Lake Corpus Christi

The kids had off five days of school this past weekend (Thurs, Fri & Mon). Originally, before COVID hit, I wanted to take Collin & Brennan and go to Washington, DC. We thought Ryan's parents could come and keep Ethan and Kate for us. Then when everything shut-down, we scrapped that plan. Then we thought we'd still have Nana & Papa come, but we could get a cabin on a lake, but then we didn't want them to fly during the pandemic. Then we were going to rent a cabin with the Bishop's family on a lake, but they had some job uncertainty and couldn't commit. Finally, we decided the cheapest and safest thing to do was to camp. So I found a campsite on a lake! The bishop's family booked an RV spot, and we booked a tent spot right on the water. At the last minute, though, their RV broke down, and they didn't want to tent camp, so they booked a hotel just 5 minutes outside the park. Whew, this weekend was a long time in the making. But it turned out PERFECT!

Ryan rigged up this system to carry our jet ski AND all our camping stuff, and we hit the road Thursday afternoon while Ryan was driving and taking his finally conference call of the day. 

We got all set up before darkness fell (better than Garner!), and we were rewarded with the most amazing sunset. In fact, because we were on the end of a peninsula surrounded by water, we were able to see both the sunrise and sunset each day. Gorgeous! 

That evening, our friends the Bohman's arrived. We had peach cobbler and ice cream, and the kids played Infection with their flashlights. We were up way too late.

Friday and Saturday we spent each day on the lake. First thing each morning we tried to get out on the lake before any other boats. The water was like glass, and Ryan tried to set some new speed records on the jet ski (49 mph, btw, he couldn't seem to break 50mph). I'd go camping again like this just to have the smooth water in the morning! 

The Bohman's brought their boat with a tube, knee board and wakeboard. We brought our jet ski, tube, kayak, paddleboards and floaties. It was HOT each day (almost 100 degrees), so we tried to stay wet most the day. 

Now that we have every camping and cooking tool possible, we ate well. Pancakes, sausage and bacon one morning and breakfast tacos (as they are known around here) the other day. Our lunches were naan bread individual pizzas and reheated beef stew. Our dinners were layered nachos and chili with cornbread. Our treats were banana boats, smores and the aforementioned cobbler and ice cream. 

The boys collected clay from the lake bottom and made a bowl and balls.

The kid crew, minus 15yo DJ and 9yo Brennan

Each night Ryan turned on a movie for the kids to fall asleep to in the tent while he and I walked to the showers to wash off the lake. ;-) He bought a projector for his phone, and it's been perfect to project onto the tent wall. We also have plenty of games - frisbee, football, Spot It, Rook cards and a card game called Smores. We really have figured out how to have the best of times camping. 

The worst part of camping is definitely packing up. Sunday morning dawned foggy, wet and cold. The kids ate pop-tarts in the tent, while Ryan rolled up all the mats, sleeping bags and collapsed the cots. It takes sooooo long! We had packed up most everything else on Saturday night, but it still was a ton of work to get everything loaded and packed. 

We couldn't take the tent down because it was still so wet, so we went on a "hiking" adventure. We walked about 1-1/2 miles to an abandon rec hall built in the 1930s by the WAP. It was cool, and the kids played hide-n-seek. It was near a pretty overlook too, which was neat. 

Corpus Christi Lake is about two hours from home, so we really didn't get back until 2pm on Sunday. We unloaded, started the dishwasher and loads of laundry, and did our Come Follow Me lesson. We had a great lake camping trip and hope to do it many times more. Thanks for joining us, Bohmans!

Canyon Lake

We have spent A LOT of time at Canyon Lake this year. We haven't taken lots of pictures though, but we finally did this weekend. Without a blog post, I feel like the big part that "lake days" have made in our lives this year will be forgotten. So, I present some pictures from The Lake. 

This weekend we actually met our bishop and his family there. I have started walking in the mornings with his wife, and they bought a boat in July. With both of our toys, it was an epic day! 

Lots of tubing!

Lots of boat time!

A new fun activity - Riding the boat's waves on the jet ski!

Knee-boarding by Brennan

Knee-boarding by Collin

Even more successful 2nd attempt at knee-boarding by Collin

I wasn't going to let Ethan give it a try because we were running out of daylight, but he insisted.
He rocked it like a pro on the first try!

Labor Day weekend @ Garner State Park

We spent Labor Day weekend camping at Garner State Park again this year. The weather was totally different though. Last year it was a gajillion degrees, and this year it rained off and on for one of our days and through the night. It was overcast and much more comfortable. And then it warmed up and the sun came out Sunday, which was nice for all the swimming. For Texas summer, I don't think it could have been much better weather. 

We miscalculated our timing and didn't arrive at the park until about 7:40 pm on Friday. There was a long line, and it took us an hour to get to our campsite. We've never set up after dark, but we made it work. Unfortunately, our friends we were camping with were only coming up for Friday night and Saturday morning, so we missed a lot of the time we were supposed to be hanging out. 

