Lincoln State Park Camping

After 5 years...and much talking myself into it...we went tent camping. The four of us. We booked our site at Lincoln State Park several months ago in celebration of Brian's birthday...and hoped it wasn't a disaster. Ironically, we booked weeks before other sites were occupied...and somehow ended up with one of the worst spots! No big deal, we were rarely there. But did make note of some better sites for next time.

We arrived Friday late afternoon and set up camp. The kids were super excited! Hot dogs and chips were an easy dinner, s'mores rounded off the evening. Patrick was happy to get his bike out and tool around the campsite, which was totally bustling. We choose a primitive site, considering we actually prefer to not have electrical hook up....and joined quite a few, well, rednecks. That first night was a late one, but everyone did great sleeping in the tent. The weather was cool, just perfect. The next day, Brian made up some pancakes and bacon, then we headed out to the playground. Fishing came next, lunch, checking out the Lincoln Boyhood National Park and the living farm and museum. Dinner was a favorite camp meal - chicken pot pie and peach cobbler. Delicious! The kids were exhausted and hit the sack by 9, not complaining once about the noise. We laughed because our backyard campfires are more relaxing and "taking in nature" than this was. But, hey, it's Memorial Day weekend. What do you expect?

Sunday morning, we slept in and awoke to a day a tad warmer. Brian made biscuits for breakfast and we fished some more. Ok, the boys were fishing. Lucy's feelings about fishing can be summed up in her comment about 5 mins in to the experience -- "How long do we have to DO this??". She and I hiked around, played on the playground, chatted. After lunch we visited the Nature Center, fished some more, broke camp and headed home. Both kids were out, as predicted, before we hit 64 :)

This was a VERY fun weekend! I will be the first to admit that not only am I not a camper...but I have been hesitant to venture into this with the kids. The kids did GREAT! They loved it! Loved sleeping in a tent, riding bikes, eating campfood, fishing, and playing on the playground. It was so nice to just....relax. To not be distracted with Internet, TV, chores, etc. To take time and search a clearing for the acorn "bottom" that will fit a certain acorn "hat". To push kids on the swing to their content. To tell stories in a tent because you didn't bring books. And to fish the morning away and see a child's glee with every dip of the bobber. We can't wait to do it again!

Patrick's 5th Birthday...and welcome Ellie Elaine!

We celebrated Patrick's 5th birthday last weekend. We can hardly believe our baby boy is FIVE! That seems soooo much older than four! Lots of family was able to come, and our house was bustling with many overnight guests -- three cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents too. Patrick asked for a "How To Train Your Dragon" theme, and we were able to come through with a cake and all the trimmings :)

Favorite gifts this year were many dragons (go figure), Legos, a Razor scooter, and some outdoor toys. Actually, everything was awesome :) The weather held out and we enjoyed good conversation, great family and friends like family, and smores into the night. The following day was his actual birthday, and as requested we treated Patrick to Turoni's for dinner -- his favorite restaurant.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy. We love you more than we can say. Your energy, your spirit, your curiosity and your kind heart are so amazing. It saddens me that your body no longer folds into my lap as easily :( We still remember when a nurse in the newborn nursery recommended a book to us after knowing you in those first few hours -- "How to Bend the Will Without Breaking the Spirit". And that's the line we've been dancing for the past five years...and hope to continue. Your energy will take you so far in life!

Friday, May 20th, we welcomed Ellie Elaine Hadley....Molly and Doug's firstborn. So neat that she fittingly arrived on what would have been Grandpa McNulty's 88th birthday. I can see him up in Heaven chuckling with the saints on that one...and Grandma right next to him rolling her eyes and tsk-tsk'ing him. We met her on Monday the 23rd. And she is beautiful, of course, at 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long. We love her so much!

Thank God for the blessings of these children. We pray you let us keep them for a long time :)

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful, wet Easter this year! The kids had been anxiously counting down the days til their baskets were filled with treats. And the bunny delivered: the DVD Tangled for Lucy, along with a Rapunzel Barbie and a stuffed bunny...the DVD Stuart Little 3 for Patrick, along with a Lego set and some Matchbox cars. And, of course, tons and tons of candy! Leading up to Easter, we celebrated with Patrick's preschool Thursday during the class party, and the weather held off enough to allow the kids to get outside and hunt eggs. We went to 10:45 mass at St. Wendel and watched our good friends' youngest daughter, Ava Hill, being baptized. Back to Hills for a delicious lunch and another egg hunt, just beating the rain. After that, we headed down to Mamaw and Papaw Bretz's house where the kids received another basket loaded with goodies.

