Pancakes

Adam is my child that LOVES to cook.  He has taken a cooking class through the after school program.  He will help me cook any time I ask him to. 

Recently, I can't remember the circumstances of the evening, but Adam decided he would make pancakes for supper.  I love breakfast for supper, and I love when I get a break from cooking.  This was a win-win situation for me!!

Since that evening, Adam has made pancakes several more times.  Today I was running several errands that I had put off for a while, so it took quite a bit of time.  When I came home I found that Adam had made lunch for Mike and Austin.  They had pancakes  :)

While visiting his grandparents, Adam discovered he likes corn fritters.  He has now determined that he is going to expand his cuisine specialty to include corn fritters.

Bows & Arrows

Some time ago (maybe over the summer), Austin became infatuated with bows and arrows.  We got him a bow and arrow, but at the time Adam was not as interested. 

Getting closer to fall, Adam showed more interest.  We signed the boys up for a short bow and arrow camp through our local rec department.  They both had a really good time. 

Shortly after, it was decided, Adam would be getting a bow and arrow for Christmas.  

He was very excited to have his very own!  Now he won't have to ask to borrow Austin's any more  :)

They, also, got 2 sets of targets to use.   Since we are in the city, we will keep it to our own backyard.  But the targets will make it a lot of fun.

Snow

We have been blessed this Christmas break with several snows.  After not having but a dusting last year, the boys have enjoyed going outside and playing in the snow.

They built a snowman.

This snowman is special.  He can be a pirate, or...

a construction worker!

We actually had to postpone our trip to Mike's parent's house due to the snow.  But once we were up there, we were able to enjoy another fresh falling of the white stuff.

 Adam went out to do some shoveling.

Austin and Adam, along with their cousins and uncle built a very sizable snowman.

Here is the crew with their handiwork.

I Love the idea of the hair.  Adam came up with that!  This photo doesn't show it, but the snowman is holding a shovel. 

My father in law is very fond of deer.  He would be very proud of me, knowing I took a picture of the deer while they were at the feeder.  I just thought they were beautiful!

Yes, that is a stop sign in their yard.  (doesn't every grandparent's house have a stop sign in their yard?)  They have it there for the grandchildren when they are on all the riding equipment.  I don't know if the grandchildren obey the traffic signs, but I guess they won't get ticketed  ;)

Nest

On one of our first days of Christmas vacation, Adam disappeared into the basement for some time.  A while later he came upstairs and told me he had something he wanted to show me.  I followed him, and found that he had gathered pillows, blankets, costumes, basically anything that might be considered soft and comfortable.  He took all those things a constructed a nest.    It was very impressive, it was several inches high, and balanced to make it even on top--yet so the sides would not fall in. 

Later that day he was downstairs with Mike and Austin.  He apparently became bored, because he crawled in his nest and fell asleep!

Looks like a cozy nest to me!

Christmas Play

Earlier this month our church had a Children's Christmas play.  This will have been the 3rd Christmas play that my boys have participated in. 

Austin is a 5th grader this year, so this is sadly his last year of doing the play.  But, on the other hand, since Austin is a 5th grader he had speaking parts.  Austin played the part of Moses.  He got to wear a long gray beard.  Moses was absolutely adorable!!

Adam played the part of Jonah.  He did not have speaking parts, but he sang the songs and was able to do a special part with one song where the prophets were named, and they took a baseball cap off as they were introduced.  Adam figured out a fancy way to....well, make it Adam!

Adam was asked to do a very special job!  The director asked him and his friend, Noah, to be the candle lighters.  They had candles and walked down  the aisle so that people could then light their candles.  He did a great job, and he remembered to keep his candle upright.  :)

You may be puzzled as to why Moses and Jonah are in the Christmas story.    The story is basically they gathering of the angels to announce that God will be going to earth.  The Angels wonder how is God going to earth?  A Princess?  A music star?  How?  Then they find out that God is going as a baby.  

They all worked very hard on this performance.  I know the directors put a lot of time into it.  It turned out wonderfully! 

Nurse Austin

Yesterday was the last day of school before Christmas break.  I woke up and did not quite feel myself.  I decided that I would go to work, it was only a half day--I would do my best to make it through.  I did end up leaving about 1 hour early.  My stomach was bothering me.  I was cold.  I hurt in general.  UGH!!

