more camping

This past week I decided to just take a break and stay home.  I've been trying to work on projects I need to do here, like weed those weeds that are literally as tall as me or the kids.   The kids label them as Mommy weeds, T weeds, W weeds, or E weeds, depending on their height.  So.  I get distracted instead.

I've also been having more fun playing with the kiddos avoiding the weeding.  W played teacher with me for the first time.  She is very good at remembering all the stuff we do in joy school, reminds me of the rules and for some reason, T isn't playing but is the dad that comes and gets me from school so I can go play with him and fix his tractor or ride with fiery Flynn. 

We played hotel.  T came to "get me from school" "one day".  We went to the "hotel" (the back upper deck) where we had to wait awhile until the floors were cleaned and dry.  T and W proceeded to wash  the floors by dumping buckets of water one at a time on the deck.  E was fine as long as he could climb up and down the stairs or in the rhody bush.

J found some cones in his bins while looking for camping gear and left them for T.  T loved them.  He lined them up so that E couldn't pass.  Whatever.  E moved those aside to keep crawling.  Hand to hand combat ensued.  Sigh.  For the next 20 years, I guess.

W has said a few funny things that crack me up in the morning.  She prefers to sleep longer than the boys.  One morning I went in to wake her up and she said "This basil plant is going back down in the mud".  The next day she informed me that "this plant isn't in season" and crawled back into her covers.

I made fried rice and put more ham in it than usual.  T loved it.  I was serving him out some scoops when he asked if I could "dig there, Mom"  "And now here"  where he could see more ham than in another scoop.

T with the cones

washing down the deck, or the "hotel floors"  I believe the cones were representing the doorway

I went looking for T one day and couldn't find him in the whole house.  This was his hiding spot.  He had his head covered.  Very tricky.  This is his dad's blanket that is on our bed

Our chalk outlines.  W added big eyes and eyelashes.  Me, W, T and E.  E wasn't sure what was going on

Papa stressed out and trying to work.  Everyone needs a Meow Meow at a time like that.  T put Meow Meow in position to comfort Papa

The boys tending to the fire.  T had his marshmallow ready on a very long stick.  E was busy helping himself to graham crackers and getting the next log ready

getting kindling ready

Both kids are great at getting golden brown marshmallows.  I don't think we have had any flaming orbs since they cooked them in the oven at home

E loving the beach

W taking in the scenery.  She wasn't feeling great since we just got out of the car

Oh baby E!

T hefting a log in the water.  The bigger the splash, the better.  Note: bare feet even thought the rest of the body is completely covered in clothes.  Poor desperate children.  Any excuse for bare feet is used

Nice splash!

T hefting a rock in the water

W and I spent some good time balancing on all these logs

W recuperating from riding in the car.  E fascinated by soft warm sand

Same log en route to the water

because the best log for throwing is on the other side of the log to the open water

The roots of the tree made a small cave.  T just wanted to keep throwing rocks, not take a pic

A beach full of skipping rocks

E and Papa

W by her rock tower.  There were lots of these towers all over the beach, so W made one too.

W started drawing a picture on this rock.  She hasn't seen her crayons for a whole day!

T burrowing.  This was the sand worth giving up snack for

Mommy with her boys

Doggie T

I didn't get it on camera, but E was throwing dirt and laughing while this was happening

Giving Papa his father's day gifts

T watching Papa open his

The boys woke up right on time and were happy.  W and Papa slept in.  They were having fun bouncing on the air mattress and generally not being quiet or getting dressed.  The discovery of the camera when they could see themselves, too.  T giving E a kiss to make him laugh

Aunt B!  Recognize the clip?

Seriously.  These guys are great at picking strawberries

Look at this one, mom!

Dang it, there is my milk.  All the way down there

And how I feel about being contained while outside with my milk in the dirt

T showing Pez to the camera

Joy school friends.  Bella is the most clear

I see me!  I am such a funny baby!!

Gilli, Tai, Mckinley

W, T and Sarah

E in the morning

We had so much fun camping last week that we decided to do it again.  I had the great idea to go visit the Olympic Peninsula since it takes forever just to get to the start of the loop.  Last year we turned around because it took us so long due to a nursing baby, plus W was carsick.  No nursing baby, but carsick kid.  Duh.  I think I'm just going to have to admit I have a kid that gets carsick.  Not something I love, but whatever. J insists there is Dramamine for 2 and up.  I am definitely going to get that next time I'm out if it really exists.

The Olympic peninsula has a temperate rain forest.  So that means the air is cold instead of warm, but all the density of foliage is the same.  There were not as many "roads not made yet" to check out.  We finally found a spot with a big enough clearing to not totally creep J and I out, but we were both definitely spooked due to the darkness of the vegetation and density.  We are also hoping that all the creepy noises were people noises, not animals.  We heard dogs (or coyotes) metal scraping on rocks and other strange echos.  The spot we were on wasn't too far from someone's home, so we are hoping that the noises were coming from there, but I can't say I want to go back to that spot, like I wouldn't mind going back to the spot we found the week before. 

