Saturday, October 6, 2012

Birthday Camp Out

What could be better than a birthday camp out in Tante and Uncle Tim's backyard?
 


A birthday camp out in Tante and Uncle Tim's backyard with one of your best buddies, and fellow adventurer, Elliott...that's what!
 
Oh, and BB guns to boot!
 
Yep, and 8-year-old boy's dream camp out, for sure!!
 
The boys started out by helping Uncle Tim set up the tent and getting camp prepared.
Then, it was time for the adventuring to begin.
 
 
The boys were very excited to shoot BB guns together.  Elliott was already an expert at BB gun shooting, but this was Caleb's first experience, so, Tante also gave them some rules to read through and then sign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Then, Uncle Tim gave them some BB gun training before the actual shooting began.  After that, the boys were all set to go. 
 



 
And go they did.  
They had a blast shooting targets.
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
The campout also included a big hike,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cooking dinner at the fire pit and Smores!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


The night was topped off with reading books by flashlight in the tent.
 
The boys were up and at 'em early the next morning for breakfast and breaking down their camp.
 
 
 
Then, the boys got to end the campout by shooting holes in their cereal boxes,
 
 



 

 
 
and of course, they got to show off their shooting skills when we arrived to pick them up.  That led to a crash course training for Seth, who was very eager to get his chance to shoot.
 
 
 
 
 
Yep, camping with your buddy...
 
 
What a fun adventure!!!
 


Double Treat



Last Saturday, we were blessed with both great weather and a great cheering section!
 
 



(Now one with Eric)
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Labor of Oreo Love



We don't kid around when we make oreo balls around here!
It is pretty serious business.
 
 
 
Caleb chose to make oreo balls for his school friends to celebrate his 8th birthday, waaay back at the beginning of September.  I am not sure how Caleb escaped the messy work, especially since messy is kind of his forte, but he proved to be quite an efficient almond bark stirrer.  


Caleb split the scene after his stirring was complete, so Seth actually did the brunt of the oreo ball laboring.  He didn't seem to mind, though, because as he likes to say, he's a "good cooker."

Kindergarten Update


In celebration of the first day of kindergarten (yes, six weeks ago), we treated ourselves to a little after school snack!

So far, so good in he Kindergarten department.  The first two weeks of school, Seth did not look back. It was fun, exciting, new, and Moore was now his school, too, not just his brothers.  He couldn't wait to get there each day and had so much to tell us about when he got home.  He had met a new buddy, Owen, on his first half day and they instantly hit it off, so what a treat it was to get to sit at the same class table each day.  And what a jewel of a teacher Ms. Mize is!  Smooth sailing...

Until Labor weekend...

The long weekend reminded Seth of just how much fun it is to play with toys all day with no real place to be.  Lounging, no work, your own schedule...ahhh, those are the days.  Plus, Aunt B and Granny were here for part of the weekend and then the other part, Meem, Peep, and the dogs were here.  Non-stop fun!

Yeah, it made the 7am wake-up call on the following Tuesday a bit unbearable.  The honeymoon was definitely over!  School, schmool. We had a hard week back.  There were tears.  There was some homesickness.  There was some definite readjusting.  Not to mention, the following week, Owen was out of town the ENTIRE time. 

But Seth is resilient and bounced back, through God's sweet grace.  His wonderful teacher was so kind and kept me up-to-date on how he was doing each day.  She gave him some extra hugs, encouragement, and reassured me that any sadness during the day was very brief and did not consume his day.  She even arranged for Caleb to stop by Seth's lunch table to give him a hug a couple of times.  She also suggested we send some family pictures to school with him, which helped a lot.  We continued to pray for equipping and comfort for Seth and stressed what a brave boy he was.  We talked much about how Christ was with him and for him to remember to pray throughout the day, especially if he was missing home and us. 

After about a week and half, he was back on track.  Whew!  I am not sure who that week and a half was harder on, Seth or Momma.  I think I was prepared for tears the first week, but when they didn't come then, I let my guard down.  I was a bit blindsided with the struggle a few weeks in.   As always, God was faithful to us.  I was reminded (AGAIN) to take nothing for granted and to not get too comfortable...ever.  My prayers need to remain as strong and consistent in the smooth times as in the stormy times, because our God's wisdom, equipping, grace, and mercies are necessary each and every day.



By the way, Second grade is going really well!  Caleb is enjoying it very much and learning a lot. He has a fantastic teacher this year, Mrs. Wilkes.  I have volunteered a few times in his class, and I have gotten to witness what a great job she does of making class fun while teaching the kiddos. She has a neat, interactive teaching style.  His class has also done a lot of really neat projects, with some others in the works for October.  He will have his first ever book report/oral presentation, complete with costume, in a few weeks.


Hotel for Dogs




















I am still holding on to my "No dog until we have a backyard" rule.  I admit, it is getting harder, though, since the boys (all three of them) really  want a furry buddy.  And then Kristin, who I really thought would stand firm as long as I would, caved and now the Davis' have their own pet.  The pressure is mounting, for sure.

 

 


Recently, I thought the scales might just tip the boys way.  In August, we dogsat for Miss Beth's precious pug, Lily, for nine days.  Then at the end of August, Meem and Peep visited and brought Maggie and Izzy along for the trip.  The boys did soooooo good with the dogs.  They took on the responsibility of walking, feeding and cleaning up after them like champs.  Some mornings, Caleb had Lily out of her cage, fed, and out of the door for a walk before I even got moving. I am not sure if it was just the novelty of it all or if they really might be ready for the responsibility of a pet.   The real kicker for me, though, is just how stinking sweet they are with animals.  Caleb starts talking in a cutesy voice to them, and Seth just gets so excited, that his hand goes into mouth (his characteristic sign that he is about to come out of his skin with delight) and he makes a bee-line to pet or cuddle his buddy.  Very, very sweet. 















However, September hit with full force, we got super busy (hence, only three September blog posts) and then I regained my focus again. I now continue to stick to my guns on the whole dog conversation. 

































Nice try, cute dogs!  You almost had me.

Maybe we will just continue to borrow our friend's dogs.  It would save us a bunch of money, not tie us down, and then everyone would be happy.  Right?!

We will see. 

The saga continues.




As a side note: After viewing all of the pictures, you may be wondering if Caleb has taken to no longer wearing clothes.  Likely, if he had his druthers, that would be the case.  His favorite thing to do now is to shed his attire (except his boxers) and get "comfy" when he gets home.  I am finding it harder and harder to get a picture of him fully clothed around the house these days. Oh well.  He is such a guy.

Heart Beeps

 

 
 
 
 "Momma, during rest time at school, I can hear my heart beeping."  ~ Seth