Mike came home a little while later and said, "I do not feel good!"  He actually had many of the same symptoms I had. 

We both felt like trains had hit us!

My first thought was, "if we are both sick, who is going to take care of the boys."  Then I remembered, "the boys are getting old enough that they can mostly take care of themselves.  THANK GOODNESS!"

As the evening went on Mike and I seemed to get worse.  There were several times that we had to call Austin up to help us with one thing or another.  When we called, Austin was very prompt about coming up to help us with whatever we needed him for.  Shortly before I went to bed, I told Austin that he would make a wonderful nurse, because he had done such a good job of taking care of Mike and myself.  He said, "no, because nurses don't get to lay down."  I wasn't sure where that was going, but he snuggled up to me, I think that was the most wonderful part of my evening!

I just cannot express enough how grateful I am that Austin was there to take care of us and his brother.  I guess he is growing up.  If he cares for his family one day, the way he cared for us, they are going to be pretty lucky!

The Cutest Waterman Singer...

...In my opinion, of course.

For the last 2 years Austin had been in Waterman Singers, and, of course, at that time he was the cutest. 

Now, Adam is following his brothers footsteps, and is in Waterman Singers.  I am privileged to  be the mother of the cutest Waterman Singer for a second time!

They had a concert in November.  (That is where we took this picture.  He had his hands in his pockets the entire time.   That is just a characteristic of Adam!!  I have to love that boy!!)  After they had sung several songs the children files off the stage in 2 directions, I thought they were headed back to the music room to collect their things.  The music teacher  stood on stage and was ready to direct.  I was a bit confused, because the children had gone off stage.  When the music started, the children started to sing.  Only then did I realize they had not left, they had gone to the perimeter of the room and sang a song about "letting the music surround you."  It was a lovely song, very beautiful, and very touching to know that my son was part of that moment.

Family Picture

It has been almost  1 1/2 years since we have had a family picture taken.  I was thinking it was about time to have another done.  Thanksgiving was a mild day, so we took advantage and had a quick snapshot done. 

I think this will passify me until we can have another taken by someone more professional than myself!

Pop-pop

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Mike's Grandfather, Pop-pop, had a health scare.  I decided that when we went to visit over Thanksgiving we were definitely going to get pictures.  I have always respected his pop-pop very much.  He gave the meditation at our wedding, and Adam has his name as a middle name (Henry).  As much as we love and respect pop-pop, I have to say it has been several years since I have had a picture of him. 

Pop-pop was doing well enough on Thanksgiving day to be able to have a meal us.  So, I took my camera and was ready to take some pictures.

I had to get one with my 2 boys.

Then I thought, I really need to get one of the 4 generations.  It's not too often that people can say they have 4 generations that are still living.  (L to R: Mike, Adam Pop-pop, Austin, Sandy (Mike's mother)).

 

I took the picture of the 4 generations and had to make one that was just of the 2 "Henrys".  It is definitely not the best picture.  However, I love what it stands for.  I have never regretted using Pop-pop's name, he is a wonderful man, and I hope that Adam will one day realize how special it is to have his name.

Violin

Adam has started taking violin after school, just as Austin did for the past 2 years.  I am really proud of the progress he is making.  The sounds are still "new player" sounds sometimes, but he is getting better. 

The other day, Adam was practicing and he could not get  this certain note right.  Austin went over and helped him figure out how it should be, since he knew the song.  I was so glad that Austin had taken violin for 2 years and was able to help.  I think Adam was glad too, since he had trouble figuring it out!

I hope Adam keeps up the violin!  I love the sound of that music in the house.

Laundry Detergent

Last Saturday, Adam was having a moment where he was not so happy. 

Several weeks prior, I had noticed on the computer that there was a way to make home made laundry detergent.  I thought at the time, one day I will try that. 

It just so happened that I had all the items needed to make it.  When he came to me and was having a hard time, I decided that, yes, that was the time we needed to make it.

It was truly amazing to me how quickly his mood turned around after he was able to do this with me.

He loved to grate the soap.  He is working so hard in this picture!!

