Camp Chadwick 2014

After two years of cabin gatherings, we decided it was time to go camping as the the Chadwick clan again, and for the first time ever, we got together in Utah. Originally it was going to be a half-way point for Taryn and David, but then they moved back north. We didn't complain; it was REALLY nice to only have an hour drive for a change. Every other time has been a 4-5 hour drive for us. And Chelsea was in charge--a welcome change. We camped at the Bear Canyon Campground off the Mount Nebo Scenic Byway from June 30 to July 5. Yup, almost a whole week! That's the longest I've been camping since Girls' Camp, and the first time since I was 13 or 14 that I went camping on my birthday. Alright, enough of the boring back story.

Day 1 (June 30): Hardly sleep a wink due to excitement. Work on packing and loading. Buy groceries. Groceries won't fit in our cooler. Send Brian to buy cooler. Brian returns with cooler. Load cooler and pack the car. Not much extra room. Get lunch. Head South. Arrive way before everyone else. Finally get camp set-up. Make dinner. Chat it up in Grandma's trailer. Go to bed exhausted.

Middle of the night: Can't sleep because air mattress had slowly been deflating.

Day 2 (July 1)Wake up too early, but at least kids slept well-ish. Rabbit Rabbit everyone. Send Brian to Payson to acquire new air-mattress. Chat it up with the fam while kids play in creek. Brian returns victoriously.  Make lunch. Start kids on Float Craft for Fourth of July parade. Decide I should have picked something simpler or thought this one out a little better. Kids love their floats. Kids start wearing them all over camp.

 Chelsea and I work on float for Amber. Chelsea models float:

 Michael gets dehydrated--or a little bit of heat sickness--or both. Family pumps him full of liquid, trying to help him feel better. Michael finally gets hydrated and wets his pants right after going to bed. Thankfully, only his clothes got wet. Mom washes Michael's clothes. Brian and I hang them to dry.

 Finally enjoy some time around a campfire:

 Day 3 (July2): Finally woke up after a good night's rest. Everyone is filthy, but excited about swimming prospect. Go for a small walk:

 Watch kids play in creek:

 Worry about Michael who is still not acting like his usual self.

Try to get both kids take a nap before swimming. Both kids refuse. Go swimming in Nephi. Take a shower. Feel like a human again. Immediately ruin it by applying sun screen and bug spray. Go back to camp. Eat dinner. Deer bound through camp. Shoot some deer: 

 Day 4 (July 3): Brian lets me sleep in. Wake up to yummy breakfast by my parents. Watch Amber open birthday presents:

 Take pictures of Aaron snuggling his dog:

 Dad helps kids decorate walking sticks.

 Think Dad is letting Michael use a knife. Realize it is actually just a file. Feel relieved.

 Watch Aaron and Rach trade snacks

 Watch Rachel polish off my Coke.

 Watch Michael write his name on a cup. Feel proud of my son.

 Eat too much licorice. Laugh at licorice-face Rachel.

 Play a game of Dominion. Set up Kick-ball croquet for kids with pool noodles and tent stakes:

 Surprisingly, kids love game and are good at taking turns.

 Four-year-olds don't make it through the whole game, but the older kids finish. Impress adults with my idea. Feel pretty cool. Kids love the balls I bought for them and are excited that they get to keep them.

After dinner, Bessie, this year's pinata, gets a beating for Amber's birthday.

Work on turning Bessie into a parade float for Rachel. Eat some s'mores and marshmallows. Go to bed. 

Day 5 (July 4): Wake up to Rachel going "Hi! Hi!" to Michael. Too early, but have to smile. Greet these happy faces:

 Brian lets me sleep in. Happy Birthday! Chelsea and Thomas make French Toast. Brian gives me my presents--studio lights!! Woo hoo! Play around a little with my new speedlight:

 After hours of gathering, the whole gang heads out for our hike to Devil's Kitchen. Pack water and snacks. Set out on Hike.

 Hike lasts five minutes. We laugh at how short and pathetic the hike was. Take a group picture:

 Take a couple's picture:

 Take lots of other pictures:

 Walk back to car. Head back to camp for lunch, but stop at a neighboring camp to tour Hundred Acre Wood:

 Get back to camp. Finish floats. Have Fourth of July Parade:

 

 Eat fabulous Dutch Oven dinner, compliments of Dad. Play some more Dominion. Eat cobbler. Take a Birthday picture of my cobbler:

 Play Dominion and talk til WAY too late, but enjoy every minute. Start making plans for next year. Go to bed.

