Hiking at Matthiesen State Park

Since Charissa is leaving in a week to head back to college, we decided to go to one of her favorite places here in Illinois - Matthiesen State Park.  It is about a two hour drive from our house but has always been worth the drive.  We packed a lunch and headed out with a promise of gorgeous weather perfect for hiking.

Tired before the hike ever began

Eric is ready to go ...

  
Eric was excited to bring his own backpack for hiking.  Yeah, that excitement died within the first three minutes of the hike, and Charissa carried it for 99% of the hike.  Eric did want it back at lunch time. Eric loved hiking.  He loves the outdoors period and was quite the trooper.  He did snitch a piggy-back ride up the flights of stairs - don't blame him there as some flights were quite long and steep.

Although we have had severe drought lately, the recent storms helped green up things and made for some beautiful nature shots.  It also created some puddles for getting wet and water fights.  The water was still low enough that the easier trails were accessible which made it easier on the younger kids and out-of-shape moms.

Let's Hike!

 

Jonathan doing some exploring

Clint and Eric enjoying the view

Joanna and Cara

Jonathan and Oren climbing and trying not to fall into the water below

  

Oren was King of the Rock until Charissa the Queen came along and showed him who was boss.

   

    

Kalynne tried to use a staff to part the waters on the bridge.

Enjoying a treat  ... It was National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day afterall.

Summer Fun Means Water ... Lots of It

Summer birthdays usually mean a swim party.  I have two children with summer birthdays which means a joint party (the dates are just 5 days apart) for their birthdays.  They aren't always thrilled, but I am not the mom for nothing.  I happen to be a pretty good sweet talker too.  So one child wants a swim party as does second child who forgot for a minute she cannot swim well and changes her mind upon remembering.  I have no desire to throw two parties so ask - read strongly encourage - about a water party in our yard.  I talk it up, and get unanimous agreement.  Now I have to deliver.

Step One was to create the highlight of the party - a kid wash.  I got the idea off the Family Fun site after a google search.  The whole project came together in about 4-5 hours and that includes shopping.  It was so worth making it for my kiddos.  See the smiles?

Okay, so they aren't looking at the camera.  Trust me - they loved it.  It was a hit at the party too almost as much as the water dodge ball.  What is that?  I made sponge balls - enough for everyone to have one plus a couple of extras.  I had four 5 gallon buckets filled with water and placed at the four corners of the dodge ball area.  On go, the party goers soaked their sponge balls in water and threw.   I got out of there fast.

The funniest part of the party was during set up the night before.  We had been camping earlier.  There are not always restrooms or clean restrooms available so Eric was introduced to peeing on a tree by his dad.  Unfortunately, peeing on a tree equated to just peeing outside to Eric.  As I was setting up for the party my helpers abandoned me to try out the dodge ball game.  A time out was called because Eric had to pee.  It is a good thing we have understanding neighbors who find my kids hysterical.  I am watching Eric and listening to the shocked hollers from siblings about indecency.  Then perhaps Eric and I are connected some way, I knew what was going to happen before it did.  It happened in slow motion as I saw my premonition play out.

Eric is answering nature's call when he glances down and then over at older brother Jonathan.  Before I could shout "NO!" Eric took aim.  Jonathan moved faster than I had seen him move in a while.  It was hard to scold Eric about peeing on siblings when I cannot catch my breath because I am laughing so hard.  Jonathan was not amused.  He was even less amused when Eric nailed him with a wet sponge in dodge ball, and it looked like Jonathan missed answering nature's call.

Christmas Funnies & Riddles

Charissa shared these with me after she got them from her school newspaper. I got a chuckle out of them. I hope you will too. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Carols for the Psychiatrically Challenged

Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?

Multiple Personality - We Three Kings of Disoriented Are

Dementia - I Think I'll Be Home for Christmas

Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sings (About Me)

Paranoia - Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

Mania - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Office and Town

Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Goin' to Cry, I'm Goin' to Pout, Then MAYBE I'll Tell You Why



What do you get if you deep-fry Santa Claus?
Crisp Cringle

Why did Santa Claus trade Rudolph?
He wanted change for a buck

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?
Claus-trophobic


Ha-ha-ha and Ho-ho-ho ... Have a safe holiday season!

