Father and Sons CAMPOUT

So maybe there were other people that were surprised to hear last Sunday that the following Friday night would be our congregation's annual Father and Sons Campout. 

I was surprised.

The Big Guy Lowe was sitting on the stand when the announcement was made and our eyes caught.  My eyes were big as he was nodding his head in a way that said "Yes, I'm going with the boys!"  I then made a motion to each of our three boys with a questioning look on my face, just to have The Big Guy Lowe respond with a big smile and a slight nod. 

HOLY COW!!  The Big Guy Lowe was going to take all of our boys on the Father and Sons Campout!  I couldn't help buy chuckle a bit to myself.  I had no doubt that it would be a great time, but with greatness often comes endurance.  :)

Last night as I was sitting home alone, reading a book, I received a text from my Favorite Man in the whole world!  As he shared about the mammoth nose-bleed our oldest had, the mud everywhere, and the exhaustion our boys were already experiencing while it was nowhere near time for everyone to get to bed, I experienced a pang of loneliness.  I knew the boys were having a great time with their Dad, I just missed being able to share that time with them. 

I'm sure I went to be before they did.  I'm positive I slept a bit more comfortably than they did as I heard stories of the younger boys moving all around the tent throughout the night.  And I couldn't have been happier to hear the garage door open and know I was just seconds away from big hugs and kisses...and some stories that I was sure would make me laugh.  They had a great time!  Congrats Babe!  You did it!!

Setting up camp!  Did I mention that we had perfect weather for a campout that weekend??  Not usual for our neck of the woods.

J had to test out the inside of the tent.  He LOVED it!

Everything set up with some time to relax before more fun and games.

Nice looking camp!

I'm so grateful for a husband who loves me and loves his boys too.

You are wonderful Babe.  I'm so grateful I get to share this eternal experience with you. 

Love you completely.

Saturday is a special day...

There is a primary song that I learned as a child at church.  It goes something like this...

"Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday" and then it continues teaching about all the things we do on Saturday so we can keep the Sabbath day holy.

Every week I get the boys clothes ready for Sunday.  People often comment on how cute they all look because I dress them in khaki pants and blue dress shirts.  Really, I do this because it makes it so easy to know what they will be wearing on Sunday.  :) 

This was the first time I thought of taking a picture. 

Maybe next time I'll think of taking a picture of them wearing their clothes.  ;)

Love my boys!

One of "those" days

I had my camera.  We were on time, maybe even a little early.  We were excited and had talked about today since signing up.  I was planning on having fun pictures of smiling kids, new experiences and new beginnings.

But, there will be no pictures.  Alas, dreams don't always lead to reality, and boy was today a bummer of reality!

Kindergarten Orientation.

Yep.  Let's all get our laughs out now.  Hmmm, I even just laughed a bit.  Maybe that means that the frustration of today is lessening with the passing of a few hours.  Let me fill in the spaces to our adventure.


Kindergarten Orientation!  Yahoo!!  D was so excited!!  We stopped by the school, picked up papers to fill and return, talked about G being at the school at that very moment (!), and shared how great it would be to go to a "big" school (D's words).

A day later the papers were filled out and we again went to the school and returned papers, signed up for August assessment, shared excitement at being able to ride the bus around the parking lot during the Kindergarten Orientation and noticed fun things about the school office.

While I have had some concerns about D starting Kindergarten this year as his birthday is just two weeks before the cut-off and he would be one of the "young ones" in his grade, I had rectified that he was doing well in preschool, learning numbers, letters and even beginning to read words himself when we read from The Book of Mormon before bed.  He is physically big, and he plays well with other kids.  We were moving ahead with Kindergarten!

We really were excited about going to the orientation today.  We got ready to go without any hint of what was to come...until we approached the front doors to the school.  D gets pretty nervous in front of people.  He can be easily embarrassed.  Our friends at church have seen this as he has been asked to share scriptures or short talks in primary only to refuse at the last minute, crumbling into his chair as he would begin to cry.  That started to happen as he saw people inside the building.  He stopped walking and held onto a decorative fence right outside the door.  He said he didn't want to go inside with his glasses.  It's been less than a week since he's been wearing glasses, but this was the first time that he really showed that he was embarassed since the very first time he wore them.  After trying to talk with him and realizing that he was not going to budge, I decided it was more important to get him into the school at that moment than having him wear his glasses.  We decided he could let me hold his glasses until he was feeling a bit more comfortable, then he would put them on.  We walked inside.  Did I mention that I had J with me too?  Hmmm, just checking.

