Summer Vacation - Week 6

Here's what we've been up to in week 6 of our summer vacation....

We survived...I mean finished...the rest of the week of Cub Camp! We all had a lot of fun. The only complaint the adults had was the weather, which it rained for two days, but none of the boys cared. My den got a little easier for me, and I was able to handle the two "wild" boys in my group. Friday was the Renaissance Fair where we switched into our home Packs and traveled to the various stations together. At the very end everyone gathered as a large group in the amphitheater for skits and closing speeches. So it's official....I am now the Program Director for next year's camp. Peter will help me out as an unofficial co-chair, while he'll officially be the Range Master for archery next year (or maybe bb guns. not sure as we just found out the other dad in our Pack who was responsible for that area is now moving out of town. so we'll see).

Kristjan wearing the mask he made...looks a little creepy if you ask me lol 

 Kristjan holding his Den's sign.

 Pack 59 boys finally together during camp

 Boys in action for Gaga Ball. I had no idea this game existed. Super popular!

 Sword Fights

 Here are pics at the Catapult station.

 Clifford and Kristjan were one of the first boys to go first.

Here's Clifford raising the draw bridge

Kristjan raising the draw bridge

Clifford pulling the catapult

 Group Shot of all the boys from our Pack who came to camp!

We FINALLY got a new fridge!!! We had to go a full week of having our food in coolers and making multiple trips to the store for bags of ice. The best part of all of this was we didn't have to do anything....didn't have to pay for it ourselves (well, didn't have to wait for a payday to then deduct it from rent), didn't have to carry it in ourselves, nor did we have to dispose the old one ourselves. The delivery men took care of it all. How wonderful! The new fridge definitely lacks any bells and whistles, and is much smaller, but that's ok with us. It WORKS! And with it smaller and open like this, it's easier for me to not waste food and to clean it every two weeks (Yes, I'm weird that way. I empty it before every grocery shopping trip and wipe it down).

Earlier this week we had our traditional Ice Cream for Dinner night, with dinner as our dessert. Boys look forward to this every summer :)

 We pulled our first vegetable from our garden! This year, due to moving, we have a very small vegetable garden, consisting just tomatoes, cabbage, and sugar pumpkins. Earlier in the Spring Clifford brought home a cabbage plant from school. All third graders were given one as part of their science class. I think we let it grow too long because it's huge!

 Pete found this little frog when he went to cut the cabbage out.

 This is just one of the many pumpkins we have growing!!

Clifford has officially started his orthodontics work. He had to get x-rays (see pic below) and molds of his mouth taken. They then put these little plastic circles in between his molars to help expand the area so the expander will fit. He has to keep the plastic pieces in for a week. They're very uncomfortable for him. One has already fallen out, so Pete had to put a replacement one back in. He goes back next week for the next step of the process. Kristjan also had a check up that day. LUCKILY he's still being watched, THANK GOODNESS. I'm not sure how we would be able to afford both kids at the same time. We've already maxed out the lifetime insurance coverage for Clifford, plus have to make payments for this procedure. I'm just happy since Kristjan is being watched that the office visits are still complimentary. I'm just still shocked by how much dental work costs. Hope the boys appreciate their new smiles in the future :)

We made a trip to Jetty Island. The last time we were there the boys were toddlers. A mom from school posted on Facebook that the group she was going with had extra tickets, so we decided to tag along. We spent a good four hours there, having a picnic lunch, digging in the sand and swimming in the water. One of the times I went out in the water with the boys I stepped on something hard. I thought maybe it was a rock or huge clam, so I put my hand in the water to dig it out. As soon as I pulled the thing in my hand out of the water I screamed in shock and threw it back in...it was a crab lol!! I wasn't expecting that and I sure didn't feel like getting pinched. The kids and I had a good laugh. It was a great day, with the boys getting along (for the most part).

The ferry getting ready to take the group ahead of us over

 Boys with their friend Sarah. We sat in the upper section of the boat for the ride over.

 We made it over to the island!

 The view from where I sat.

 Here's Clifford digging for clams

Summer Vacation - Week 5

Here are the highlights from week 5 of our summer vacation...