O Christmas Tree

You would think they (aka family) would now the routine by now. It happens the same way everytime. Maybe they are just slow learners. Or maybe they just block the traumatic experience from their minds. They could just be gluttons for punishment or hopeful that this time might be different. Remind me not to send them to Vegas.

This past Saturday we went to get a Christmas tree. We left Eric at home because of the cold weather. Charissa was more than willing to watch him for us. Oren wanted to stay home too. They probably lost hope.

We don't just get a tree. We go to a tree farm and hike around for 30 minutes to find the perfect tree, but are so frozen at the end of 30 minutes that we settle for any tree so we can end the fun family adventure. Looking for Mr. Right has got to be easier than looking for the right tree.

First, we ride to tractor and trailer out to the far reaches of the farm. We are headed to the soft needle trees. What happens next is Mom spots "The Tree". We all hop off in high hopes that in deed it is the one. Upon closer inspection, the needles are the wrong color, the tree is too skinny, the tree is too fat, the tree isn't full enough, etc. The first tree is NEVER the right one. You would think we would have learned that.

So off we trek to find the one tree destined to grace our living room. This year Cara has a checklist. Hubby insists on soft needles. I insist on the right shade of green. Joanna says it can't be too fat. Hubby asks her if she loves him anyway which earns him a mighty eye-rolling. Jonathan and Kalynne insist the tree be found soon. So on we go walking halfway back up to the entrance eliminating tree after tree while the cold eliminates all feeling in our ears, fingers and toes.

Finally when are about to grab the nearest bush and pass it off as a tree, we find THE TREE. It is the perfect shape, color, not-too-fat and has soft needles to boot. We freeze some more while the children try to cut it down. It is hard to do that with frozen fingers.

Hubby finishes the job, and he and Kalynne haul it to the side of the road so we can ride the tractor back. Kalynne is a big fan of creating family memories. She wants to hurry and end the family activity so it can be a memory.

There the tree is shaken, tied and paid for by hubby while the rest of us enjoy some hot cider and try to get feeling back in our toes (and tongues after scalding it in a hurry to warm ourselves up). Once the tree is tied to the car, we head home proud of our find and hoping it doesn't fall off. One tree-hunting adventure a year is enough.

Bullies

I don't like bullies. I dealt with them as a child and teenager. I hated my high school years because of some of the things that they did. What I hate more though is seeing my own children being bullied.

We had a family home evening (our weekly family night) with a lesson on bullying. I have a child who is bullied at school. That issue has been called to the attention of the principal and teachers and is being addressed. The problem I see is my own children being bullies to each other. I do not like the atmosphere that creates in my home.

We sang "Love One Another" for the opening song. The scripture for the lesson came from 1 John 2:10. I read the story of "Bullies and Brothers" for the lesson. Each time someone exhibited what was thought a bully behavior a picture of a bully was held up. If a good or hero behavior was shown, a picture of a superhero was held up. I had found the two pictures through a google search on the Internet. I had enough for each child in my family.

After the lesson we discussed what we thought constituted a bully. I was given the answers of physical harm, name-calling, teasing, put downs and the like. I told them being a bully was whenever you made someone feel inferior and belittled. A hero was someone who made your day better. That could be anything from a simple smile or compliment to standing up for someone.

Before the lesson I researched a couple of sites about bullying so I could discuss bullying with my family. The two sites I used are here and here. I have found having discussion with my family about what we learn and their feeling or opinions really helps. It is interactive and allows me some insight into my children.

No lesson is complete without homework though. The family homework for the week (or however long it takes) is to fill a mason jar with M&Ms. For every kind or "superhero" word or deed a M&M is put into the jar. Once the jar is full, we make a batch of cookies with the M&Ms and have a special family activity. Activities that the kids want are a pizza and movie night and a carnival night. The carnival night is when dinner is carnival food (hot dogs, pizza and nachos, lemonade, funnel cakes and cotton candy). It isn't healthy per se which is why it is a special treat. The breakfast bar becomes a concession stand where the kids order their food and pay with pretend money. The younger ones love it.