His mood improved, and I got laundry detergent.  There is no down side here!!  As I type this, I wonder...Was it the fact that he could make the detergent, or did his mood improve from spending time with me?  I guess either way is good.  :)

Tidbits On Adam

Adam loves his cousin, Grace.  He plays so nicely with her and I really think she enjoys his company.  However, she is always reluctant to say his name.  For a long time I think she called him Austin, so that she would not have to say his name.  Recently, we have started pointing to pictures and asking her who is in the pictures.  She will name almost everyone, but when she gets to Adam's picture she will either cover her face and say, "noooooo" or she will look at us and say, "what." 

This evening we had supper together and that got to be the joke around the table that Adam's name was, "What."  At one point I asked, as a general opening to my story/question/statement, "Do you know what?"  Lana looked at me and said, "Yea, he's in the back the room." 

The interesting part is that we have told Grace that she can call Adam "Henry," as that is his middle name.  She will not do that, she looks at him or his picture and says, "What."
*****************************************
Adam is a child that if there is an argument, he wants to state exactly who started it. (Just so you know, it's never him ;)

At supper this evening we were talking about Jacob and Esau.  As I was putting Adam to bed, he said, "I have a question about those fighting brothers in heaven."  Somehow, I knew what he was talking about.    I said, "Okay"  Adam looked and me and asked, "Who started it?"

Somehow, I think that is only a question Adam would come up with.

 

Wedding House

We have a neighbor, just up the hill, that has a daughter that goes to the same school as Austin.  Her parents and I carpool to school several times a week.  When they take Austin we often walk up to their house.  There is one house that we pass on the way, that Austin would always take a look at their yard and say, "the wedding house."  I have to smile, because I think of that, too....when I see a gazebo.

I guess wedding house is just easier to remember than gazebo.

Adam's New Look

Yesterday, when Adam left for school, he looked like this.

 When Adam came home from school, he looked like this.

Mike took him out to pick up his new reading glasses after school.  I have to say, I think he looks cute either way!

Requested Photos

I talked to Mom briefly this evening.  She was telling me that her brothers and sisters were on their way to getting together.  She wanted an updated photo of Adam, since I had recently put on an updated photo of Austin in the previous post, he was taken care of. 

Here is Adam studying for his Ecosystem test tomorrow.

She didn't ask for it, but for good measure, I added a photo of Mike and myself.

Austin took this photo, so it is not the most clear picture.  With that in mind, I think, "how else it he to learn, right?"

I hope all my Aunts and Uncles have a great time visiting, talking politics (how heated does that get in an election year??) , and playing card games!  Would love to see you all, the boys have asked to go back to Canada to see the frogs (typical boys, huh?), however I would love to go back to see you all!    Take care and have tons of fun together!

Biking

This past week was "walk to school week" for our school system.  During this week they encourage kids to get extra exercise by walking or rolling to school.  Austin's school is not close enough to walk, and we do not have enough time to ride bike with Austin and get to work on time.

We do, however, have a neighbor that has a sporadic work schedule.  He is home some day and gone on others.  He has a daughter that goes to the same school as Austin, but in another grade.  We have been doing some carpooling.  Wednesday he took Austin and Carrie to school.  Wednesday night Austin said, "Joel said I could bike with them to school tomorrow."  I called to make sure he understood this correctly.  Yes, Joel had said that Austin could join them, but his daughter, Carrie, decided not to ride.  So, as it turned out it was Austin, Joel, and his youngest daughter, Leah.  That night Austin said, "it was AWESOME!!"

He was very happy when on Thursday night Joel called to invite him again.  He was on his bike early, riding up and down the road, waiting...

This time, Carrie joined them.  Again, Austin had a great time.

I am so thankful that Austin was able to do this.  He would not have been able to, if it would have been just Mike and myself.  I am so thankful to have a neighbor that is willing to take Austin to do things like this that we cannot do.

**side note**On Friday I didn't have to be at work until 9.  So, I told Austin that I would be willing to ride with them.  All he had to say was, "oh, ok"  not really excited as I had hoped.  Friday morning, I asked if he WANTED me to come along.  He said, "you don't have to."  I think he enjoys this time being "independent" and he seems to enjoy this time with Joel--I think Joel is seen as much "cooler" than me.   It is really fun to see Austin growing up and being able to do things like this.

