Memorial Day Barbeque

Saturday we went to Chris and Patti's for a barbeque and family time. The weather was gorgeous - sunny but not too hot if you were in the shade.

After his initial fear of Paul (we think it was because of his hat), Charlie was all smiles and happy.

Max and Rudy enjoyed listening to a Spiderman book read by Paul.

Charlie and Paige had some fun together...

... and Lucy joined in the picture taking fun.

The big kids kept cool in the pool.

We had a nice lunch ...

... with some silly faces.

(I only included this picture because it is the only proof that I was there!)

This was the aftermath of a bay wrestling match which started with Charlie pulling Paige's hair and ended a few minutes later with Paige crawling over Charlie.

Paige - obviously waiting for a few more teeth to come in!

And her favorite pose of the day - "so big"!

The babies got some pool time, too. Charlie - our little Buddha - with a mohawk.

No children were harmed during this stunt!

Paige taking a break with her dad.

And having a lunch break with Renee, Bill & Dad.

Patti with her crew.

Rudy taking a snack break with Paul.

Paige's adorable gummy smile.

A little break for some s'mores bars.

And another of Paige's smiles!

We all had a great day. The kids got along well - no one fought or was put in time out, or even threatened with it, I believe!

Camping, Take 2

After last weekend's camping adventure, I was a little wary knowing we had plans to go camping again this weekend with other families from our church. The good thing was, we were only camping about 15 minutes from home, so I could escape to my dry house if it rained again! Luckily, Saturday was warm and sunny. We arrived at the camp site and set up. Some people had camped the night before also, so most of the kids were already running around and playing. Rudy got right in it.

This is our neighboring tent (and one we aspire to have), where three brothers that are a few years older than Rudy were staying with their mom. Rudy and one of the boys, Will, spent a lot of time together. Will seemed to really enjoy playing with, and helping Rudy.


Our priest organized some relay races. Here the kids and their partners are getting ready for the three-legged race.



Rudy and his partner- he didn't seem to really understand how to do this, so she was practically holding him up and pulling him along.

Another part of the competition was a water balloon toss. Of course, after that was over with, all the extra balloons were used to attack our priest. She should have known better than to make water balloons!

The competitors! Everyone won a ribbon!

And then there were still more water balloons! I think we encouraged Rudy to throw his at a nearby tree to practice his aim.

In the evening, we celebrated mass around the campfire, then had a potluck dinner.

Once darkness set in, Rudy and Will headed to the little pond to try to catch some frogs. We found a few, heard a lot, but didn't catch any. And yes, a nerf gun is a very important tool in frog hunting!

Some other highlights:

light sabers yet again (I think Rudy is forever going to associate camping with light sabers)!

and lots of dogs. Many of the other families brought their dogs, which Rudy loved.

He and Will took Drexel for a walk.

Max was an old dog who was happy to have a visitor and get a belly rub.

And then Rudy got to take Ricky for a walk all by himself. Because of Lou's size, we never let Rudy hold his leash by himself, so he was excited to walk Ricky around, but he didn't have any idea how to get the dog to go where he wanted. He kept needing help to turn back the way he came because as soon as the dog pulled a little on the leash, Rudy would follow the dog instead of pulling the dog to come his way!

So it was a much more successful camping trip this time, and we all had a great time talking with people that we never get to spend time with at church.

Lancaster Camping

This weekend was our annual camping event with our friends we met through adoption. We were supposed to leave Friday, but Paul ended up with the stomach bug Rudy had had a few days before, so we decided to wait until Saturday morning. By Saturday, Paul wasn't feeling any better, so Rudy and I ventured out alone.

Chris has promised to bring his double sided light saber, so Rudy was in his glory once he arrived.

The kids hung out inside the tent a lot where it was warm and dry.

It was a cold, windy day so we headed out to the Lancaster Science Museum to get warm and dry. The kids (and adults) had a lot of fun here.

The first table when we walked in had K'Nex to build with.




Then we hit the rest of the museum. Lily H tries to lift and drop balls to make the top ball go all the way to the ceiling.

Lily G and Rudy try to lift weights using pulleys.

A large kaleidoscope.

Lily G playing with the parachutes. I think these were Charlotte's favorite.

Rudy experimenting with air tubes and balls.

I think this was one of Rudy's favorite parts. The circle was placed on the jar with a marker balanced above it. The purpose was to quickly grab the circle and have the marker fall straight into the bottle. Rudy was successful at this several times.

His look of elation on his success.

Back at camp, Charlotte giving some love to the baby and Kim.

Our kiddos warming themselves by the fire.

And you can't camp without s'mores!

I ended up coming down with the stomach bug overnight, and it rained and poured and our tent leaked some, so once we woke up, everyone packed up and headed home. While the adults packed up, the kids hung out and played in the tent with the baby.

So while weather and illness hindered this camping trip, it was still fun to connect with friends and catch up on the last year.

Our Day in Pictures (and a Few Words)

This morning we went to our monthly road cleanup. Rudy wasn't available so this skeleton joined us. He picked up exactly three pieces of trash and said he was done. Instead he explored the woods. The good part - he was happy. The bad part - 4 ticks found after we left. Fortunately they were all really big, if you live anywhere that Lyme Disease is a problem, you know it's the little tiny ticks you have to worry about!


Then we built another project. That made two in a row that were flower/ plant related. So we bought some flowers the other day, then Rudy painted his planters and we set these up on the front step.

We met a friend and her daughter at a local playground. Even though she was 4 years older than Rudy, they played for more than an hour and a half. Then we ran a few errands, and stopped for some ice cream.

All in all a good day!

Look At Me

Recently, after a very long morning involving, shopping, misbehaving, some tears (mostly by Rudy), and some threats of telling 'what you did' (again by Rudy), the morning ended with some much-needed levity. We were waiting in the parking lot for my dad to join us for lunch. Rudy rolled down his window and said, "Look, I'm a dog," and stuck his head out the window.



Then he posed for several other pictures, at his request, as he posed as a dog might look in a car.

Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.

Earth Day Festival

Sunday was the Earth Day festival at our local recycling center. The last few years I have had other plans on the day of this festival, so I was excited to get a chance to go. Paul was working so Rudy and I headed out.

There was an RV set up as a classroom that had this cool touch pad puzzle.

Rudy got a plant to add soil to and bring home. Hopefully we'll be able to plant it this week.

And of course he had to go down the big slide - not sure why he had to go down backwards, though!

The tunnel slide.

I think Rudy wants a pygmy goat for a pet. He just wanted to stay and pet and hug his goat. His name was Hijinx.

This happened several times, fortunately the goat's teeth were not strong enough to actually tear his shirt!

A pony ride.

We took a hayride to the top of the landfill, which is the highest point in our county. The view was amazing. We could see to the ocean, but the picture I took of that direction didn't turn out. The neat thing about this is that this recycling center not only provides all it's own energy, but it also creates enough to give back to the grid.

Rudy and the Supercan!