Saturday we hiked to Crystal Cave with our friends before they headed home. 

Then we had brunch (pancakes, sausage and bacon) and rested in the afternoon because it was so rainy. We headed to the river near our campsite for a bit too, but it was too chilly for me to get in. The kids had a great time splashing and playing though. For dinner, we made chili and cornbread in our new dutch oven. We also did smores and banana boats. 

On Sunday, we hiked up Ol Baldy. 

Afterwards, we played in the busier part of the river, where Ryan, Brennan and Ethan jumped off the cliffs. 

For lunch, we had pizzas on naan bread. In the afternoon, we headed to the mini golf course, which was a lot of silly fun. For dinner, we did layered nachos in the dutch oven and more bananas boats and smores. 

Monday morning we just had poptarts and broke camp. It was a great trip full of great memories! 

Katelyn is FIVE!

Katelyn turned FIVE! 

For her birthday on Friday, she got the traditional Eggo waffle with icing and sprinkles for breakfast. She requested "smiley face" macaroni for dinner, which is a box of Kraft mac 'n cheese. Win for Mom! I also made her a pink cake with pink icing and pink ice cream. We got her a "K" initial necklace, bubble gum (her favorite snack), and a mermaid tail costume, which she has been begging for for months. 

The next day, on Saturday, we had an ocean-themed birthday party for her at the neighborhood pool. She invited about ten kids, five boy and five girls, and they could all come! She wore her new mermaid swimsuit, and we blew up whale and sea turtle floats. Everyone got a water gun to take home. We served fruit kabobs, gold fish, and cupcakes with ocean toppers. We gave out little goodie bags with tropical Swedish fish, goldfish, stickers and add-water-to-grow ocean animals.  The big brothers were a huge help. 

Kate got a ton of presents, literally more than she usually gets for Christmas. It was totally crazy, in my opinion. We've never hosted a birthday party with so many guests, so I guess that's why it surprised me so much. She got Barbies and other dolls, necklaces and crafts, paints, slime, play dough, a beach towel, scrunchies, etc. She loved it, and everyone seemed to have fun, so I think it was a success.

Katelyn started kindergarten more than two weeks before she turned five, but it was the right choice for her 'teen attitude.' Despite getting tired and having at-home tantrums (evidence of her true age), she is our best picker-upper, nagger and rule-follower. She keeps her brothers in line, much to their chagrin. She is Miss Social and has already made some friends on the bus and in her class. She loves riding the bus with the big kids, doing crafts, riding her two-wheel bike (a full year before her brothers ever learned how), and learning to read. I can hardly get her to shut-up about her day after school to let her brothers get a word in. She's quite the chatterbox! She is really spoiled and certainly knows how to throw a fit. I try so hard to be firm, but she is super persistent. She is by-far my hardest child right now. She is a daddy's girl through and through. She loves soccer (but we had to take off Spring because of Covid and Fall to adjust to the new school schedule), biking, scooter-ing and running. She does a weekly music class, where she'll start to learn to play the piano soon. She's the best helper, unloading the silverware from the dishwasher each morning, emptying trash cans and bringing down the laundry. She likes to wear a mask to school each day and loves to try to make it match her outfit. 

She's our princess and our caboose, and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

First Day of School - COVID style

 It was definitely one for the record books, but they are officially back into school! Wahoo!

And they are for the first time all in school - all day, every day. I thought I'd cry and be sad a lot more - the end to being a stay at home mom to babies - but I only teared up a bit. I think the five months of "bonding time" made it a little easier to say goodbye.

Collin started middle school. He's in 6th grade. He'd never set foot in the school or parking lot - I still haven't - and he also had to navigate switching classes and A-day and B-day. He has handled the first week like a champ! He is taking Gifted & Talented Math & Science, and he's thrilled to have two male teachers (English & Choir). Go Collin!

Brennan is at the elementary school, without Collin, which is a huge step for him. He started 4th grade (DeGuzman). He struggles with comfort and itchiness, and the mask was an unhill battle most of the summer. Blessedly, he has worn it with no problems - except for some ear soreness - all week. I even just got a text from his teacher saying he was extra friendly and volunteered to take the assigned cafeteria seat next to a new boy who doesn't speak English. Go Brennan! 

Ethan started 1st grade (Veazey). He is so excited to be out of the house and with real people again, he can't contain himself. And he has come home "fresh and dry" all week, so another major celebration. Go Ethan!

And this little 4yo started kindergarten this week! Katelyn has Mrs Lisle, Ethan's teacher from last year. She is so thrilled to ride the school bus, and she insists on getting out there extra early so she can wait at the bus stop. Today she asked if she could ride the bus and not go to school, but I said that wasn't how it worked. Fingers crossed this little princess can have the stamina to do this. Her birthday is in a couple weeks. Go Katelyn!