Grandparent Camping at Bent Trout

We just got back from our annual camping trip with Auntie and the grandparents. I'm basically dumping duffel bags into the washer, pulling stuff out of the dryer, and putting it back into duffels because we are heading north again this coming weekend. I currently feel like my second jobs are laundry and packing. I'm quite the pro.

However, all that packing and laundry is well worth it because we are having so.much.fun this summer. Our camping trip with the grandparent segment did not disappoint and we have the bug bites to prove it! Everyone needed a shower (or two) when we got home - including Yogi - so you know we did it right.

See the OG of these three here

We left around 10:30 Friday morning and with a few minor delays for traffic, lunch, and DVD player repairs, we arrived at Bent Trout campground early afternoon. Gma and Gpa N, Gpa V, and Auntie were already there. The kids happily ran around checking things out, playing with the puppies, and exploring the playground and beach area. Once everyone was settled and Auntie's tent was pitched, we put our suits on and headed for the beach.

Last year, our camping trip was soooooooo hot! This year, the kids only lasted about an hour in the lake before they were ready to go because it was kind of chilly - and definitely windy. Auntie and I did get all three kids to swim out to the swim raft with us and they all were so brave and jumped off. After three perfect jumps, Dec suddenly got the yips (and subsequently learned what "the yips" are ...) - but I managed to coax him in one last time. After the beach, we played some games, did some batting practice, ate dinner, stayed up late, and capped off the night with rainbow flames and s'mores.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at our favorite place - Gpa's deck. The kids ate bagels and fruit. Then Gpa gave them a donut for their second breakfast. Then they went and had scrambled eggs with Gma and Gpa for breakfast three. If you think that lunch was then a bust, you are wrong! Gma and Gpa J arrived shortly before lunch to day camp. Gma brought her famous potato salad and between lunch and dinner, she left with an empty bowl and we all had happy tummies!

After lunch, it was back to the beach. We were so hot at our site and looking forward to getting into the lake. Then, we got to the lake, the sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind picked up. We had fun - but everyone got cold pretty quickly. The kids did enjoy the wooden swing with Grandma while Auntie and I swam across the lake ... which was almost exactly the same size as the bay at the cabin (x3). Before we called it a day at the lake, Auntie and I took Q and D out in the paddleboat. They both desperately wanted to pedal - but weren't quite tall enough.

The big treat for everyone was Saturday's snack. The girls had taken a cupcake decorating class earlier in the week and we had two dozen exquisitely decorated cupcakes to share. They were a huge hit and all the grandparents were sufficiently impressed by their skills. And they should have been - the girls did a great job!

After snack, Dec asked Mike to take the training wheels off his new big bike. So Mike did. And the rest of the camping trip found Auntie, Mike, or me walking the loop with various bike riders as D practiced and practiced. And practiced. And practiced. He only hit one tree and a handful of people ... and now is quite proficient and will from now on be training wheel free (we hope)!

Between the late night before, the swimming, and all the bike riding, the kids were tired and asked to go to bed fairly early. I was happy to oblige. It was a pretty low key evening and we all turned in pretty early.

Sunday morning, the kids again enjoyed three breakfasts (swapping out eggs for oatmeal) and continued their bike riding adventures. At this point, Dec could pretty much do the loop himself and by the time we left, he had also mastered the downhill trek to the playground. This was just perfect as all the tall people were busy breaking camp. We were able to leave shortly before noon, got stuck in a bit of traffic, and were home by 3pm to start the showering and laundry cycle. We are already talking about where to go next year! Such a great tradition and the best memories for the kids.

Look at these beauties!

Life in July

Much like June, July is flying by at breakneck speed. We basically try to cram all the day-to-day responsible actions (like groceries, laundry, organizing the garage) into a few days between trips up north where we can see our families and play in lakes. Summertime makes it hard to be a functioning adult. There's just so much fun to be had! Here is a glimpse at life in-between the big moments of the month:

Is it really summer without a neighborhood lemonade stand? The kids man the shop and are having a great time. However when you are selling drinks on a hot summer day, sometimes you end up drinking a bit of your profits!

Several of my co-workers were in town, so we decided to meet them for another night at the water ski show. It was a gorgeous evening - and we finally broke out the suckers we bought on Spring Break!

Meanwhile, Dec continues to spend Thursday night playing ball. He is really loving it ... and wants to spend most evenings doing batting practice or playing catch. Q has been very intrigued by t-ball and has made a firm "maybe" commitment to also playing baseball. Until then, it seems like my living room is the place to play catch.

Very few things in parenting life completely gross me out. Teeth would be one of those things. If the kids have a loose tooth, that is totally Mike's territory. Get that snaggle away from me!!! So during my birthday weekend, Quinn came over and smiled at me. I asked her "what?" and she pointed to her tooth. I still didn't get it. And then she told me that her tooth was backwards! It was so loose that she had turned it around. GROSS! Then she turned it sideways and showed me that too. Thankfully, Quinn does not like having loose teeth - so she and Mike worked on that tooth all afternoon. They finally used floss to pop it out and it went flying across the room and got lost in the carpet. Don't worry - there was solid teamwork and we found the tooth. Corn on the cob season just got interesting!

Our cleaning lady couldn't come during the week, so planned to come on a Saturday. We need to bail out of her way for the morning, so decided to spend the very rainy morning at the zoo. We were soggy, but happy. And my shoes dried out just in time to run back through the rain to the car. With Declan on my back ...

My work group found out that it was my birthday (and the other Sarah at work has a birthday six days later), so when I turned the corner last Thursday, I was quite surprised by our cubes. So funny! I had to fight my way through the streamers to get in - and then get to my computer. 