Day 6 (July 5): Wake up to more giggles from kids. Let Brian sleep in. Eat breakfast. Break camp. Say good bye to my folks. Laugh at messy kids:

Finally get loaded again, bid farewell to remaining campers, head home, get lunch, shower, die fall asleep on couch, get kids ready for bed, head to birthday dinner for awesome Father-in-law in Provo sans cranky kids, come home, get stuff ready for nursery, finish washing clothes. Crash.

I think this was our most successful Chadwick reunion yet. Chelsea was awesome about getting everyone to plan an activity, and I think all of them turned out great. Thanks for a great trip, Chelsea!

Shoes

I love it when my toddlers start walking around in my or Brian's shoes. Rachel's finally to that point. I have so many pictures of Michael doing the exact same thing. Here's some of Rachel from June 29:

These ones melt my heart even more than the ones with Michael. Maybe because she's a girl and it seems more symbolic? Or like she's paying me a compliment? Or maybe how it's the effect of the dress combined with my heels? I don't know. But, I love it!

Early Birthday

On Saturday, June 28, my in-laws called to let us know that my MIL would be coming with my FIL when he came to help Brian on the basement. Next thing I know, we get another call asking if Julie and Lea can make me dinner for my birthday. No hesitation there! So, I got an impromptu birthday party, and it was doubly awesome because I didn't have to make dinner or come up with an idea or anything. I have the best in-laws EVER! 

Julie was really excited to give me my birthday present:

I saw her working on the center block awhile back. I was shocked. "You're working on a Star Quilt? I thought you swore never to do one. I LOVE it!" Back Story: My great-grandmother had made stars for all of her grandkids, and after she passed away, my grandma pieced together the ones that she hadn't finished, and I got to help quilt them. More like I HAD to help quilt them. I didn't enjoy it. We would stitch around every single tiny diamond that made up those stars. The worst part? I would never get one, because I was a GREAT-grandchild. So, I'm really excited that I still got one, even though it is quite a bit different than the epic ones my Great-Grandma Tyler did. I absolutely love the pinks and browns, and now I want a room to decorate with it.  Hmm....But in the meantime, I'm curling up with it when I read and watch TV.Thanks Julie for the awesome quilt!

 Here's our dinner party:

I'm so grateful for my amazing SIL Lea. She is so fabulous. She got me a Michael's gift card (does she know me or what?!) She even bought me chocolate ice cream--and she REALLY doesn't like chocolate. Thanks Julie and Lea for a fabulous dinner! What a great way to kick off my birthday week :)

Working at the Car Wash

On June 23, we were driving past the car wash and Michael asked if we could get a car wash. "That's a good idea, Buddy, but I think we better not. Maybe we can wash our cars for Family Home Evening tonight?" "YEAH!"  So, there was no backing out. We went home, ate dinner, had a quick lesson with the neighbors (since they were outside. In fact, Eva was out riding her bike and said to her mom, "What is taking Michael so long?!" He usually comes out of the house to join her whenever he sees her.), and then washed both cars. 

 One ponytail is hiding because she smashed it with the car wash bubbles. She was pretty proud of herself for knowing what to do with the bubbles. 

It took a lot longer than it should have, and the kids were both exhausted from being up so late the night before attending another Concert in the Park down in Provo. By the end, there were lots and lots of tears. Rachel lost it when we wouldn't let her use the hose anymore, so I took her in the house, gave her a bath, and Brian put her to bed. Michael wasn't too far behind. But, we had fun and both cars looked really good.

Father's Day

Devri wanted me to write the Father's day post, but let's be honest, this is really about the shots of the kids mostly.  To prove my point, see the pictures below.  I made it into a grand total of 1 out of 11 pictures.  To be clear, I had a fantastic Father's day and loved every minute of it.  Devri teased me a few days before and suggested that I was getting an outdoor tool like an edger or something.  I wasn't too excited about an outdoor thing since all I really wanted was a table saw.  But on Saturday morning, she gave me a table saw.  I spent the rest of the day cutting floors for our castle playhouse like a giddy schoolgirl if giddy schoolgirls used table saws.

