2011 Camping at Dog Creek

Now, those of you that know me well know that I am not an avid camper.  I choose to go camping because I know my family loves it (especially Matt).  I like being outdoors and I like taking hikes in the woods, but I HATE sleeping in a tent.  But, I actually enjoyed myself on this camping trip.

Nothing beats a good book by the campfire!

It was soooooo cold in the morning.  It had been chilly in Boise the day we left and it was downright freezing in our tent.  Julia loved snuggling under the covers with daddy in the morning.

We took a walk in the woods before lunch.  Dog Creek is a really nice area to camp in and I definitely think we would return to the same spot again.

Matt had a difficult time getting the tent back into the tentbag.  He had to roll it up three times, sit on it, jump on it, swear at it before it would go back into that bag!!!

Ahh . . . Success at last!

One last swing in the hammock before leaving for home.

Dad treated himself and the kids to a milkshake at McDonald's in Mtn Home on the way back.  Julia got to share with the boys, who did a fantastic job of letting Julia take turns with their cups.

Fourth of July

The kids made 4th of July decorations with paint and homemade star stamps.  I was a little reluctant to get out the paint, as Jacob has not really enjoyed it in the past and didn't really want anything to do with the paint.

As you can see from this picture, Jacob had no problems digging in with both hands (he would have used his feet if I had let him!).  In fact, he seemed to enjoy it more than James this time.

 James still very much enjoyed painting and made a very nice American flag painting.  He was so funny though, as he was completely horrified to find that Jacob had mixed a little red into the blue paint and vice versa.  In the past, James has always loved mixing the colors, so much so that you really couldn't tell what colors were really on the palate.  James was really proud of his work.

 Pancakes in the park with grandma Robertson.  It's the best way to start the holiday!!

 Everyone enjoyed their pancakes (no, I did not eat any--I brought my oatmeal from home!).  Jacob enjoyed a second helping as did dad (followed by at least two more).

 We had a juice spill right off the bat.  Those darn picnic tables didn't have perfectly flat boards on them.  Go figure (at least we'll blame it on the table!)

 Breakfast was followed by waiting in line for balloon critters made by Petunia the Clown.  We stood in line for a good 30 minutes.  Those ahead of us were mostly getting their faces painted, which took a lot longer than the balloons.  James got a light saber balloon sword.  He was very particular about the colors he wanted.  The clown started by pulling out a dark green balloon and he said "No, light green."

  Jacob got a light blue doggy.  Apparently blue is now his favorite color (a recent change from pink).

 Julia got a white bunny rabbit.  It didn't last long, though.  She fell on it and popped the ears.  Then the rest just came undone twisted and the rabbit was no more.

 Julia's new obsession is the phone.  We have a great play kitchen with a cordless phone that she takes EVERYWHERE!!!  Today, she was multi-tasking--talking on the phone while painting Hello Kitty.  She doesn't have long conversations, but she does say hello and goodbye a lot.

 Neighborhood chalk art

 Julia being a ham at dinner time.  She's usually right in front of the camera saying " Cheese."  Today, she decided to hide from the camera.  But, if you take enough shots, eventually you get one of her.

 Jacob "painted" his face with marker before dinner.

 James with one of his many funny faces that he likes to show off!

Mmmmm.  Ice cream cones are so yummy!!

The Jedi birthday party

James had a super fun birthday party yesterday to celebrate his 7th birthday.  I can't believe he's seven already . . . my how time flies!

James invited several boys over to help him celebrate, including his buddy, Andrew and several others from his first grade class.

To start the party, we had the boys make their own light sabers out of foam pool noodles (it was a Star Wars party afterall).  Then they went outside for a little jedi training in our back yard and sparring with the big kid (dad).  It's hard to say who enjoyed this part more, Matt or the kids!

After all that hard training outside, the young jedi came indoors for lunch.  On the menu were Darth Maul light saber dogs, ewok food, jedi fuel, light saber rods, and carbonite (we even had a display of Han Solo in carbonite).

It's hard to see, but in the middle of the table is our birthday light saber cake (cupcakes).  The light saber is purple because only Mace Windu (James' current fave) has a purple light saber.

Apparently, James needed to cover his eyes to make a wish before blowing out his candles. 

