Twilight Camp

It is summer.  I am supposed to be lazing by the pool, reading fluffy, fiction novels, and eating popsicles.  But this week, we have had yet another camp to prepare for and transport people to.  Maybe next week, I'll get to be lazy and summer-y...

Twilight Camp is new for us.  Since McKay is a Bear in Cub Scouts, he's old enough to participate in this day camp experience.  We've been gathering things for him all month as we also prepared girls for their camp and the Scout Master for his.  Thank goodness McKay's list was much smaller and more manageable.  (sort of...)

He needed a 5-gallon bucket for hauling all of his stuff that could also do double duty as a seat during projects and group activities.   They gave us the option of decorating these, but I wasn't really up to it.  

...until Savannah found the hot glue gun and a HUGE assortment of googly eyes in one of my craft boxes.  Who knew I even had those??

They also gave us the option of making something called SWAPS that McKay could trade with other Scouts for their SWAPS.  McKay makes friends by the dozens and with very little effort, so we knew we had to make A LOT of these things.  All three girls pooled their efforts and made these cute little foam boots for McKay to give away.  They were a pretty big hit!  Once again, I'm so glad the girls were available and willing to help.

We met at the den leader's home and a handful of little boys in lime green t-shirts loaded into vans and drove off to McKinney.  We'll do this everyday this week at 3:20 and then pick them back up at 9:30 after they're finished.  

It's a little tricky to get four busy kids to all the places they need to be this week with only one car and one parent available, but it's so much fun to pick McKay up at night and hear him talk about all the fun things he's doing at Twilight Camp.  I'm grateful for the leaders who are actually GOING TO Twilight Camp with these ten little boys, and for the great memories that my busy kids are making this summer.

Scout Camp

On Saturday the girls came home from Girls Camp and filled the garage with tents, bed rolls, camp chairs, stinky clothes, and whatever other camp paraphernalia they hauled to and from camp.  These girls definitely did NOT pack lightly.  And the lake seemed to have crept into everything they brought with them.  The whole garage smelled like stinky, rotten fish by mid-afternoon.  

We spent the better part of Saturday emptying out buckets and doing LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, and more LAUNDRY.  By Sunday morning, there were piles of laundry in various stages of clean and to-be-cleaned, folded and to-be-folded strewn about the house.  It's a good thing we didn't have any plans for company on Sunday night.

I hurried through the unpacking and cleaning out process quickly because Craig was right behind me arranging yet another load of camping gear on the other side of the garage.  Scout Camp requires a whole different set of gear apparently, so he didn't re-use anything the girls had brought home.  We all tried really hard not to mingle the incoming stuff with the outgoing stuff.

Craig is quite meticulous about his checklists and preparation for Scout Camp.  This is his third year so he has it down to a very orderly and error-free science.  He's been in Scout Master mode since the middle of last week when he returned from his business trip and could officially start packing, stop shaving, and let the pre-camping beard-growing begin.  (I asked him why on earth he would want to have a full beard in 100 degree Texas weather, but he says that it's less surface area to have to spray sunscreen on...oh, the intricate workings of the mind of a Scout Master...)

We got very little sleep last night knowing that we would have an EARLY morning today.  (Why does that always happen?  Whenever I have to wake up earlier than usual, I spend the entire night checking the clock and counting down the number of hours still left to sleep.)

We both got up at 4:00am.  Craig jumped in the shower and loaded the last of his gear into the Jeep, and I threw 24 breakfast sandwiches into the oven to heat for the boys' breakfast.  (That's sounds like I'm so awesome, doesn't it?  Well, I didn't actually MAKE the sandwiches.  I only heated them.  And it's a TWO HOUR drive.  I may not be a Scout Master, but I know that when boys' tummies have been awake longer than an hour, they're gonna be looking around for food!.)  The night before, the girls helped me decorate little lunch bags with the boys' and drivers' names on them so that everyone could fill them this morning with a little snack for the road.  I packed the early morning picnic into the back of the van and met everyone right as they arrived at the church at 4:45am.  And since I was there, I just happened to bring my camera along to catch a BEFORE shot of the group as they embarked on their week long adventure.  

