The Grand Tour

Let me give you the grand tour of our lodgings for our big Walls Family Camp Out 2008.

This is what our lodgings will look like as we arrive at our campsite. We get to spend the next hour or so trying to set it up while making sure the boys don't run off and get lost in this middle of the desert.



If all goes well our tent will look something like this. Hopefully Dan will still be smiling.Plenty of room to stretch out and relax although I am not sure how much relaxing we will get to do.The top is so high that Dan has to stand on his tippee toes to touch the top. No crawling around in this tent. I could do jumping jacks if I wanted to.Handy cup holders, because, well, who doesn't love a convenient cup holder.And the piece de resistance, a storage loft for all those things that need to be stored in a loft.We have room for 4 more in our luxury hotel. Anyone want to come along?

The Annex Building

We have fought the good fight, and lost. Suzy and I have finally acknowledged that our two little boys are no longer quite so little. As this new day dawned in our lives we are preparing for the familial rite of passage that besets us all, the first CAMPING TRIP! Yes, in a mere eleven days we will pile eight arms and legs and more gear than I can imagine into our not so mini-van and head east to Agua Caliente County Park. Being two responsible parents (and wanting to avoid all thinking about what kinds of trouble the boys will be getting into) we are planning everything meticulously. One aspect of the planning was the tent decision. Individually Suzy and I have backpacked more than 'car' camped, so trying to decide on a family tent was a bit of a struggle. So, after conversations, deliberations, and altercations we settled on the Columbia Cougar Flats.

When the fifty plus pound monstrosity arrived via the poor UPS man, our next decision was staring us in the face. Where in the world can we set this thing up to test it? Garage, not tall enough. Family room, too much furniture. Local Park, too wet and muddy. Work it is. Thankfully my work has a great room for this, I was thinking that it would be easy, no problem. I was a bit off in my calculations. There was about a foot gap around each side of spare room after I finished the hour long process of setting this bad boy up. Fifteen by ten feet, two rooms, bay windows, shelving, cup holders and a loft. When standing in it with flat feet I could not reach up and touch the top. Wow. This wasn't how I remembered camping. It theoretically sleeps eight, but I think that with all of our stuff we will still be crowded. Suzy wanted to check it out so I left it up over the weekend and we snuck in with the boys on Saturday. Unfortunately Sammy got lost in one of the rooms, and we haven't found him yet. Hopefully we find him before we leave!

So, if anyone is interested, we will be out in the desert, come and join us. We will have plenty of room for you...

Egg Hunt

Today was the last day of school before Spring Break so both of the boys had their Easter egg hunt at school today. They were both very excited about the prospect of searching for hidden eggs filled with goodies. I also loved Easter as a kid. My sister and I would hide our eggs over and over again until they were all cracked (we always used hard boiled eggs). I also remember finding some eggs that never got found a week or two later that didn't smell very good.

We have already had a couple of egg hunts at our house and I have a feeling we will have plenty more before Easter is over.

Read to Me

I think one of the things I will miss the most when the boys have grown up, besides the hugs, kisses and snuggling, is reading books to them. I love reading to the boys and they love being read to. They are drawn to books like bees to flowers.

Now that Daniel is learning to read I have found him reading books to himself and even reading to Sammy. Even Sammy feels the excitement of this milestone for Daniel as Sammy will run to find me exclaiming excitedly, 'Daniel read a book to me!" As excited as I am for Daniel I am also a little sad knowing that all to soon my reading days will be over. But I am and have taken advantage of the time I do have. I have probably read hundreds of books for hundreds of hours to the boys.

Transitions are never easy, at least for me. I know it will be sad when reading to the boys becomes only a distant memory, but hopefully then I will be reading with the boys. And that might be just as special and enjoyable.

Lego Creation

The name is 'AT Command Base Walker' because it has a detachable ship for tough fighting. It has two drillers in the back. It can drill, blast and move very fast.

Daniel, age 6. Still loving Legos.

Morning Fun

I got a bit of a surprise when I went in to brush the boy's teeth and get them dressed for school this morning. Typically they are in their room saving the world from bad guys or are having an epic Lego battle. This morning, something different. Something strange. What? What is going on in there? These were my thoughts as I approached the door that begins my day. Daniel and Sammy were playing... football. They had a football (some of Sammy's underwear, clean, I hope), they were throwing it around. And sometimes even catching it. I heard Daniel utter these words,

'Okay, Sammy, let's huddle up and figure out how to beat these guys.'

The teams were Baby Bippie (don't ask) versus the Giants, and Daniel and Sammy were on the Baby Bippie side (really, don't ask!). I am pretty sure that those rough and tumble Baby Bippies were winning.

So, to summarize, now that football season is over for months, my boys are expressing an interest. Just when I would love for one of them to want to watch a baseball game with me, they are into football.