Questions For Papaw

My boys ask some very interesting questions sometimes.  Some I can answer, some I cannot.  It thrills me when my boys ask me something that I cannot answer and I know exactly who to direct them to get the answer.  Most often it is Papaw (and sometimes Mamaw).

One day we were leaving my parents place and Adam asked, "How does a car use gas?"  Well, I know how to drive a car, I know how to put gas in a car, but beyond that--I just don't know.  I told him that was a good question for Papaw.  Adam had a nice conversation with my Dad about this, I'm still not sure what the answer is, but Adam was satisfied.

Last night, we were settling down to read when Austin asks, "How long does a chicken run around after it's head is cut off?"  Well, I know what a chicken is.  I know several ways to prepare it.  However, I do not know the answer to this question.  He was quickly advised to give Papaw a call.  Papaw said he would guess it would be about 5 seconds or so.

Ironically, these questions actually represent my children's personalities pretty accurately.

Thank you Papaw for all the wisdom you share with my boys.

My Cousin

Yesterday, I was talking to the boys about cousins.  They asked me about my cousins.  I was explaining that My cousins on my Dad's side are all here locally (basically), and all the ones on my Mom's side are in Canada (basically).  Austin piped up and got really excited, he said, "I met one of your cousins!"  I was trying to think which of my local cousins he was talking about.  He said, "He has a beard......2 eyes, a nose, and a mouth."  I thought it was interesting was that he mentioned those features, rather than describe his hair or build.  I was about to ask him about this when he said, "oh, yeah, he lives in a pick up truck."

AHHHHH......I know who you are talking about!

He did not mention the hair because, well...he doesn't have any!

He doesn't exactly LIVE in a pick up truck.  My cousin, Rodney, was a truck driver several years ago.  He drove from Alberta to my parents house, and was able to attend Matt and Lana's wedding.  The boys were able to see his truck,  I guess it never occurred to them that he actually has a house somewhere.

Needless to say, whether he lives in a truck or not.  Rodney made an impression on my boys.

Sauerkraut

Last Sunday we were invited to have lunch at my parents house after church. We walked in the door and Austin says, "Ewwww, what is that smell?" Mom told him that was the sauerkraut that we were having for lunch. "Oh, well, the smell isn't so bad if that is what it is." (Austin likes sauerkraut!)

We sit down to eat and Mike and I are on one end of the table, Austin is at the other. Mike nudged my arm and said, "Watch Austin." I watched, I had to chuckle to myself. Every time he took a bite of the sauerkraut his eyes would close, they looked like they were close to watering. But he kept eating it.

It almost seemed like one of those things were you don't want to do or look at something, yet you just cannot stop! I'm glad he likes sauerkraut. Hopefully in the future he will be able to eat it where it doesn't look quiet so painful.

2012-2013 School Year

Tuesday was the first day of school for our school system. The morning was too crazy, I did not get a picture on the first day of school. However, I did on the second day of school.

Adam is now in 3rd grade with Mrs. Brown. He seemed really excited about learning cursive this year. His teacher is new this year, so I do not know her--Hoping for a great year!

Austin is in 5th grade and started Middle School. The first day he had a bit of trouble with his locker. Yesterday is was better in the morning, but still had some trouble in the afternoon. Today he said, "my locker was so easy today. It was like liquid. (I thought that was a great analogy!) He changes classes, and has 2 that are on an A/B schedule (even days he has A classes, then on odd days he has B classes. I think that would be confusing, but he seems to have the knack of it.)


Here is this years "beginning of the school year picture." Let's have a great year!!

Important Verses

The fair was here last week. We went on Friday evening. Before I left that evening, I went through the exhibit booth. There was a lady handing out "little Bibles." It was a booklet that had about 15-20 verses from the Bible.

Adam found this and was asking what this book was. I said, "it is a little book that has important Bible verses in it."

Adam responded by saying, "Aren't all the verses in the Bible important?"

Good point! How do you argue with that?

5K

This summer Lana encouraged me to do something I never thought I would do. RUN. I had done this a few times with her and she started to casually mention that there was going to be a 5K near my house--"we should do that," she would say. It took a little convincing, but I finally agreed to it.