Aren't they perfect?  (I can say that because I don't have to spend a week camping with them.) I love these boys so much.  I love them because they are good boys and they work hard and listen to Craig and all of that.  But I love the collective group of them for what they are doing to my husband.  He has become more organized and meticulous in the three years  he's spent in this calling, but he's also become more compassionate and kind than I've ever known him to be.  He works as hard on their Sunday lessons at church as he does on making their camping experiences great.  He has taught them not only to pack efficiently and "leave no trace" at a campsite, but also to recognize the Spirit, be examples of righteousness, and not be afraid to proclaim the gospel in their daily lives.  He's genuinely interested in helping these boys not just become Eagle Scouts, but to eventually become great men.  And in the process of doing that, he is becoming a greater man right along with them.  It is an inspiring thing to witness.  

I'm grateful for this opportunity that Craig has to spend a week bonding with these boys and a few of their dads, and I look forward to all the stories he'll bring home with him on Saturday.

P.S.  Just so you don't get a false impression about my amazingness, I want you to know that  when I got home at 5:15am, I jumped right back into bed and slept until 10:00am.  And then I read a book until people started looking for me around 11:00am.  I'm not always productive and in motion.  

Father's Day

We had an incredibly busy, but wonderful Sunday.   Craig and I sang with a group for a small devotional at 8:00am.  We came home and had chocolate waffles for breakfast.  Choir practice and a Scout Board of Review at 12:15.  Church from 1:00 to 4:00.  Returned home to have Craig's favorite dinner - potatoes, salad, watermelon, rolls and flank steak, which I made him grill because grilling is not one of my super powers.  After dinner there was a slight technical difficulty with a guitar string and we had to zip over to a friend's to borrow an "emergency guitar," which included a little visiting and a short, impromptu concert.  Then Craig and all of his Scouts loaded for Scout Camp.  And we finally met back at home for dessert and presents.  Phew...

For Father's Day, Savannah and Megan put together a little "mash up" of a few of Craig's favorite songs.  It was so sweet, and he was so surprised and touched that they had thought of something so personal and creative to give him for Father's Day.  We recorded it so he could post it on FB, but I caught him secretly watching it a few more times before drifting off to sleep.  

 Nope, that's not a new Thunell.  That's McKay's friend from across the street who practically lives at our house...so I guess that makes him practically part of the family.

The video is coming, I promise, but it happens to be on a certain Scout Master's iPad which is currently at Scout Camp, so it will have to wait a week.  

I'm so grateful for thoughtful, talented daughters, for the amazing dad they have to dote on, and for Father's Day that reminds all of us to be grateful for the men in our lives.  I am extremely grateful for each one of them.  

High Five for Friday

It's been a very quiet few days around here with the girls away at Camp.  But it's given me a lot of time to do some of the things on that Summer Bucket List hanging in my kitchen.

1.  I finished three books this week!  I'm sure that's some kind of a record.

(FYI: Conquering Your Own Goliaths is the best book on the Atonement that I have EVER read...really!)

2.  Craig and I took McKay and a friend to Rusty Taco for dinner last night, which accomplished not only my daily task of feeding people, but also allowed us to work on that goal of trying every taco there.  I've now tried 4 out of 14 (not all of those happened last night, though...)

3.   McKay and I put together a model motorcycle.  There are things I probably would never be asked to do unless all the other members of our family were away on business or at camp.  And this is one of them.  It was harder than it looks to get all those motorcycle parts to fit together, but oddly fulfilling to see it all finished.  :) 

4.  McKay and some neighbors worked on that sidewalk chalk mural.

5.  New, brighter, more fun pillows on the couch!  I really didn't love those brown paisley ones we had there before.  Blech...

AND!  Oscar, the painter, comes tomorrow at 8am to finish painting all the high parts of the living room that I couldn't reach, and behind the bookshelves, so at least one room that I started will officially be finished by tomorrow afternoon.  Hooray!  Now we just have to keep Oscar around so he can come back later and finish the entryway and the dining room.  

I hope you're having a wonderful beginning of summer wherever you are and that you have an amazing weekend planned!

Girls Camp 2013

I'm not staying for Girls' Camp like I did last year, which is ok with me because they're in tents, and I'm not sure that I've ever actually slept in a tent.  

But I volunteered to drive the YCLs up early this morning.  

