May 29, 2009

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

This weekend we went camping. It was pretty good. Pretty good you ask? Well do you know how I feel about camping? Check out my previous post.

The bear is still not walking so it was a challenge to keep him from getting filthy. Jamie brought that great netted tent with the tarp that he played in and he had fun sitting on the bikes. He likes my little bike because it is not loud like daddy's bike.

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Oot had an absolute ball riding the little kido ATV's. It was his first time on one that size and he was a natural. It was difficult to get him off of it. The owner had to fake a dead battery.


We kept the meals simple. I just pulled a couple of my freezer meals out of the freezer. We put these Kabob's together right before the RAIN STORM!

Look how fun camping is now! We sat in the truck for an hour waiting for the rain to clear. It never did. It rained all night!


I tried to entertain the little ones and keep the snacks coming as the rain kept coming.



Oot tried to throw spider man webs at me. Oh good Spider Man story. I rented a movie called Spectacular Spider Man for Oot. He was telling one of our friends all about it. Saying, "I watched Pedicular Spider Man." I said, "Can you say Spectacular?" He replied, "No but I can say Pedicular."




I was trying to get these crazy kids to sit by each other and smile for me. This is what they gave me. Look and those dirty hands!



We ended up packing it all up and staying the night with our friends at their parents house. I was happy. I got to sleep in a comfy bed, play games with our friends and take a shower in the morning.


One more good story. When we were in our tent settling in the first night we were telling Oot that there was a creek near by and he was not to go over by it with out mom and dad. We told him that it ran fast and it could grab him and take him away.
The next morning he poked his head out of the tent and said hello to one of the neighboring campers. Then he told the guy that there was a "freak" in the woods that was going to come and take him away.

May 8, 2009

Giant Sand Box or Volleyball Court?

This winter Mark came home and said I got something from work and I have a surprise for you, but you are going to have to wait until it gets a little warmer. I kind of forgot about it and then one day I walked into our little storage shed and spotted some volleyball standards(polls. To tell you the truth I must have been pre-occupied with the boys because I did not think much of it.
With signs of spring Mark let me know about his plan, he had decided that he would not be able to move 5 dump trucks of dirt and keep it a surprise. He was going to put in a full size sand volleyball court. Here is how you install your own sand court.

1. Have a big back yard with so you can make a 30x60 foot court.

2. Remove the grass and dig out all of the dirt at least 8 inches deep.
On the first day of digging the sprinkler lines got cut so he had to re-route them and fix the leaks.




3. Lay down 1800 feet of weed barrier, secure it with old garden decor so it doesn't blow away.
The boys were fun and helpful. Bear loved crawling all on the barrier, eating dirt, getting dirty.

Oot loved trying to nail stakes into the ground, throwing dirt clods, and copying daddy.



4. Bring in 5 dump trucks full of sand.

Oot had a lot of fun playing in the sand mounds. He was really good about staying away from the heavy equipment. I was so glad.


5. Spread out the sand across the court.


6. Dig a big hole and each side of the court, place pipes in it and fill with cement. When it is dry slide poles into pipes, hand net and play ball!
It has rained almost everyday since we put it in. So today was the first day we really got to play on it. It was so fun. We picked out the perfect sand. Not too hard on the feet, no rocks and it packs better then most so you can move! It is like living at the beach, I felt like we were on vacation playing in the sand this morning.
Now I can smell summer BBQ all summer long. Who is in?