On Sunday, Devri made me breakfast before church.  Keep in mind, Devri loves cereal and really never makes breakfast (except when we do it for dinner), so it was awesome for me.  She also made one of my favorite meals for dinner that night.  Just to warn you, I'm about to give a public shout-out to Devri here, in case you want to skip it and say "get a room" or something similar.  Thanks honey!

That night we went to see my dad at a concert in the park in Provo that he was directing with the Utah Premier Brass.  Here's some shots of the kids and dad at the concert:

Rachel loves her little camping chair, she just kept sitting in it and standing up and sitting in it just about all night.  It's hard to resist those pig tails and cheeks, so we had to get pictures as proof that she can, indeed, sit in a chair.

I really miss playing in my dad's bands.  This made me want to play again and try out for the UPB.  Maybe someday.

Michael actually really enjoyed the concert I think.  Only on the last song of an hour long concert did he ask about doing something else.  He especially liked the mission impossible theme if I remember right.

Rachel again.  She's our daughter.  We like her.

Partway through the concert, they do a "children's march" through all the people in the park.  All the kids come up while dad gets a volunteer director (usually a kid) to wave the baton while he leads the kids through the concert crowd.  Rachel was lucky and got to walk with him this time at the front.  This is my favorite part of these concerts since I spent most of my childhood in similar concerts in the park every week for Marshall's band in Topeka.  They had little flags that they gave to all the kids and did a children's march.  Apparently dad bought flags for the kids for the last concert that they did this year in June, but we missed it due to vacations (stay tuned for more vacation info).

Those children's marches are some of my strongest and best loved memories from my childhood, so it's great to see my kids getting the same thing.  I also remember catching fireflies, but that's not really possible here in Utah.  I'm considering lobbying the local government to import them.  Not really, but it's a cool idea.

Say hello to the random lady eating some food.

Papa and Rachel.  

It's me! The one on the right.  In the blue.  I'm a guy.

After the concert, we stayed and talked for awhile, and before we knew it, Michael had done this to himself.  I think he might have been a little bored by that point, but we'll never know for sure.  We call it "Michael wearing a chair".

Ethan taught Rachel knuckles just before this, so dad was doing it with her over and over, and she just laughed every time.  Here's the action shot.

I don't think I tell this to enough people, but my dad has always been my hero and the person I want to be most like.  I've tried in so many ways to copy what he did for me growing up (some on purpose, some not on purpose).  I love my dad and just love every chance I get to see him and my mom.

Devri and my dad made my Father's day awesome, and that's all I have to say about that.

Rachel's First Bubble Bath

Rachel has had a little bit of excema, so we haven't done bubble baths with her...until a week and a half ago when I thought, "Let's try it." She totally flipped when I put her in the bubbles--it completely terrified her. But, Michael showed her how fun it can be, and she was a fan. 

Now, whenever bubbles are around, she thinks they need to go on her face and hair. Every week in nursery when we bust out the hand sanitizing bubbles right before snack time, she always ends up putting the bubbles on her face. And one of the nursery kids always lets me know. But on Monday, she did the same thing with the bubbles in the car wash bucket. Hmm, not as good. Oh well. Happy Bubbles!

And the Winner is....

Every year, Saratoga Springs has a week long City-pride type event called Saratoga Splash Days. There's stuff going on all day pretty much all week. One of the events is a baby contest. I got this silly idea into my head to enter Rachel into the contest. Brian thought it was a good idea. So, putting aside thoughts of "You're going to be one of THOSE moms? Really?" out of my head, I showed up at the park, paid the $5 registration fee, took her in front of the judges, and waited for the winners to be announced, all the while feeling quite silly. Brian worked from home so that I could take her because Michael woke up with a fever that morning. Yeah, felt silly. Thankfully, she got a board book (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and snack cups just for entering the contest. 

The judges oohed and awed over her. "Look at that red hair! I always wanted a redhead!" "I love her dress." "She's so cute!" And while we were waiting for results, I texted Brian and said, "I'm afraid that she'll win and I'll end up having to ride in the parade with her." I pushed her in a stroller around the park, waiting for the winners to be announced. I made the mistake of forgetting to bring snacks, and I didn't want her to play on the equipment since she was in her nice dress. Finally, they started announcing the six winners (one from each age category). And when they got to the 12-18 month olds, Rachel was announced the winner. She got a gift basket with bath toys, sand toys, a beach towel, gift card to The Children's Place, and a gift certificate for a free photography session and prints. I was feeling a little less silly about entering. We can now make a legitimate claim that we have a cute baby. It's been confirmed officially. 