A few stragglers forgot to bring their stuff early yesterday.  Good thing I brought the van!  And yep, that's Savannah's guitar.  She spent the afternoon yesterday making a little notebook of tabs for all of her favorite songs to sing around the campfire.  I'm so happy she's playing that thing!

The girls in the middle are spelling out Y C L...the ones on the end are parentheses?? Vanna White??  I'm not really sure.

Campsite...

It's not too long a drive, so I was able to make it back in time to catch the younger girls for a quick picture before they left.  

The theme for Camp is Harry Potter, so all the girls got HP glasses.  The Emmas had to model theirs first.  

I love this camp experience these girls are able to have every year.  And I love that my three girls look forward to camping so much, despite their mother's lack of camping enthusiasm.  Even though camping isn't my favorite thing, I'm really going to miss hanging out with all the girls this year.  I love the energy at Camp and the little spiritual things that sneak into an ordinary day.  It's a good thing I'm going up again on Thursday!  

First Day of Summer

This was not quite what I was expecting the first official day of summer to look like.  The girls are leaving for Girls Camp tomorrow morning, so we spent much of the day getting prepared for that.  

Instead of lounging in bed and finishing the book I've been devouring over the weekend, I was up and off to Wal-Mart by 7:45am frantically picking up last minute things (like travel toothbrushes, basketball shorts, and lake shoes) because the Camp List didn't appear on the kitchen counter until Saturday night.  With three girls in this house ALL going to Camp, you'd think ONE of them would have thought to give the packing list to me before Saturday night.  

By 9:00am, the house was bustling with girls claiming their favorite bed rolls, sleeping bags, and flashlights.

At 10:00am, my friend who is in charge of food for all the girls, brought over about 26 boxes of breakfast sandwiches for Saturday's breakfast at Camp.  There isn't enough room in the freezers in the Camp dining hall to store all the food they'll need for the whole week, so I volunteered to hold these in my freezer (and my neighbor's) for a few days and bring them when I come up on Thursday afternoon.

At 11:00am, after all the girls' plastic totes were packed, I enlisted their help in unwrapping all those breakfast sandwiches and rewrapping them in aluminum foil.  There isn't enough microwave space/power to reheat breakfast sandwiches in a timely manner for 300 people, so they needed to be re-wrapped for safe reheating in the ovens.  We had an AWESOME assembly line set up in the kitchen.  Emma unwrapped, I re-wrapped, Savannah designated BACON or SAUSAGE on each sandwich, and Megan re-boxed the sandwiches and put the boxes in the freezer.  We finished in about 45 minutes.  I'm so glad I thought to do that with all of them still at home.  It would have taken me HOURS to do all that work by myself.  And they wouldn't have been quite as creative as Savannah made them.  She really wanted to draw Canadian flags on all the Bacon ones, but it was taking too long.

At 12:00pm, Craig and I drove the girls' stuff over to the Camp Leader's house to be loaded onto the trailer for tomorrow's drive.  (We would have brought the girls with us, but with all their stuff packed into the Jeep, they wouldn't fit.)

Craig and I snuck out for a quick lunch after a few errands and then came home so that I could take Savannah out to get a few things for the little group she's in charge of.  She is a YCL this year (Youth Camp Leader) so that means she has a group of about 10 12-year-old girls that she will be singing songs with, going on hikes with, and eating all of her meals with.  We had to have a little talk over the weekend about having a good attitude and making Camp a great experience for them even though this is her 6th year!  (Holy cow!)  By Monday morning, she had already planned her devotionals and thought of cute little giveaways for the girls.  It's nice to see her using her creative leadership super power.

By 4:30pm, I was finally back at home with that book I had been longing for all day.  

At 6:00pm, Craig took McKay and his friends to D-Bat (that's an indoor batting cage near our house that they've recently discovered.)

And at 8:45pm, Craig and I were off to choir practice.  It ran so long tonight, which was totally my fault because we sounded really good and I just wanted to keep singing.

At 11:00pm, we were home, and Craig had to pack for a trip to North Carolina.  (I don't know how he keeps up that pace.)  

Wait...I'm pretty sure we had dinner sometime tonight...I think...

Hopefully, things will slow down a little after all these camps...

High Five for SUMMER!

Here's how we spent the last day of school/Emma's birthday.