After getting inside, we followed the other parents and kids into the library where chairs were set up.  After a short introduction, all the new kindergarteners were invited to go line up with the two Kindergarten teachers so they could go to the rooms and play, explore, draw and have a snack.  My smile quickly became forced as D instantly started his little crying.  This progressed as I tried to encourage him to go stand in line with other boys that he already knew.  Didn't work.  He began to meltdown as he was now laying on his chair refusing to go with the other kids.  I suggested that I walk with him to the classroom which just brought on louder protests.  Sensing something amiss, J decided to become a bit belligerent--with more volume.  All of a sudden our wonderful trip to the school turned into a nightmare--for both D and me! 

It was obvious that D wasn't going to change his mind.  I have seen this before.  There wasn't much I could do.  While on the inside I wanted to give him a bit of a smack and tell him to get it together, I realized I was only left with calmly trying to follow the information that was being presented to the parents.  It's not fun having kids struggle with life.  I wanted D to be brave and see the fruit of pressing forward.  I wanted him to have fun exploring the classroom that would be his in a few months.  Truly, I wanted to feel like a "good parent" that had well-adjusted kids instead of the parent that the other moms and dads were sneaking  glances at while feeling grateful they weren't in that position. 

Oh well, I've never had "perfect kids" or been the parent that would ever be set up as a model example of perfect parenting.  I don't think it exists in the real world--other than Mary Poppins.  Realizing that there was not much I could do but try to make the best of what was left of our adventure, we headed down to the Kindergarten rooms once the parents were excused from our meeting.  For some reason, it wasn't a big deal now and D enjoyed exploring the two different rooms.  Once we returned home, D appologized and said "I just got a little scared".  What could I do?  I haven't yet figured out how I can help him overcome this type of fear, but we'll work on it.  I did call my mom and relayed our experience with her because I knew she would see the humor in it and I needed someone to lighten my mood a bit.  She did just that.  Thanks mom.

I guess we'll see what comes next.  D does a great job in preschool and I believe he will overcome this hiccup too.  Always something to keep us guessing.  Nothing like being a parent to keep you humble and on your toes.  Can't help but love these little ones though.

D's seeing things as they are!!

We got the call a few days ago, but because D had a stomach bug again (!) we weren't able to go until today.  The call?  His glasses were in and ready to be picked up!

Yahoo!  We were so excited!

D was so good at listening to directions as his glasses were being fit to him.  Then he got to try them on...

He wasn't sure about it all at first. 

Then he thought they were cool.

Then, he refused to wear them and broke down crying.

The Big Guy Lowe picked him up and gave him big loves and they talked quietly together for a bit.

The next thing I knew, D was asking to wear his glasses.  I was curious to learn what had inspired the change.  The Big Guy Lowe had a slight grin on his face that let me know there would be an explanation, but the most important thing was D wearing his glasses and getting used to them.

When we got out to the car, I found out we would be going to another store so D could pick out a toy.  Today was a day to celebrate!!!  It's not every day that you get glasses!!  The other boys were pretty bummed that they weren't getting glasses today.  That might have helped D feel better too.

StarWars Legos have never **looked** so good!

 Grammy and Grandpa thought D looked "so cool" in his glasses.  We needed to stop by and show them because we were so close to their home and wanted to show them.  That was a good call.  All the boys were able to play outside.  All the time the boys were playing D was wearing his glasses.  Change isn't easy, but seeing clearly is worth it!!

Love you D!  Your glasses are great!

Growing up

Every day at 3:10pm you will find me just a short distance from our house waiting for G to get off the bus. 

Well, we are growing up and things are changing a bit.  Our oldest has made a request that he be allowed to walk home on his own.  Hmmmmm.

I know the distance between the bus stop and our home is miniscule.

I know the neighbors on the way know us and could and would offer assistance if it was ever needed.

I know the bus driver knows our routine and wouldn't let G off if she was at all concerned.

So why does it make me nervous??

Like I said, we're growing up...and that includes me...I guess.

Here he comes!!

Home.  Whew! 

Baby steps.  Mommy needs baby steps!