T has a hard time deciding where to go water poop when camping.  He took a good half hour to scout out all possible locations before making a decision.  One of the areas he want to scout out was down the road a bit into the deep dark forest and vegetation.  J didn't follow, so T just turned around.  Thank heavens.  He wasn't scared, but I was.  I think E must have been having bad dreams, because he kept waking up all through the night crying out.  That also was scaring me because I kept thinking of how predators like to attack weak things, and things that sound weak, like a crying child. 

I do text Mina the name of the road so in case we get eaten or shot, she knows where we are at.

I asked the kids what their favorite part of camping was.  W told me she loved jumping barefoot out of Papa's truck into the sand.  T said he liked sleeping in the tent and driving in Papa's truck.  E didn't say a thing but laughed a lot when I ran my fingernails down the side of his pack n play.  He thought it was a funny noise.  He cried when he dumped a bucket of water on himself that T had put up high on a log. 

The camping trips are definitely being incorporated into play.  They play spooky forest with Diego, Dora, Huckle and Sally Cat.  They have a telescope (pulled apart recorder) and took their fishing poles with them.

When they made their books for father's day, there was a part where it said my dad does...... with me.  W made a picture of pine trees and a tent with her in it.  T had the teacher write in that he likes to go exploring with them.  The other part of the book was My dad likes to eat......  I think one of them remembered something they like to eat with Papa and they both put it down because the other couldn't remember.  They said Jello and whipped cream.  It is true, but that is a rare treat because I personally don't like jello so I never think to buy it or even make it when J buys it and brings it home.

I asked J what he liked about the trip.  He said he didn't know, that he was still digesting the trip.  Hmph.  Typical J answer.  I'll never know what he is thinking.  But later I overheard him talking to his dad on the phone that the book I was reading out loud to him said he was an explorer.  So I will take it that the best part of the trip was exploring for him. 

I don't know how I can possibly keep up with all of W's cute and observant drawings, but I'm going to pretend like I can.  Today T made a new road drawn on the white board with dry erase crayons.  (BTW, they sound like a good idea, but I'm still wondering.  We may never know. I might just rip out the carpet instead of cleaning it again, but it leaves greasy colored smudges on the carpet from their pant knees from crawling around on the white board).  He accidently got too close to the edge of the desk while standing up to draw somewhere else and totally fell off the desk.  So W made a sign for him.  It was a picture of him standing on one edge on the edge of the desk with the stool below him, then a big circle with a line drawn through the circle over the picture.  Seriously.  The observation, application and thoughtfulness all in one.  May I somehow not stamp that out of her, but nuture it.  The next day they both made lots of "danger signs"

W loves to play house.  She played house with me but calls it going to bed game.  She runs me through the day that I currently run her through. 

I am currently having to eat even healthier and in the correct order again.  I think I remember this about W and T, but since they were the only kids, I would feed them first then eat later myself.  I no longer find this feasible time wise, so we all eat together.  E doesn't want to eat anything different than what I am eating.  He threw a big fit the other night that I wouldn't share my ceaser salad with him.  I tried explaining he would choke and needs chewing teeth for that.  Whatever.  It's all a lie to him.  So we can't eat salad in front of him.  He also continues to show he only wants flavorful things.  I had made eggs and hash browns.  He threw it all overboard until I mixed it with some guacamole I had made.  Then the same stuff went down really fast.  Sigh.  All the baby books say no added salt.  Well.  The author must have an only child.  I think I'm just going to have to have a goal of minimalizing processed foods instead of no added salt.  Good grief.  And of course he loves gold fish crackers, a salty processed food.  I guess it will have to be guilt I feel when he is older.  when he has cancer due to eating real food because his mother didn't have the energy to put up with the screaming and throwing of food because it didn't look like our food. Another reason motherhood is hard.  Too much guilt.  We are all corrupting our children and we have to live with it.

Tonight the YM and YW came over to use our kitchen for a cooking competition game they had similar to Iron Chef.  T and W wanted to watch.  I was very surprised.  They watched really quietly to all the chaos for 40 straight minutes standing or sitting on a chair.  E was in the baby backpack.  I don't know why they watched.  I kept offering to let them play with their toys instead of being with me.  Nope.  Wanted to stay near mommy and watch.  One of the boys on the dessert team decided that using the microwave would be the best way to melt chocolate.  Well.  You know that can't work out too well.  The choco chips came out of the microwave with real live smoke.  T told Papa all about that, and me too, several times tonight.  I think he thinks YM/YW means you burn chocolate.  And then they were very disappointed when they didn't get to eat the food that was made.  T asked to taste the chocolate just to make sure it tasted gross.  It did. W noticed that Sarah was there.