Last Friday we went to The Crystal Method concert!! Peter and I are huge fans. In years past, every time they've come to Washington, we missed seeing them either because we were too broke from just getting out of college or we didn't hear about them coming until after the fact. This time we weren't going to miss out - for one, these guys are getting old (they've been around for 20+ years) and second, one of the guys recently had brain surgery! So we joked that this could be our last chance (lol). Our original plans were to go with our friends Anne and Erik, but Erik had to fly out back East to visit family, so our mutual mom-friend Charlotte took the extra ticket and came with us. We went out for a drink and appetizer beforehand. The location for the concert was at Foundation Nightclub....not a big fan of the place. It's definitely tailored to the 21-year-olds, who are more concerned with their looks and drinking (compared to the Showbox who are more for the music itself, or at least that's the vibe Peter and I have always gotten). Regardless, we had a blast. Once Crystal Method took the stage after the local artists played their sets, the crowd went crazy. Peter and I were up in front for most of the concert until I got so dehydrated I couldn't take it anymore. At that point we took a water break for a while before heading back into the crowd for the end. It was an amazing experience, but we're definitely feeling the age factor (sore and tired). But IF they ever come back to Seattle again, we'll be there!

Ready for the Night!! (sorry, didn't get pics of Pete...opps!)

 Charlotte, Me and Anne in Seattle

 The Crystal Method!!!

 The second of these two pics is edited to better see Anne, Peter and Me in the crowd.

 Here they are!! The set up of the stage area is small, so they took turns DJ'ing. 

The boys continued having fun down in Yakima. Here are pics of Kristjan having fun on another day playing at the river with his cousins.

 We have baby birds!! Peter discovered this on Sunday. Because the tree is (obviously) not very big and strong, the mama bird made her nest on the ground. Sadly, as of yesterday, none of the baby birds have survived thanks to the neighbor cat.

The boys are officially back home!!! Peter and I enjoyed our break, but we missed them like crazy! With it being Cub Camp this week, we haven't gone out to do much. Monday we took Sheeba for a walk to a park near us, where the boys spent some time on the playground and playing soccer. Then yesterday we took Sheeba for another walk to the park just down the road from us. It was pouring down rain, but we didn't let it stop us. I let the boys go out dressed in their pj's and ride their bikes while I held on to Sheeba's leash.

Last Thursday when I went to grab something out of the freezer I noticed the Otter Pops were no longer frozen...UH OH!! I thought maybe I had food arranged where air wasn't circulating, so I tried moving things around and gave it a day, periodically checking on the temp. Nope, that wasn't it. So over the weekend we moved all the food into our two coolers (frozen food into our chest freezer) so Pete could take a look at it. Nothing worked with whatever he tried doing. We finally made a call to our landlord to tell her our situation. With approval, we searched for a repairman on Monday, but everyone was booked until Tuesday. Tuesday comes, with us having an appointment somewhere between 8am-11am...oh, but wait! The guy had an emergency and now the time was pushed to 11am-2pm. So I'm stuck home all day with the boys waiting for the repairman to show up. 2pm rolls around, and STILL no one is here. I'm getting anxious because we need a working fridge AND we have to eat a super early dinner and be to camp by 4pm. The repairman finally shows up at 3pm and takes all of 5 minutes to determine our fridge is dead and not worth fixing (would cost more than what we paid). UGGGGHHH!!! So another phone call is made to our landlord, who by the way has been amazing with this, and she planned on checking out new refrigerators for us the following morning. She called us last night with an update. She found some she liked, but the Sears Outlet doesn't start their sale until Friday and they don't deliver over the weekend, so we're looking at possibly getting a new fridge on Monday...hopefully! That means for 10 full days (minimum) I will have dealt with having food in our coolers. So far we've bought 8 bags of ice. We're playing a guessing game as to how many total we'll have bought.

Cub Camp is this week. This is the first time our boys have attended....and their Pack for that matter (the last Committee Chair, for whatever reason, refused to participate with district camp and put their own on). Peter is the Quarter Master, so we have to be there an hour early to help set up. During the first day, he was already being pegged for Program Director next year. I was at first asked to be in charge of the Tagalongs, but volunteers were shifted around by day two and I am now a Den Leader. I definitely learned the names of 3 boys much quicker than the other 6! (They're a handful. After spending 5 hours a day with just those 3 would make a non-drinker want a drink!). But honestly, so far, we're all having a lot of fun and are so happy we signed up! Here are a few pics I was able to quickly take. Most will be of Kristjan, since my den travels along with his to each scheduled activity. 

 Here's Clifford eating breakfast using the bowl he made the night before

Here's Kristjan at archery. He did really good, actually getting most of his arrows on the target. I think we may have found a new activity for him! Here's video of him hitting a bullseye!!

 Peter had a few spare minutes and helped Kristjan with whittling