Hill Country Camping Society - November Trip

We're part of a very exclusive club called the "Hill Country Camping Society" or Society for short. Basically, a bunch of families take turns planning a family camping trip somewhere in central Texas once a month generally from October through April (as long as its not too hot) that way you only have to plan one trip but you can go on as many as you want without having to do much work! It's awesome. (Remember this from last year?)

Anyways, we (really just Kyle) planned this month's trip. We went to Pace Bend Park on Lake Travis (a Travis County park) - less than an hour from our house. We had a great open campsite right on the water, walking distance to a "bathroom" (fancy outhouse). We headed out around lunchtime on Saturday and came back the same time Sunday. 

Here are some highlights:

Before anyone else got there, Owen and Rebecca playing with our new rocket-launcher set. Hours of fun.

 Right after pretty much everyone arrived, I took my eyes off of her for one second and she was in the water. This photo doesn't capture it - she was sitting in the COLD water (about 1-2 inches deep) just happy as a clam. Not trying to get out, not trying to go in further. Luckily we had a change of clothes, but we had to borrow shoes for the rest of the trip. Even more lucky--this was the only water adventure any of the kids had!

 All our cars and tents. Circle the wagons, if you will.

 Really - he was thrilled to be camping!

 A near miss. Kyle had to chase Bailey down to prevent a "Rebecca episode".

 Nathan and Boone watching their rockets fly soooo high! Seriously - hours of fun!

 We thought we were smart by bringing our little toddler "froggy potty" but Joel WAY outdid us...he created a private little toddler bathroom! Selfishly, I think he just wanted a private spot to go himself!

 Cousins.

From left to right: Owen, Bailey, Ben, Emmy, Ellie, Nathan, Elijah. 

 All the kids except: Rebecca, Boone, Blake, Luke, Claire & Micah.

That's a lot of kids! THIRTEEN!

 "Fishing" and other fun imaginary kid games from the back of Joel's truck. Highlight: Bailey dove over the side suspended by a rope around her foot held by Emmy. What?!?!?

 Rebecca in her camo suite. This is what I get for asking Kyle to see if he could find a little windbreaker or something on his last minute trip to Academy.

 The Hamm family on their first trip with the Society.

 Gotta love the campfire.

 The Foshea Family.

 Kyle and Rebecca - like father like daughter.

 Emmy eating the only natural food on the trip - an apple.

 Our little princess.

 Joel and Emmy caught a fish!

 And it was THIS big!!!

 Okay, so Rebecca didn't exactly sleep through the night. Was it the pack-n-play? The strange outdoor noises? Could she have been cold (I don't think so)? She woke up a couple of times crying and at 1:30 I called it quits. We had a miserable sleeping experience once last year and I didn't want to repeat that, so she and I loaded up and headed home. An hour later we were both toasty warm in our beds and sleeping soundly. We cam back the next morning. Yea for being less than an hour from home!

Sweet Ben.

 The whole fam.

 Claire on one of the two glider bikes we had - the kids did a great job sharing and had lots of fun riding in all the wide open spaces

 Just hanging out.

 Yes, that's a cross bow. And a child. Don't worry, Trey is an expert. :)

 More fun with the rocket launcher.

That's about it. We pretty much all agreed that 3 (give or take) is a golden age for camping. The three-plus year olds were pretty low-maintenance, had a great time, slept well in their own sleeping bags (no pack-n-plays!), etc. They had a great time and let the parents have a great time too! But we're not going to wait 'til all the little ones are three to go back...

Other highlights:
Looking at the moon through Owen's telescope (it was a beautiful, clear night).

Watching the kids run around with their glow-sticks (so we could find them in the dark)--next time we need to somehow fasten them to each kid. Trey even suggested we put two colors on each kid next time (front and back) so we can tell whether they're running away or towards us!