Over the next few weeks, I would run, run a little longer, train this way and that. The day of the race I felt ready.

During the weeks that I trained, I had come up with some goals that I wanted to accomplish during the race. 1. I wanted to finish. 2. I did not want to be the last one to finish. 3. I didn't think I could do this one, but I wanted to finish the race in a time that was under my age. (37 minutes).
While running the race I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure that other people were behind me (goal #2), if too many were passing me I would get nervous and keep going even though I really wanted to stop, if only for a quick breather.

I could see the finish line (goal #1), others were still behind me (goal #2), I had NO idea what my time was so goal #3 was still up in the air.

As I got closer to the line I could see...
Adam waiting ever so patiently for me to finish.

As I crossed the line, he went under the rope,

and came to me with open arms.

I loved the end to that race. I will continue to run if that is my reward at the finish line!

**I did make goal #3. I finished in 35:51. I had 1 minute 9 seconds to spare.

And Then There Were None

Well, maybe I shouldn't say "none." He does have a FEW teeth left. Adam lost another tooth last week, so now he has quite a large hole on top.

I'm not sure if he could eat corn-on-the-cob, however I do know that there are some advantages to missing so many teeth.

You can make a "Rat Face"
or even do a "Vampire Face." The fun really does go on and on.

I just hope that some teeth come in before school pictures. Who knows what face he might choose for the yearbook.

When You Have Little Boys...

...you never really know what you might find.

This evening I went to set the table for dinner when I found this.


I'm not exactly sure what crime this poor man committed, but it looks like his punishment is to be bound to the pepper shaker. (I do think he is remorseful, just look how he is hanging his head)

Little boys certainly do add a little "spice" to their parents lives

Photo Shoot

Over the weekend, we went to Mike's parent's for a visit. I figured the next time I saw them would be around the holidays, so I went ahead and asked for ideas for Christmas. His mom said they really did not need anything, and anything they do need his dad would right away order from a catalog. We came up with the idea of having some updated photos of the boys. I had a quick photo shoot with them today. Some turned out better than others, and I did all the poses on my computer with sepia, black and white, and color. I'm having trouble deciding what I like best. Mike has given me his opinion, but I can't make up my mind. Here they are:

Oops, had this pose in twice.

Good thing I have a few months to either decide, or to take more pictures!

To Terminate The Blahs

The past few days Austin has not felt very well. Last night, I was on the phone rearranging some plans for today since he had a fever. While I was on the phone, Austin wrote a note, handed it to me, and headed to the bathroom. I read the note. It said, "I'm going to take a bath to terminate all of my blahs."

I love the vocabulary he chose for his note.

**He really did not feel well. I took him to the Dr. today, turns out he has bronchitis. If a bath doesn't take away his blahs, the antibiotic he is on should help.

It Doesn't Look Promising...

...for Adam to eat corn on the cob this summer.

He lost/pulled another tooth this morning.  I asked if the one tooth on top is loose.  Adam said, "sort of."  That is all he needs is to loose that one last tooth!

I joked this afternoon that I may have to get my baby food grinder out again in order to feed him.  I really don't think I have ever seen so many holes in one mouth!

9

Adam turns 9 today!

I told Adam this morning that it was his special day, so he could tell me what he wanted to have for supper.  His menu consisted of Ravioli with white sauce, peaches that are diced and sweetened, and cake (we did make a compromise and added a vegetable).

Adam took a piece of paper and made the menu, then continued to write.  When he showed me the paper, he had a drawing on it.  I asked what that drawing was, he replied "it's a blueprint of the cake"  Talk about overwhelming.  I had to follow a blueprint for this 9 year old's birthday cake!

Adam wanted to do most of the work himself.

He diced the peaches, and made the cake

The cake split, but was still delicious.  The boys decided it should be called the BFG  (Big Friendly Giant), the other option was chocolate explosion.  Either name makes me smile  :)

Then I got a fun picture of Adam in the for that Mike built.

It's funny to think that right now it is 5:55pm.  9 years ago at this time I had NO idea Adam would join our family on 7/25!

Adam, you are a fun, sweet boy.  You are always thinking and coming up with new ideas.  You ask really thought provoking questions and stretch me (in good ways).  I am so glad that you are in our family and feel blessed that I get to be your mother!