So that meant riding in the parade the next day. Brian dropped us off and then found a place to watch the parade. Apparently Michael struggled with the whole trying to get candy thing. He hesitated too much and other kids would pick it up before he could. Oh well. He still got plenty of candy. 

 We got to ride behind the Westlake Marching Band. If you ask Michael about the parade, he will tell you that his favorite part was the marching band. Surprise, surprise, right?

 People loved our parade entry because of the Chik-fil-a cow train. Rachel blew kisses and waved for the first 1/3 of the parade, and about halfway through, she just wanted out. But, nobody watching seemed to notice, so that's good.

After we finished with the parade, Rachel and I walked back to meet Brian and Michael. I carried her part of the way, and she toddled after me when I got too tired to carry her. At one point, Mia Love's crew caught up to us and watched Rachel picking up trash. They oohed and awed over her, "What a good citizen!" "She's so cute!" "Look at that red hair." Mia Love told me, "You have a such a cute daughter." There you have it. Rachel is a cute baby. I guess we'll keep her. 

SummerTIME and the liviING's Easy

Although we haven't gone on any trips or done any epic summer activities, we've been having a grand summer so far. We're so blessed to have awesome neighbors whose home has become an extension of our own. No joke. Michael is usually there, or Eva is here or they are both somewhere in between. If Michael sees Eva outside, he goes outside. If Eva sees Michael outside, Eva goes outside. And if I see Sam outside, I also go outside, because, how awesome is it to have such an awesome friend next door? 

At the end of May, they made this water pillow thing, so, even though they had friends from out of town over for a visit, our crew crashed the party--and Rachel finally got to wear this swimming suit. 

 I got this at her baby shower. The wait was so worth it. 

The last weekend in May, Brian had a work conference in Salt Lake, so we rode the train down to meet him when he was done. While we were waiting, we hit up Temple Square. 

We packed a sack dinner and ate it outside the North Visitors' Center. While we were eating, the kids were wandering around, snacking, but mostly enjoying the large, empty lawn. Rachel was climbing some nearby stairs when a group of Asian tourists walked by. I was talking with a couple of sister missionaries at the time while keeping an eye on my Crazies. This group stopped by Rachel and busted out their cameras, snapping tons of pictures of my little Redhead. One even picked her up---which made me a little nervous, and I was ready to run and get her in case they got any ideas about taking her home---and more pictures were snapped. I just had to laugh. She got so many oohs and ahhs as we continued to walk around Temple Square. 

And it wouldn't be summer if there wasn't some kind of bike/trike and dirt involved:

This summer, I also decided to start teaching sewing lessons. I have a friend who taught sewing a year or so ago. I helped her a little with it, and so when she decided to stop teaching, she decided that I needed to take over for her. The first few times she told me I should take over for her, I immediately dismissed the idea. But, for some reason, the last time she mentioned it, I decided to go for it. After months of it simmering in the back of my mind, I finally took the plunge, researched local charges for sewing classes, wrote a curriculum plan, made a schedule, made a website (ish--thanks blogger!), and waited to see what happened. Within a day, I had my first student! I was so giddy! My kids were very patient with distracted, plotting Mommy. Rachel kept me company while I did my research:

  Well, I only had one student, but she was great. She was enthusiastic, and very young. But, it was a good learning experience for me. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep doing it. We'll see what kind of interest people have this fall. 

A random picture of Rachel that isn't necessarily summer related. 

 One day, while we were outside hanging out, one of our neighbors stopped by and told us that Batman, Robin, and the Batmobile were in town, and we needed to go check it out. So, after explaining to Michael who Batman was ("You know Batman, from the Lego Movie? That's Batman--except he's not a Lego guy.") and telling him that he could wear his Batman costume, we loaded up in the car and went to go see Batman:

And remember how I said that Eva's house is an extension of ours and vice a versa? We do a lot of front yard sitting: 

Another random picture of Rachel.

 And since sewing was on my mind (and it got too hot for our down comforter and Duvet set), I made new throw pillows and shams to go with our warm weather temple quilt:

 And, to end this post, one more random picture of Rachel:

We are LOVING the warm weather, loving the freedom, and loving the prospects of Summertime adventures to come!