Burgers, hotdogs, marshmallows and s'mores! (Owen wanted marshmallows for dinner and s'mores for dessert...but we convinced to heat a hotdog as an appetizer.)

Owen and Rebecca each drove the minivan for the first time. Now that's good fun. 

Trey's stories...need more time next time.

Trick or Treat

Posting about Halloween this late I definitely deserve a trick, not a treat. But still...here are the pictures I'm sure you've been wanting to see! Wa ha ha ha ha!

I had the brilliant idea of Kyle and I being chefs and dressing the kids up like salt and pepper shakers. I mean, for a reluctant-to-dress-up 3-year-old boy, what could be more fun than being dressed up like an inanimate kitchen object? No batman or astronaut or fireman here. A pepper shaker! (I learned my lesson). It was next to impossible to get a shot with both of them wearing their "lids"...here's as close as we got.

 Here we are at Bee's house. She dressed up in her "crazy witch" costume (it's probably been around for 20 years) especially for us (so sad that someone who loves Halloween so much doesn't get any tricker-treaters other than us!). Do you like Kyle's costume? It's called "the fat chef". It made me smile each time I looked at him.

 Sweaty fun! Owen, Bailey (part of the pumpkin family) and Ben (spider man) at Luke and Mel's famed annual Halloween potluck.

 I love all the homemade family-themed costumes. Here are the King and Queen of Spades (shouldn't that be Hearts)? Katie drew their cards just by looking at the real thing (no tracing) - isn't that amazing!

 Rebecca having the time of her little life in the bouncy-house. Yes, there was a bouncy-house.

 An entire family of chickens - mommy, daddy, and 3 baby chics.

 Nana, the happy Rodeo Clown, with cousin Blake, the smallest pumpkin in the patch.

 Princess Emmy drinking out of 2 sippies. Just can't get enough.

 Crazy Aunt Mel sliding down the bounce house slide. Many an adult enjoyed the slide. (Does anyone remember Mel's costume from last year? She was a large, overstuffed, furry character from Sesame Street. This girl likes her BIG costumes!)

 A happy farmer and his animal family.

 Blue, the pumpkin dog.

 Fat Chef says "bon appetit"!

 Our new friend Yiyi (UT grad student from China who has only been in the States 2 months) - she came to the party dressed as a Hula Dancer!

 Injured football player, his nurse, and their son - Spider Man. Is that how the story goes? :)

 When the Fat Chef got stuff getting into the bounce house, Abby (baby chic) decided to give him a little push. So helpful.

 Here is the entire group. Sorry the photo is so dark. We went right after this to do the actual trick-or-treating. It was a chaotic mess, but lots of fun. Rebecca just wanted to run free throughout the neighborhood. Owen didn't want to actually say "trick-or-treat" but wanted instead to just hold out his pumpkin basket (expecting candy). He finally worked up to telling people Happy Halloween.

A final highlight was getting to see Jupiter through a neighbor's incredibly powerful (fancy!) telescope. The same guy (a retired applied physicist - whatever that is) had his stuff set up last year so we were excited to see him again. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Halloween morning we took the kids with the other families/kids from our "Village" (our neighborhood-based small group through church) to trick-or-treat at the Westminster Manor (a retirement home where Kyle's grandma use to live). It was a real treat for everyone. The staff gave the residents candy to pass out and we let the kids just go around being kids.

Okay, that's about it. We're getting ready to go camping this weekend so I'm sure we'll have some stories to tell...Yea for fall!

Catching Up Randomness - September & October

The title says it all...here's to playing a little catch-up. 

This picture is so poor because Kyle wisely put down the camera in order to rescue our little monkey from herself. Needless to say that low chest isn't next to the bookshelf anymore. The only thing we really have to watch out for now is her using our desk chairs to get up on the desk - she wants to blog.

Okay, now we're going way back...but wanted to share a few photos from Cousin Bailey's third birthday party in September. Aggie theme - so much fun!

