reading, and math. He aspires to stump me on math problems, but luckily my addition is pretty solid. So we've moved on to multiplication tables and Mike and I are keeping our brains sharp! He is starting to ask how to spell words and has memorized a couple books that he enjoys "reading" to us. 

He continues to LOVE all things music and has recently been showing off his singing and dancing skills. The boy has moves! He also loves his bike and scooter and cruises all over the neighborhood. He's close to being done with training wheels - and could probably drop them now, but doesn't want to slow down enough to actually balance his bike. His favorite things are superheroes, hot wheels, sports, and eating constantly. Declan remains charismatic, funny, and charming. He tells great stories, gives amazing hugs, and loves to snuggle. 

At his annual well check last week, he was 39.25 inches tall (27%) and 31 lbs (10%). Not only has he grown since last year, his percentiles have increased. For this gang, 27% is pretty tall! 

Finally, his birthday question answers are:

   Favorite color: Red and Green

   Favorite friend: Jonah

   Favorite show: Paw Patrol and Blaze & the Monster Machines

   Favorite book: Lightning McQueen (Cars 3)

   Favorite food: Pizza

   Favorite thing to do: Watch a show or scooter

   Be when you grow up: A waiter

Ironman Came to the Party

In case you were wondering about my “three bears” theory on the weekend weather … it was totally wrong. So far, the summer weekends have been “too hot, too cold, and too WET.” Needless to say, Dec’s birthday party was effectively relocated from the backyard (or the back mud puddle) to the garage/basement. And you know what, it was still an EPIC day and he had the best time.

The nice thing about the pouring rain all day was that there was no doubt by about 9:30 am that it was not going to turn around. So instead of waiting and hoping, we went into action and got the basement ready for an influx of a lot of 3 and 4 year olds. [code: the art table and all the markers/crayons/scissors/etc went directly into the storage room for the day]

To help pass the time before the party, Quinn and Dec helped me ice, sprinkle, and decorate the cupcakes. It was so messy – and we had so much fun. The weekend before, all three kids had helped me make his cupcakes. He chose dairy-free chocolate (one of his buddies is allergic) and lemon blueberry. So there we were, zesting and juicing lemons. Fiona was completely scandalized when I put the zest in the batter – and now everyone knows what zesting means. The whole family also worked together to make the superhero cupcake toppers. They required several steps like laminating and cutting (twice) and hot-gluing. But they were totally worth it. And let's be honest - it's not a birthday party here if something isn't over the top.

It was Dec's first "official" kid party - where he invited his own friends. We invited all his little buddies from school and several were able to come. His buddy Jack (who is 14 and the son of our original Ms. A) had his lacrosse tourney rained out, so was able to come. Dec was in heaven that his hero was here. And for all the kids here - and having to be inside - it was surprisingly calm. And my house survived surprisingly well.

In addition to all D's friends, a special guest stopped by ... Ironman (did I mention it was an Avengers party?)! We had told Dec ahead of time that Ironman was coming and he had asked me to text Ironman and tell him not to bring his lasers. Safety first! Declan was so pumped that Ironman came and a few of his little friends were excited to get their pictures taken with him. Ironman asked Dec who his favorite superhero is - and D made everyone laugh when he answered "Spiderman." [My friend Todd made the suit and graciously agreed to make Dec's life.]

We ended the party with a visit from the cousins. Dec and Otto had a great time playing and he was so pumped that his cousins came. Then we ordered pizza, tested out his new Black Panther mask (another Avenger), and had a rather quiet bedtime. The rain could not ruin the day and it was the perfect way to celebrate our almost four-year-old.