Enrichment Week

One week out of the summer, our city school system offers an enrichment week to the children.  These are fun classes that cover a wide range of interests.  This year Austin took Weird Science and Adam took Rockets.

Austin's week consisted of several interesting experiments and fun projects.  On Monday they put a raw egg and a hard boiled egg in vinegar to see what would happen (they left these eggs in the vinegar all week!)  One day they went to the EMU Science Museum, they "dissected" a rock, they "played" with dry ice.  Some of their activities didn't work out.  For example: the day they were suppose to play with the sun, it was cloudy and rainy.  I'm sure they had some back up activities.  Overall, they had a fun week and learned a lot through this play.  When they checked the eggs on Friday, Austin said the hard boiled egg had morphed and the raw egg was rotten.  Can't wait to try this with Adam  :)

Austin did not know any of the other children in his class, but quickly became friends with Aaron.  This boy will be going to the same school as Austin next year.  It's nice that Austin already has a new friend going into the new school.

Adam signed up for enrichment, then his best friend at school decided to sign up as well.  They both got into the same class.  They were very excited about being together all week again.

Some of the things they did in rockets consisted of: making rockets out of film canisters.  They put just a little water in, and about 1/4 of an alka seltzer tablet and let it sit.  They, also, made air rockets--they did something with balloons that day, not sure how that fit in.  They had PVC piping and an empty 2 liter bottle on the one end.  Put the rocket on and STOMP!  One day they made water rockets.  They made these out of 1 liter bottles, put parachutes on, they had everything!  They would pump up the water pressure and pull and string and it would fly!  They made rockets that used solid fuel they used type A (honestly I don't know what all that means, but that is what the teacher told me.)  I did not get to see this go, because it was raining, but apparently it was pretty great!  On the first day of class the teacher taught them about the different parts of rockets and why they use certain things.  He went over why the tip is pointed and not rounded, how the fins help the rocket have control, etc.  I was not in the class, but I could just imagine Adam totally into this, he loves knowing the why behind the questions!

I forgot to take my camera the last day of enrichment.  I couldn't believe that I didn't have it!  But, at least I have a few memories recorded for the boys to remember this wonderful week.

Joey

When children are entrusted to our family for care for an evening, you never know what kinds of activities they may encounter.  There is the box of toys that we pull out, we have plenty of books to look at, we have all the play things outside, and the boys are very creative when all else fails.  For example, today when we were watching Grace and Glen, Austin decided to play kangaroo.  Of course, he needed a Joey, or I guess in this case...

 a Glen. He did not seem to mind this play, but just to reassure Lana, Glen did not play "Joey" very long.

With this king of idea, I don't think he is quite ready to do child care on his own yet!  :)

***Just a side note that these shorts are VERY big on Austin (about 2 sizes too big)  I'm not sure how this came about, but leave it to my boys to come up with something like this---Oh, and there was no Hopping to be had while Joey (uh, Glen) was in the pouch!

Decoding

Last night, it was getting to be time for Austin to head to bed.  I gave him a warning that he would need to head that way soon.  He was working really hard on something.  I gave him a little extra time.  When he finished what he was working on he showed it to me.  He had made a message for Mike to decode.  Mike worked on it last night and took the same decoder and had a message for Austin when he woke up this morning.  

I was really impressed that Austin came up with creative (yet secret) way to communicate with Mike.

I did have to think that I very much doubt that either message to "be sure to drink your Ovaltine" like in the Christmas Story.  :)

One Last Good-bye

Friday we were going to pick up Austin from camp.  I gave Adam the choice to come with me, or to stay at home with Mike.  Mike had a couple of things do to, but it would be much cooler at home than at camp--it was his choice.  It really did not take him long to decide that he was definitely  coming with me.  

We got there and we went to the picnic deck, where the program was going to be held.  Adam was off and running before I knew what was going on.  He had found Caamon!  He ran over and gave him a BIG hug.  Then it seemed that every time Caamon (or Jackson for that matter)went by Adam would wrap his arms around him.  I explained to Adam that they have kids this week and they need to watch those kids and take care of them, just like they took care of him.