To help remind ourselves to not be bullies this week I posted the below picture on our refrigerator since that seems to be the family gathering spot. Below the picture I put the scripture from 1 John 2:10. The jar is on the counter, and hubby has orders to keep his hands out of it (he has a major sweet tooth).

Summer Vacation Pictures - Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio)

While at Cedar Point we let the older three kiddos (who were all tall enough to ride any ride) take off with a cell phone and orders to stay together. Hubby and I handled the other four kiddos. After lunch we stuck together or at least tried so hubby & I could get a chance to ride some rides. Cara went on the big Ferris Wheel with Oren and Jonathan. The boys didn't think being so high up was too cool after looking down. Cara loved it and even swayed the car enough to freak out her older brothers, laughing the whole time.

This ride was the coolest as long as I didn't have to ride it. Cara wanted to though. Thank goodness she was too little. Who woulda thought my li'l whiny tattle-tale wimp adores roller coasters. She went on every one she was able too and still was asking for more. The roller coaster was called Top Thrill Dragster. It started from a dead stop and hit 120 mph within seconds. Up it went and came down spiralling. uh, no thanks!

Joanna's favorite ride

Oren

Charissa (trying not to smile)

Kalynne looking just thrilled

Eric rode in style too

Mom and Joanna one of of the many whirling rides

Cara accompanied Jonathan on one of the smaller roller coasters

An Excuse for a Party

We like to have parties. Actually, we just like to eat ice cream. Which is why we have a fun family tradition of Sundaes on Sunday. We eat sundaes for dinner. I could rationalize that with the ice cream (dairy), strawberry topping (fruit) and nuts (protein), we almost have a balanced meal.

I find that making memories and laughing together doesn't have to cost a lot of money. We have fun at home without spending lots of money. We have restaurant nights. We have movie marathons with movies checked out from the library. Another fun way we can create memories is through bizarre monthly holidays. I posted all about it in my other blog.

We are also planning on having un-birthday celebrations each month since only 5 months out of the year don't have birthdays for us. We will have weird themes like cowboy, frog, yellow and whatever our brains can think up.

National Library Week Fun

Next week is National Library Week (April 13-19). In celebration the kiddos' school is re-naming their school lunches after books. Running with that idea, we are celebrating in our household too. It will make the week go faster at least especially the couple of days hubby travels. It also annoys my hormonal 15 yo. I have earned quite a few eye-rollings from her.

We are actually going to kick off the week the day prior with a story-teller featured at our local library that day. On the way home, I'll pick up some strawberries. That will be for Sunday's feature. Each day that week features a book or author we enjoy.

Sunday: Angelfood cake with strawberries and cream in honor of The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big, Hungry Bear (a favorite of Joanna's). We can even make funny disguises to hide ourselves too. I don't think the older hoppers will go for it, but it will amuse the younger set.

Monday: Dinner will be alphabet soup and bread shaped into letters. After dinner we are going to our library. The older hoppers can get books while the younger ones can listen to storytime.

Tuesday: We are honoring the author Laura Numeroff. For breakfast, we are having Cookie Crisp cereal (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). For snack, we are having muffins (If You Give a Moose a Muffin). Dinner will be a pancake meal (If You Give a Pig a Pancake).

Wednesday: This is our busy day, but we will make time for some Teddy Grahams snacks. My oldest remembers a book she enjoyed at bedtime called Bears in the Night by the Berenstains. We love the Berestain Bears. I have used them to teach many a lesson about picky eating, too much TV, gimmees and such.

Thursday: This will be our dog party night. We will make silly party hats and have hot dogs and cake for dinner. This is all in honor of one of the all time favorites in our house, Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman.

Friday: We have a school carnival this night. Perhaps just an extended dog party? LOL!

Saturday: Dinner will be in honor of How to Eat Fried Worms. All day long I will be using gummy worms added to our meals. They will be swimming in the syrup for our waffles. In our sandwiches or soup for lunch. They will even be coming out our meatloaf for dinner (added after cooking). Of course, you have to finish the day with dirt cake for dessert. We will be watching the movie too.