Of course, Rebecca loves balloons.

Bailey & Emmy

Birthday girl with birthday hotdog.

Birthday family. Say cheese!

Presents are AWESOME!

Baby Brother Blake probably wondering, "what's all the fuss?"

Bailey got some headbands and Rebecca figured out exactly what to do with them. She already likes her accessories!

Yum.

I think this was the day after his dreaded haircut. (You'll be happy to know the curls are definitely on their way back!)

Okay, now this is totally changing subjects (no police at Bailey's party). A couple of weeks ago we were woken up by a loud knock on the door and a police officer telling us to put on some shoes and come outside. We were so freaked out! What had we done? What had somebody else done??? We go outside and there are 5 squad cars! So, it ends up that a police officer drove his car into a rocky terrace/embankment in the front of our yard. Their only explanation was that "the road curved and he didn't". Okay. The picture doesn't do it justice. So, really no big deal, but now our poor landlord is dealing with the city bureaucracy of getting it re-landscaped. Ahhh, the beauty of renting!

Totally asleep in his chair at lunch (yes, still in his pajamas).

Still hanging out in one of her favorite spots.

This fire truck used to be red. It's been outside so long now it's faded to pink and just perfect for Rebecca in size and color!

Owen on his new (birthday present) "hot walk" bike...notice there are no pedals or gears. The idea is that he'll learn to balance by just scooting himself along, gradually picking up his feet more and more until he sort of glides around - and all without training wheels! Cousin Bailey is a speed demon on hers and Owen is picking it up slowly but surely!

I am such a big boy!

I want to be just like big brother!

I'm not sure it gets much cuter than this...check out how dirty her dress is!

Rebecca Tidbits:

• This girl loves her ACCESSORIES, or rather, mine. She loves trying to get into my jewelry and figures out ways to make her own. Example: the lid of a mason jar = bracelet. She is also sporting an actual little girl hairstyle now! (One little clippy pulling the "bangs" back and to the side.) It's better than the comb-over we had going on before. My mom put her in her first ever pig-tails a few weeks ago and they were funny looking at best.  
• She is a MASTER POINTER. She points at everything, all the time. And when you get her what she was pointing to she just starts pointing to something else. Exhausting.
• She TALKS all the time. Only "Ma Ma" and "Da da" are discernable, but there is some sort of squeaky squably noise coming out of her mouth at all times. (She still mixes up saying/pointing to momma and dadda correctly, but at least she says momma about as much as she says dadda now!)
• She is now a ONE NAP girl. I consider my ability to get O and R to nap at the same time in the afternoon a key determining factor in the success of my day. It's an obsession.
• Following in Owen's footsteps, she likes to "ride" the rocking horse STANDING UP.
• Knows a little BABY SIGN LANGUAGE. Just as Owen had his own version of "all done" so does Rebecca. She just waves her hands all over the place (video forthcoming). She also has her own sign for "more" but she mostly means "milk" or rather, more milk. She just touches her pointer finger to the open palm of her other hand. Like, put it right here Momma!
• She opened a sprite can and a beer bottle today within about 2 minutes. Opened via explosion. Bored with milk and juice?
• She knows "KISSES". If I ask for Rebecca's kisses, she leans into my face with her mouth wide open and sort of tries to eat my nose. Close enough.
• Outside of her almost incessant DANCING (to toys, Owen singing, real music, pretty much anything!), the cutest thing she is doing right now is playing PEEKABOO. When I say "where is Rebecca?" she puts her hands on her face (sometimes covering her eyes, sometimes not), sometimes just rubbing her fingers all over her face and through her hair. When I say "there she is!" she throws her hands up and giggles then claps. I could sit and do this with her for hours. Okay, just minutes--but lots of them.
• At the age where she actually DISOBEYS. What? Our little princess? Yes. She's doing the requisite toddler move of rubbing her hands all over her high chair tray sending her food all over the floor - just for fun. And she's also sitting down when she doesn't want to go somewhere. Unlucky for her we can still pick her up!