The unfortunate side to having black and purple frosting, is that it turns everything else black and purple.  The boys loved it though.

James received many wonderful presents for his birthday, including a new scooter that has sparks on it when you brake.  He's been asking for that for months now.  He also received some cool Star Wars gifts, including crocheted Star Wars characters (my sister-in-law is so darn crafty!) and the Ultimate Star Wars Encyclopedia, which we have checked out from the library and James has been studying for a month now.

It was a great party and was enjoyed by everyone who came.

Tiger Cub James!

James had his crossing over ceremony for cub scouts this week.  He was so excited to get his new neckerchief in the blue and gold colors of real cub scouts!

Showing off his new colors!

Playing with his friend, Andrew Fritz, after the ceremony was over.

Peas in the Nose!!!

Julia, Julia, Julia. . .



"Mom, there's something in my nose and it's not just my finger! 
You'd better come take a look."

 We were just finishing lunch today when it looked like Julia was still working on the peas and corn she had on her plate.  She had been getting over a cold, so I wasn't concerned when she started sneezing and pointing to her nose.  After she sneezed; however, out came a pea, then a piece of corn, and then another pea!!  Apparently, she had finished her lunch quite some time earlier and had decided the nose made a perfect receptacle for what she didn't want to eat!


The snot bubble is apparently a byproduct of peas coming
shooting out your nose when you sneeze!!!!!!

 

"What a clever girl I am!  We'll see if mom ever serves me peas again!"

 We cleaned up and I assumed that all was out of her nose, so we proceeded to get ready for naps.  When I was changing her diaper a few minutes later, she sneezed again and out came a pea, followed by another piece of corn!!!!!

Apparently, I need to keep a closer eye on her peas!

Health

We are working on controlling James' persistent cough.  He has had a cough since the beginning of March, when he was getting over a cold.  His pediatrician is not sure what else to do for him.  James has an inhaler and is now on Flonase once daily.  I thought the Flonase had been helping then last night, James had a horrible coughing fit.  I guess the next step is an allergist.

A month ago, Julia had an ear infection.  Lucky for us, Grandma had taught her to say "boo-boo" when she had an ouchy.  Julia woke up from her nap and was inconsolable.  Finally, she pointed to her ear and said "Boo-boo."  Sure enough, the pediatrician confirmed her ear infection.

Jacob and Matt have been mostly healthy.  Matt finally took care of the itchy spots on his hands with a trip to the dermatologist (after two years of constant scratching!!!)!

As for my health, well, that's a lengthy story. 

As some of you are aware, I have had acid reflux for a few years now and my gi has been baffled as to why I suffer as much as I do.  After visiting a second gi in March, we are fairly certain I have scleroderma, and auto-immune disease involving connective tissues.  Since that time, my gi issues have progressed so much that I cannot eat any solid food anymore.  I am struggling with this so much right now.  Anything with any sort of texture makes me feel like the food is stuck in my throat.  Not a pleasant feeling.

Anyway, I'm completely on a liquid diet.  Occasionally I sneak solid food and regret it almost instantly.  Ensure and Slim Fast are now good friends of mine.  I can still eat yogurt and so far, bananas are ok (we'll see how long that continues!).

It's very frustrating!  I am having an esophageal motility test on June 1 to measure how well my esophagus is functioning.  Hopefully I'll know more about my condition then.  I also finally have an appointment with the rheumatologist in July.  I'm frustrated that I couldn't get in sooner, but that's just the way it is I guess.  I have a few other symptoms as part of the auto-immune disease, including inflammation in my joints (arthritis symptoms) that make my body ache so much.

Saturday Soccer!!

James on the soccer field for his last soccer game of the season.  He loves being there with his teammates.  He's not the best player in the world but he has a great time trying!

Julia and Jacob enjoyed playing with mom and dad while James played on the field.

Julia posing for the camera (what a ham!)

One more try!  There were six boys on James' soccer team and they all played at about the same level.  There were a couple of kids that could really kick the ball and understood the principles of the game.  The others were more like James and were just there to have a good time.  James did occasionally kick the ball, though it took some practice to stay on his feet (he likes to kick it and fall when he's done).  Unfortunately, falling when kicking the ball resulted in an injury to his head (and the other players' knee).

James had such a good time that he can't wait to play again next season!