After the program we were to go to the cabin to collect our child's things.  I was talking to Austin's counselors and Adam kept tapping me.  When I had a break in the conversation I asked Adam what he needed.  He pointed to the cabin next door.  Caamon was in that cabin.  I told him that before we left he could go say good-bye--one last time.  He was very nervous that Caamon would leave before he got over there to talk to him.  I told Adam, "Caamon needed to take care of the 8 or so children that were in his cabin.  He would be there for a while yet.  Please don't worry."  

The second I gave him the "okay" he was over there by Caamon.  He gave him a hug, and Caamon lifted him into his lap.  I told Caamon that I'm sure he does not realize the impression he has made on this little boy.  I told him that Adam is not my "huggy" child--I have to ask for hugs, and often they are "limp dishrag" hugs.  Caamon's eyes got big and his mouth dropped open.  He could not believe that was the same little boy that hugged him whenever he passed by.  At 18, I wonder if Caamon can even comprehend the impact he is making on children.  Thankfully, it is a positive impact!

While Adam was in Caamon's lap, I had to get one last picture.

How cute is that?

When we were leaving, Adam wanted to go back and ask Caamon if he would be doing 1/2 week camp or full week camp next year.  (I'm sure he was trying to make his plans accordingly.)  I assured Adam that counselors that are there for a summer, usually do both.

I can honestly say, I have never seen Adam so drawn to someone.  I'm glad that he was drawn to someone like Caamon!

Austin's Week At Camp

This past week Austin was at camp.  This was the first year that he went for a full week.  To be totally honest, this was the first time he ever spent a full week away from me.

The week was in the 90's for the most part.  It was HOT and they do not have air conditioning at camp.  I thought of them often, but throughout the week I would read on the computer what they were doing and found that they had extra pool time, and found different ways to cool off.

One comment that Austin made that I thought was cute, and wanted to make sure to remember, he said, "lunch was my least favorite meal."  I thought that was funny, because they always have good food at camp.  So, I asked, "why?"  He told me, "I like making the meals over the fire, for lunch the kitchen staff makes it and serves it to you."  I found that to be an interesting way of looking at the meals that they had. (When I was a camper I was so hungry by lunch, I was just glad to have a plate of food to eat!  Austin on the other hand thought of the preparation style.)

Austin was blessed to have 2 wonderful counselors.  Ben, he had last year as one of his counselors.  Benson was new to camp this year, but he seemed great as well.  From what they told me when I picked him up, I could tell that they were able to see Austin's wonderful personality, and they fully enjoyed this wonderful young man of mine.

 I got a picture of Austin and who was left in his cabin.  Some of his other cabin mates had already left.  The friend that Austin went with had to leaver Thursday night, so Bryse is not in the picture.  However, we were able to capture some of his NEW friends.

And, of course, one picture of just Austin and his counselors.  Ben is on the left, Benson is on the right.  Thanks to these guys for the wonderful week Austin had.  We appreciate you taking over the parenting role and keeping him safe, yet playing the friend role and having fun with him.

He is looking forward to next year already!

Adam & Caamon

I did a post recently about Adam going to camp.  He became very fond of his counselors.  He bonded particularly well with Caamon.  I'm not sure how this bond formed, I wasn't there to see it form, but I could see it Friday when I picked Adam up.  I do know that he enjoyed his other counselor as well.  When we took Austin to camp on Sunday, Adam was sure to run up to each counselor and give them a hug--each time we passed them.  (Can I just note here that Adam is not my huggy child.  He will give me a hug if I ask for one, but he never runs up and hugs me for absolutely no reason!  That just goes to show how special these guys are to him.)

The Friday that I picked Adam up I was able to watch a picture slide show of things the campers did during the week.  One picture came up and I thought, "I need a copy of that picture."  They ran the pictures through again, and I tried to take a picture of the picture on the slide show--that did not work at all!!  I asked the camp director if they would be willing to share this picture.  He was very willing.  I know the camp secretary has a lot on her plate, but she finally found the picture for me. 

Adam and Caamon

I am so glad to have this picture as a keepsake for Adam.  I know that Caamon has made a wonderful impression on him.  I'm sure every time he thinks about his first year of camp, he will remember Caamon.