After all that candy....we headed to the dentist on Monday. Ironically. The kids were rockstars, hopped up onto the chairs and allowed the hygientist and Dr. Ray to clean and polish away. Even tolerated xrays! Patrick has 6 year permanent molars coming in already-- yikes!! Sadly, Lucy did a face plant on the driveway about 2 weeks ago...and the dentist confirmed that her left front tooth is dying. Geez. It's a little discolored, just really hoping it doesn't darken anymore. And she's pretty much going have to deal with it til her permanent tooth pushes thru in about 3 years. We did have the option of a baby root canal with a crown, but this really isn't necessary, especially considering it is a baby tooth. And they don't like to remove baby teeth at her age, it could affect her permanent tooth descending. Since she isn't uncomfortable or avoiding certain foods...it is what it is. As far as my teeth go, I have been in braces for about 4.5 months. Teeth are responding well, moving quickly...and I hope to be out of them before 2012. Hope :)

We have been busy lately! We all were up in Indy mid-April for Molly's baby shower, as she counts down the days until the end -- 35 weeks this week, I believe! So exciting! Brian continues to work like a madman, accepting his new job responsibilities like the champ we know he is. I have accepted a part-time position with New Harmonie Healthcare, and beginning June 1, I will be working Mondays and Wednesdays for them. We've pieced together childcare over the summer with some eager school-age kids, and the kids will be taking part in Resurrection's extended care program beginning mid-August when school resumes. We can hardly believe we will have a son in pre-K and a daughter in preschool. I am really excited about this new opportunity! I haven't worked at this frequency since Patrick has been born -- almost 5 years now. The other bonus -- this means I can drop my weekends at the hospital to once a month beginning in August. Which will be fantastic!

Patrick has his end of the year program next week at school and Lucy is preparing for her dance recital in June. We booked a campsite at Lincoln over Memorial Day weekend and have plans to spend a weekend at Sweetwater Lake with the family in July. Might try to sneak in a day at Holiday World and a few days in St. Louis, possibly catch a Cards game, at some point. And before we know it, Patrick and Jenny will be getting married in October!! So happy warmer days are here...now if we can just get it to dry out a bit...:)

Funny Q and A's:

How old are you and when is your birthday?

P: Four, May 22nd

L: Three, December 13th

Where do you live?

P: Oakfield

L: I don't know!! (followed by crying, geez)

What is your favorite food?

P: Pizza

L: Spaghetti

What is your favorite color?

P: orange

L: pink and purple

What is your favorite restaurant?

P: Turoni's

L: Peanut place (aka Logans)

What does your Dad do at work?

P: Boring stuff. Works on computers and helps people. (Lucy just nodding)

What do I do?

P: Go to the hospital and help people feel better. (Lucy still nodding)

What do you want to do when you get big?

P: What Daddy does, computer guy (obviously not THAT boring)

L: I don't know!! (more tears)....calmed down and said "A mom, like you"

What is your favorite movie?

P: Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs, all the Stuart Littles

L: Polar Express, Tangled

What is your favorite toy?

P: Dinosaurs and flying reptiles

L: Barbies and ponies

Where have my babies gone??

I realize it has been a while since I've randomly written about what the kids are busy with these days, and considering we hit another major milestone today...I figure it's time.

Patrick is closely approaching his 5th birthday on May 22nd. He is doing wonderful at Resurrection in preschool, recently receiving a great progress report from his teachers. He has made many nice friends as well. Patrick and Lucy are learning side by side - recognizing letters and working on letter sounds, counting, and identifying printed numbers. They are both very interested in reading and writing, and although Patrick is the only one who can actually write his name they both can very easily spell and recognize their names. And each others :) Just the other day, Patrick wrote our entire family's name without any help! Patrick is a good artist and his favorite subjects are ptyerodactyls, vehicles, and people. He is constantly building, amazing me with his Lego creations. And quick to add that he "didn't even have to look at the directions". Last night, Daddy took off the training wheels....and by lunchtime today he was speeding around the neighborhood like he had been for months. He loves to play games on the computer and on his Explorer, work on puzzles, and play make-believe. He is often in character, the most frequent one we see is a dragon :)

Lucy is three going on sixteen. As usual. Too big for her skinny britches and entering a fiercely independent stage. It's a lot of "I am NOT a baby", and resisting us carrying her most of the time. She graduated to a "training wheel bike" with her all time favorite painted on the side -- Rapunzel. We recently took her to see "Tangled", her first theater experience...and she absolutely loved it! And loved having a big soda and popcorn :) We still do tumbling/dance weekly, and her class is preparing for their recital in June. Just last week at class, I realize how much stronger and more coordinated her movements are. She is frequently dressed like a princess, complete with necklaces, bracelets, a purse and heels. Typically with a dragon on her tail! Her vocabulary continues to be ridiculous, using as many big words as she can during the day. Favorites are "did you realize....?" and "I didn't recognize...." or "such-and-such is similar..." The kids play very well together, we are so lucky for that. Lucy will start preschool next fall alongside her brother in pre-K, sharing a room for this year only until he moves onto Kindegarten.

We keep pretty busy during the day -- from playdates at MEGA gymnastics to the library and Children's Museum. With warmer days approaching, we will add the park and zoo back into our rotation, and hopefully the pool. Both kids tear up and down the street all day long on their bikes, and Lucy tackles the hills with the same drive as her brother. We are looking forward to the new swingset, which is anticipated to be up sometime in the next month. Hopefully. Naps are pretty much history, but quiet time with a movie in the afternoon seems to be a pretty good alternative. As is the earlier bedtime for Mommy and Daddy :)