ok, i keep saying that life is going to slow down enough that i can begin blogging again. unfortunately, that isn't happening. so like all good things in life, i must make the time to do them. since my sister seems to think that the only thing i do is have 'girls nights out', i'll blog about something different.:) (wishing you were here with me sis)
let's see, letters came this week, informing boys of what teachers they'll get this school year. a small reminder that summer is whizzing by. when i think back over the past 8 weeks, i can only think of a two 'major' camping trips. other than that our days have been filled with little day trips here and there, hanging out with friends and doing our best to keep cool. (not like we need help, we are cool.) anywho, i'm pulling pics from my computer so here are a few highlights.....
8.02.2009
20 years and feeling young....
TWENTY YEARS.
that saying, 'where did the time go?' actually means something to me now that i have experienced my 20 year class reunion! i was telling someone the other night that i don't feel a day older than i did back in 1989. wiser, much wiser but older? nope. for the last 4 months or so, i've had the joy of being on the reunion committee. yes, there were moments of insanity, but what a fun we had! here's a shout out to 'my crew'.kathy, karla, wendi, dean, donna, travis and my dear hubby, rye) you guys were awesome! it paid off. we had such a great time! people that i thought would look and act different, didn't. those i thought would NEVER change, did. at this point in our lives, most of us are comfortable in our own skin, comfortable with where we are & the choices we've made. and it was obvious.
i feel so thankful that my parents made the choice to send me to a christian school. Lynden Christian was a great jumping off point to becoming who i am today. the friendships that i have made there will stay with me for the rest of my life. here's to another 20!
thanks for a great night friends!
just looked back and noticed i have 2 of some pictures. sorry, i have no idea how to go back and delete it. such is life.
hot weather relief....
92 degrees.
sound hot??
try actually experiencing that IN YOUR HOUSE!
i did & lived to tell about it.(all my New Jersey/Michigan friends & family are rolling their eyes right now)
you have to know, we just don't have heat like this everyday. maybe once a summer, we get a day or two of it but FOUR days??? enough already. (when it's freezing and i'm complaining about the weather, remind me to buck up, deal with it, this too shall pass).
since i wasn't about to spend another, crabby (and i was terribly crabby!) hour in this OVEN i call a home, i packed up the boys and headed to Berthusen park for an afternoon 'hike'. wouldn't ya know it, about 13 degrees cooler. oh, such bliss.
we scoured the trails to find the one that leads down to the rope swing (compliments of nate heilkam). the water was cool and the bugs were out in full. but we had water bottles and nothing but time.....
cadet camp....
i know, i'm stating the obvious but boys are dirty little creatures. dirty,i tell you. last weekend, all the boys were off to Cadet camp.(even jack who is technically not old enough to go to camp but since his buddy, Erik's dad is the head councilor,he got to go. yeah for connections!). they left on thursday night and i picked them up there on sunday. yes, that's right, four days,no kids. what does that equal?? time & freedom to do whatever i wanted, WHEN i wanted to do it. did i LOVE that time? well,i'm hesitant to say it but yes, yes i did. do i want to do it again anytime soon? nope. missed them too much. saturday was a big ol' thunder and lightning storm (something us folks from the pacific northwest don't get to experience often). since rye headed up camp to spend the night with the boys, i was able to sit out on my front porch and watch the storm roll on by. it was surreal, it was magical, it was lonely. there, i said it. i hated watching it alone. no one to 'ooooo & aaahhhh' with. i know,that had the boys been here with me, i would have enjoyed it all the more. hearing their little yelps of laughter seem to make everything more fun.
on sunday afternoon, all parents were invited to come up to Sumas Mountain (where cadet camp is located) to see & experience what the boys did.
there are some things a mother just shouldn't know.
dirt. yup, there was that.
danger. some of that too.
but fun, oh the fun they had.
i don't know what i was expecting. maybe 3 ginormous hugs perhaps??
mamma got very little lovin! a tiny hug from the 7 and 9 year olds. a slight-half wave, half look, from across the campsite from the 10, going on 17 year old. that's ok, i know i was missed. i just KNOW it. i'm SURE they must have missed all the everyday prodding telling them to brush their teeth, comb your hair, CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES! (not to mention that underwear changing is also IMPORTANT!) however,when you are camping with 25 other boys/men, no one seems to think that any of that is necessary.
4 days, no mothers.
good times.
go figure.
they were all so excited to show me their sleeping accommodations. (filth, pure filth). i couldn't believe that they would lay their pretty little heads on those pillows) and the toilets, don't even get me started.(funny side note, 2 of the 3 admitted that the toilets were, and i quote, "DISGUSTING").
all that being said, i would send them back tomorrow. not because i need some 'mom time' but because the JOY that they experienced that weekend was worth the mounds of laundry and the hours (yes, hours) of worry. they did things that only little boys could appreciate. (learning how LIVE chickens make it to our dining table, zip-lining (i was jealous of that one), shot bb guns, mammoth slide & slides, hiking,soccer games,archery and the list goes on....priceless, forever fun memories for my boys. we have amazing men at our church that take the time, out of their busy lives to make this happen for these boys. for that we are grateful.
awards were handed out on the final day.
MAX:DIRTIEST FEET. (look closely folks, it's not gangrene, it's dirt.)
JACK:CLEANEST TENT. i'm thinking they must have been DESPERATE to give out that award to someone. i saw his tent, and i can hardly believe that others were worse.
however, he (and buddy, erik)won the award and he was proud. good enough for me.
THE LIKKEL BOYS AS A WHOLE: pyromaniacs. yup, they are lovers of FIRE. i'm not even sure what to say about that. i guess that explains why i can NEVER find a book of matches when i'm wanting to light my candles. sam admitted that "it looks really cool when you spray 'Off-bug-spray' on a fire. oh my, pray for safety at the likkels.
i'm glad that i have boys. wouldn't trade them for the world. they sometimes stink and they are a tad bit messy but oh so,creative and wonderfully curious. their whole lives are just a book of adventures, just waiting to happen. oh,they are dear little creatures.