1.  Talent Show at the Middle School.  Megan and Emma sang For Good from Wicked.  Megan was SO nervous before school that she couldn't even do her own hair.  Her hands were shaking.  She couldn't sit still.  She couldn't breathe.  But everything went SO great.  They were both happy with their performance, but I think Megan felt especially fulfilled to have made her singing debut on the very last day of 8th grade!  No one even knew she could sing...well, except her family.  She has an amazing voice, but she's always chosen to be in orchestra rather than choir.  Today when the choir director hunted her down after she sang and asked her where she had been his whole life, I think she felt pretty great.  And then when she continued to receive texts and compliments all day from her friends, that sealed her confidence.  It was a great thing to watch her live that vision she's had for two whole years!

2.  Annual Last Day of School Lunch.  Last year, when Savannah and Megan both had early release days on the last day of school, I took them and about 6 of their friends to In-N-Out for lunch.  This year, we added Emma and a friend to that group of older, early release kids and met my friend, Amy, and her two daughters at In-N-Out.  I brought cupcakes and we tried to get the whole restaurant to sing to Emma, but they were too busy eating.  :(

3.  Annual Water Gun Ambush.  Last year, the older girls found the water guns Craig had bought for Scout Camp and asked if they could spray all the kids with them as they came home from the elementary school.  He thought that was a great idea so he joined them.  This year we borrowed not just water guns, but SUPER SOAKERS from Megan's friend, and everyone who walked past our house ended up SUPER soaked!  They loved it, even in the overcast drizzly weather.  

4.  Otter Pops.  I decided that since we were planning the water gun ambush, we should also have something nice to give the kids on their way home.  OTTER POPS!  Those just scream SUMMER, don't they?  Well, guess what!  They don't even make Otter Pops in Texas.  Is that crazy or what?  In fact, none of the kids even knew what an Otter Pop was, so they all looked at me like I was crazy to call them that.  I made a valiant effort today to convert the kids on our street to calling them Otter Pops.  I don't even know what they're really called here, and neither did anyone else, so they happily adopted OTTER POPS as the official name for these yummy things.  I took a bowl of about 36 fake Otter Pops outside and came in an hour later with a pair of sticky scissors and a bowl full of wrappers.  

5.  Oh, yeah...Emma's Birthday.  After In-N-Out, I dropped Emma and her friend at a pool party.  And then picked them up two hours later and drove them to the friends' house where they are having a lateover/movie night.  I haven't even seen my birthday girl, except from a distance or in a crowd, for more than an hour today.  I guess this is what birthdays look like when you're a teenager and you have to share the day with The Last Day of School.  The pictures are staying up.  And we'll have an official present-opening/birthday dinner on Sunday when everyone is home from business trips and pool parties.  

It's been such a long end to such a long week.  I'm ready to sleep in, lay around by the pool, and start on that mountainous stack of books on my nightstand.  

Happy SUMMER!  Hope you have great things planned.  

I'm Yours & Perfect Two Medley

13

I am so amazed by this girl.  12 has been a good year for her.  I'm a little sad to see it go.  BUT! If the upcoming year is anything like the last one, I will love that just as much...maybe more!  

Here are some of Emma's super powers...

1.  She is a friend to everyone.  
2.  She is quick to help.
3.  She is organized.
4.  She is outgoing, daring and adventurous.

5.  She is confident.
6.  She tries EVERYTHING without doubt or fear.

7.  She is a loyal friend.  
8.  She is artistic and crafty.
9.  She is thoughtful.
10.  She is creative.
11.  She is steadfast and immovable.
12.  She is content to hang out by herself once in awhile.

13.  She is positive, energetic and excited about life...always!

I don't remember when she moved from stuffed animals to hair products.  Or when she stopped playing dress up.  Or when her best friend was no longer Barney.

But as much as it breaks my heart a little to look through all those pictures and know that those days are long gone, it's also so exciting to think about the years ahead.  She is doing such an amazing job of watching the things her sisters before her have experienced, and learning from them, and then carving out a place in the community, in our church, and in our family that is uniquely hers.  

Their faces are all so similar and they are all so close in age, that Emma is mistaken for Savannah and Megan on a regular basis, but she is definitely her own person.

I am so proud of her for all that she tries to do and for the amazing young woman she is becoming.  Thirteen is going to be another incredible year.  

Happy Birthday, Emma Lou...