The Winner Takes It All

Subtitle: The Night My Sister Lost Her Sh*t

On Saturday the 13th (oh so behind on the blog), Mike, my parents, my sister, Cheryl, and I headed out to the theater for the current production of Mamma Mia. We have been looking forward to this since it opened in March. It's been a loooooong wait! Fun fact: I'm pretty sure that Mike did not know a single ABBA song until rehearsals started. This has been a good learning experience for him!

Fun fact 2: I am not known for my skills at keeping secrets. So ... when Mike started months ago on an arrangement to have one of the actors (Tony) pull my sister up to dance (Tony is her very favorite actor ever - in case you guys don't remember February) when they go out in the crowd for Waterloo at the end - and he told me that I could not breath a word of this to a single soul, it was incredibly HARD work! So needless to say, we have all be waiting with bated breath for this weekend!

We were back to the super premium seating that we know and love. Mike's acting contacts told us which seat we needed to have Emmy in ... which became my job. Oh my heavens, the stress! Then Mike told me that there was a virus going through the cast and we were going to have the understudy to the understudy for Donna. Womp womp. I was a bit bummed out as we had been waiting so long for the show.

You guys, I retract all concern I ever had and extend my apologies to the understudy of the understudy. She was hands down PHENOMENAL. When she sang "The Winner Takes It All," I was willing to forego the rest of the play if she would just sing it again. The show was incredible and I'm pretty sure we are all trying to figure out when we can go again (made easier by the fact that they just extended the run for another six months because it is selling so well!). Fun fact 3: if you are local, do not pause. Buy tickets to the show. Not just because Mike needs a paycheck. But because you will not regret it!

Through cunning, lying, and straight up luck, I finagled my sister into the correct seat. Then when I noticed that some of the other tables were standing up for the "sing a long" finale ... Em and I stood up too. And then Tony snuck up behind her, grabbed her hand, and she lived her best life dancing and singing in the aisle as a real life part of the show! Mike is so great for arranging this for her ... and I was so relieved that I no longer had to keep that secret!

Tony returned Emmy to us, winked at Mike (I love them both so much), and Em proceeded to laugh/cry/sweat and lose her dang mind. It was fantastic! For beginning to end, we had the very best night together and I don't think we stopped laughing the whole evening.

Q and D Learn a Kickline

Despite all the fun, we had to come home from our vacation up north ... because it was Quinn and Dec's turn to head to work with Mike for a week of theater camp! While Fiona was jealous because she had so much fun at hers, she did not hate getting Nanny N all to herself for the morning. And D did not mind getting to hang with Nanny N for the afternoon (what a great way to cover Ms. A's week off). 

This week's camp was specifically for 5-7 year olds. Their theme was "Part of the Family" and they learned songs and dances from several different musicals that had something to do with family. I loved hearing them sing their songs all week, but they were very mysterious with information on their dance moves. They wanted it to be a surprise.

The performance was Friday morning, so Gma and Gpa J, Nanny N, Fiona, and I met Mike at the theater for the big show. And there were our kidstars - dead center of the stage. They got to come out to see us quick, eat a cookie, and then it was back on stage for the performance. You guys, it was so cute. 

This performance was way different than F's - in the best possible way. In F's camp, they were clearly working on performance skills and polish. That was exactly what Fiona needed and she nailed that. This camp was all about the showmanship. You know who is also all about the showmanship ... Declan George Vanneste.

The highlight of the whole dang thing was the 5-7 year old kick line. It was just a favorite! They both did so well and were very proud. Mike got comments all afternoon from his co-workers about a) how good and precise Q is at dance moves and b) how Declan has zero stage fright. Zero. 

Everyone enjoyed their first theater camp experience and can't wait to go again next year. When I was running through the rain with Declan on my back this weekend and he starting singing Sisters from White Christmas ("in all kinds of weather we stick together, the same in the rain or sun"), I was pretty sure I also enjoyed their first theater camp experience! My drama club heart still beats proudly and I love seeing them experience life from the stage. 

More Cousin Time Before Vacation Ends

We could not call our vacation complete without squeezing one more date in with the cousins - these small people simply love each other too much! We met at the school playground right by Liv's house and everyone took turns (once a partner rotation was established ... the mass chaos approach was not working) driving Hux's jeep!

After everyone was too hot to play anymore, we walked our parade of children back to Liv's. She and Jesse recently moved and we wanted to see the new digs. Hux generously let Otto do the tour and then Hux generously let my children play with all his toys. I held baby Beau and wasn't one bit sad about it. It was such a perfect, low-key way to put the final end cap on our vacation.

Well ... not quite. We had a quick lunch at Grandma's and had just finished loading up when my friend Bryan texted me. A classmate of ours from high school had unexpectedly passed away in June and his service was Saturday. We decided that we could pull together reasonably appropriate clothing options [I didn't find out until I was already up north. I basically rummaged through my sister's bag, found something that fit and seemed clean enough, grabbed her sandals, tossed up my unwashed hair, and popped some of my mom's makeup on. Oy!] to at least go to the visitation. 

So just like old times, Bry picked me up and we headed out together. We just did the visitation, but saw several  classmates. It was nice to catch up, although everyone was so sad about the circumstances. It was good to see such a good turnout from the class of '98. Meanwhile, the children were getting to watch a couple more episodes of Spirit and were not sad about it. 

As soon as I got back and changed, we loaded up, headed south, and got home just in time to order Chinese takeout for dinner. It was a completely uneventful car ride home and we were ever so grateful for that. We hit just a bit of traffic and it further underscored how glad we were to beat the Sunday rush home!

Sunday was a fun, low-key, get ready for the week day. My laundry room full of swimsuits to wash clearly showed that it was the best kind of vacation.