Owen Tidbits:

• Until about a month ago, when Owen would wake up from the night or from a nap he would stay in his bed and call out for us (usually me) until someone came in to get him out of bed, even though he could climb out of his bed with ease if he wanted. Not sure what changed, but I guess he just realized he was a big boy and so now he "WAKES UP ON HIS OWN". It made him very proud the first couple of times. To be honest, I wasn't in love with the new way because I liked the control, but I'm over it now. He's so cute wandering into our room in the morning in the dark, dragging his green blankie, and maybe his Thomas, blue frog, puppy dog, crocodile and pillow. He doesn't travel light.
• Sometimes kids say things better than we ever could...After a "DISCIPLINARY EVENT," Owen told me "Dadda is not what doing what I'm saying and I'm not doing what Dadd'a ssaying". So true.
• Speaking of discipline, we have a new weapon in our arsenal. Such a simple recommendation from our pediatrician is making such a big difference with our little ARGUER. Just like you might tell a kid before you leave that "we are going to play for 5 minutes and then we're going little Johnny," we're taking that to a whole new level. We pretty much give Owen a warning for everything (e.g. in a few minutes I'm going to tell you its time for your nap, in a few minutes I'm going to tell you its time for dinner, etc.) and then we take it the next step and say "and when I do, you're going to say "yes ma'am or yes momma" and obey".) He usually says something like, "or I'll say, ' yes-sir-y-bobby-mommy'!" and then when it's time that's pretty much how it goes. Seriously? We're not at 100% by any means, but it's surprising to both Kyle and I how far a little BEHAVIOR COACHING can go!
• I printed some fill-in-the-blank THANK YOU NOTES for Owen to use to thank his birthday party guests for the awesome presents they gave him. I just had him say what he liked about each gift and wrote it down--his words, no editing. I should have kept an entire list because some of them were pretty funny. Here are the ones I remember:
• Telescope: Because I like to put the moon and the stars in it.
• Bike helmet: I like it because I do.
• Crocodile dentist game: I like that he has teeth and likes to chomp but he's a nice crocodile too.
• I don't remember what he liked about it but I do know Owen calls Handy Manny "Handy Mandy"...
• Kyle and I go back and forth as to which of our delightful kiddos requires more energy these days. Rebecca is certainly all over the place and a danger to herself (and our stuff). But Owen acts like we're his own personal Wikipedia (Kyle calls it MOMMY-PEDIA). It is a constant, and I mean constant, barrage of questions. What do trains do? What do people do? What is protein? Where do cockatoo's live? Our only management strategy is to try to get him to play a little game where we at least take turns saying things that ________ do because most of his questions he already knows the answer to.
• On that note, I guess I've been making lots of "YOU EXHAUST ME" kind of breaths (you know, loud exhales, pause...) because Owen has started noticing them and asking me "Momma, why are you breathing like that?". I guess I need an attitude check too sometimes!

Okay, and this is the BEST OWEN STORY we've had in a while. We have a new family friend - a UT graduate student from China named Yiyi. She lives in our neighborhood and we had her over for dinner a few weeks ago. We had a great time. She is super sweet and loves learning about our culture form an actual real American family (did you know that something like 97% of international students in the US never go inside an American home???). Anyways, she was great at entertaining Owen's questions about "pandas in the mountains of China" etc. Okay, so here's the funny part. Owen and I loaded up in the van with Yiyi to take her home - just a few blocks away. When we pull into her apartment complex Owen says:

(Huge "eureka inhale")...."IS THIS CCCHHHIIINNNAAA???!!!???!!!"

Yiyi and I both got a big kick out of it. He was sooooo excited to maybe be making his first trip to China. I think he half expected to see a panda!

Okay, that's it for us. One of these days I'll get some pics up of our trip to Italy!