Sunshine, Soap and Suds

First carwash of the season!  Bring on Summer!!

(okay, so I know we will most likely have another few months of cold rain and clouds but I just couldn't help it!!)

Just a weekend trip

What a weekend!

Earlier in the week we didn't have plans, but when The Big Guy Lowe shared that a client had passed away and his wife was having a memorial service on Saturday, we started making plans...and somehow those plans needed to get us to Cle Elem, WA by 1:00pm on Saturday.

While I had no idea where Cle Elem was located, The Big Guy Lowe knew it was a few hours away--about 4 or 5 hours away.  We decided to make a fun family weekend trip.  Friday afternoon we headed up to Bellevue, WA where we chose a hotel that had an indoor pool.  The drive was pretty painless and the boys were all super excited about swimming that evening.  After our pool adventures ended around 9pm, we went back to our adjoining rooms and watched "Gnomeo and Juliet".

I had no desire to watch this movie before that evening, but it was the only on-demand movie that we thought might be "family-friendly" enough for us to all watch.  It turned out to be cute and the boys were all very excited.  Bedtime was obviously very late that night, but we planned things that way.   :)

While the two older boys slept just fine, J wasn't very happy about the sleeping arrangements.  Thinking that I would lay down with him for just a few minutes, I watched most numbers go by on the digital clock that night.  J woke up, tried rolling off the bed, lost pillow-pets, and anything else you might think might stop a 3-year-old from getting sleep.  All I'll say is it was a long night, but somehow I was feeling okay in the morning.  After a good breakfast, The Big Guy Lowe took the two older boys swimming and J and I started getting things ready to leave. 

Our first stop was The Seattle Temple!  It was SO close to our hotel!!  We were so excited!!

**Disclaimer**  Knowing that we are from the Pacific Northwest, our children are not used to the sun, especially this early in the year.  This will be observed in the following pictures...Sigh.  

There were beautiful paths throughout the grounds that we loved walking through. 

Caution, sun in sight... 

 

Back to the car.  Beautiful morning! 

Then we headed back on I-90 East.  Who would have known how excited I was to see a sign that said Snoqualmie Falls!  I've always wanted to go there, but thought the falls were way out in the middle of the state!  The Big Guy Lowe saw my excitement and turned off immediately, deciding we would make this an added adventure to our trip.

What a beautiful area!!  We loved it!! (This is a stock photo I found online).

Back in the 90s, there was a show called "Twin Peaks" that I watched.  Much of it was filmed in Snoqualmie and North Bend, Washington.   More on this later.  ;)

We loved the falls...

 

enjoyed the spray we felt and then headed back across the foot bridge to our car.

We then continued east until we reached Cle Elem.  We were grateful for the time we took to make it to the memorial service.  The Big Guy Lowe doesn't just take care of people's finances, but he helps provide comfort and assurance that things will be okay...especially in life experience that cause great pain.  It made my heart swell with love when I saw The Big Guy Lowe's client recognize him in the crowded room and then give him the biggest hug--holding it just long enough to know how she felt for her financial advisor.  He is such a good guy.  I love him dearly and feel such gratitude when others recognize how wonderful he is too.

The memorial service was very nice and included a time when people could just share their memories.  The boys did a pretty good job of being quiet when needed, but they were ready to leave when things were over.  We walked around outside for a bit before getting back in the car.

As we drove west, we all felt like it had been a good trip so far.  Feeling a big hungry, we decided to stop in North Bend, WA to get something to eat for dinner.  As we drove into town, we couldn't help buy stop at this diner!  This was Norma's RR cafe from "Twin Peaks" back in the 90s.

 After a fire in 2005, it was rebuilt and became Tweeds Cafe, but they still use "Twin Peaks" as a claim to fame. 

 

Great food...even the cherry pie was good.  Special Agent Cooper would be proud.  ;)

In the back of the restaurant there was a wall of memorabilia from the show.

Who knew there were "Twin Peaks" trading cards??

Fun detour down memory lane from our originally planned trip, but now it was time to head home.  We had about three hours of driving to do.  While we had a fun trip, we were all pretty tired.

Unfortunately, when it comes to road trips our boys NEVER sleep in the car!  You can imagine our surprise when we noticed how quiet things were and looked back to see this...

One...

Two... 

Three! 

We love our family.  What a great friday-saturday adventure!