For Holly - Do You Camp?

It all started with one simple question - Do you camp?

A new friend at church, Holly, came up to me one Sunday morning and asked me if I camp. It was out of the blue, completely random and yet I loved it! Her boldness in asking was inspiring! Turns out it helped with what I was wearing that day at church, but she had a hunch. One thing lead to another and I was researching possible camping grounds for a small contingent from church to go camping!

It wasn't as simple as asking the first question, but we figured out a weekend, found a group campsite available, and reserved the site for 17 excited campers and one happy dog!

Prior to the actual weekend, we all got together for a back yard BBQ to plan out who was going to bring what. What's great about group camping, is that we were all able to contribute the best of what we had supply-wise and all able to provide one meal to lighten the load of any one family. Plus, we were all camping on a group site, so one central location to all come and go from.

Photo from Heidi!

There were first time campers, experienced campers, and an abundance of mosquitos. Poor Eko was covered in bug bites. Once we all were lathered up with bug spray and a little more dirty it wasn't as bad - you just had to get beyond that initial swarm.  In spite of the our shady spot with too many mosquitos (thanks Brady's for your awesome screen tent!), we all had so much fun! The kids loved exploring together, collecting firewood, and finding bugs that they could contain in one of the big cooking pots. Adults were outnumbered by one, but we had some amazing older girls that were willing to share in some of the kid watching duties.

We had two total nights reserved at Father Hennepin State Park on Mille Lakes, with some people only staying for one and some staying for both. It is a smaller state park, but it has a swimming beach and a park which can be hard to come by I noticed when searching. The Park too, as part of their programing, was offering fishing poles and bait for those that wanted to try out fishing on Saturday morning. So we cleaned up camp after breakfast and headed to one of the docks to try our hand at fishing. It was fun to see all the little eyes light up with the idea of catching a fish, even though no fish were caught while we were there.

Other fun things about our camping trip:
1) The group campsite out-houses were out of order. We did have a couple of port-o-johns but those disgustingly filled up quick and ran out of toilet paper. We made sure to know where the "luxury" bathrooms were, (you know, the ones with sinks and showers) in the regular camp ground. Into the evening on Saturday, I made a trip to the office to let them know there was no more toilet paper, and even though it had been missing for quite some time, no one had gone and told them yet. Funny how that works!

2) Since it was a group campsite, you had to unload and carry your gear from the one main parking area back into your campsite. We had the furthest site, so when Jon and I arrived we loaded up our arms and started carrying stuff back. A little while later, after we had most of our things, a guy from the neighboring campsite goes, "oh, here, why don't you use one of these handy little carts that belong to the campground to help haul stuff." Oh thanks guy. Thanks for keeping BOTH carts at your campsite longer than you actually needed them, keeping others from being more efficient. Thank you, I will take that from you and do your job of bringing it back to it's rightful waiting spot! The kids loved the carts. Especially when they were allowed to take a quick ride in one. Except perhaps the time when the girls were trying to be sweet and take it back for us, with some kids inside, and it went down a slight hill, tipped backwards, and the kids inside took a little tumble. They loved it all but that time!

3) Carl was not ready to go camping. The last time we went camping with him was September 2012, when he was still mildly containable in a pack-n-play. He was now 2 with ideas on where and WHEN he would sleep. I think it was just too much fun being out with friends and then there was always mom and dad's air mattress that makes a fun trampoline when no one is watching. We took a short trip into town on Saturday for a couple things and Carl, who came with, was out within a minute. Seriously!! Saturday night, Brianna ended up asking to go to bed before Carl. We put her to bed then just held Carl for a while. Finally, Carl told me he wanted to go to bed, so we put him in his spot and he didn't move. Ugh... Let's just say, when Sunday morning came, we were ready to pack up and make the drive home. It wasn't just his sleep that he was sacrificing it was his sisters and his parents too. They fell asleep pretty much right away once we got in the car.

This was Carl before deciding it was time to actually go to bed.  Just give in!!

 

We enjoyed conversations with new friends, long nights of hardly any sleep, fabulous weather, and fun evenings around the campfire. Pretty sure we'll do it again - I can barely wait!! All thanks to one simple question. It's a good lesson on opening up and putting yourself out there - look at how much fun it can lead to! Huge thanks to Holly for getting it started and for everyone else who helped to make it such a fun weekend!

Duck Race Goes to PLAN B

Had it not been for the 2.5 inches of rain the night before, as well as the abundance of rain at the beginning of July, we would have surely been in the creek for a second go at our duck races. However, once I stepped in the creek to test the levels, I knew there wouldn't be a way to make it work; the current was just to strong, especially once it caught your torso. Had you wanted to put in your inner tube, throw yourself in, and start racing that way, it might have worked... but not for our precious three inch plastic ducks!

We needed to quickly move to Plan B as people were arriving shortly. Jon, being quick on his feet, thought we should get some plastic and race down our backyard slope. With a little improvising, soap, and water, we had our duck race!

I recently paired down the pictures I have for Carl's birthday and I still have too many (62) to be able to share all of them on the blog. Here's a few of the highlights!

We had bubbles, a small parachute, and face painting for added activities at the party. I was prepared for an indoor party as well, thinking we may have more rain, but it stayed mostly sunny and beautiful. Inside I had a small train scavenger hunt, a Carl picture slideshow running, and a bunch of train books that we got from the library that week scattered on end tables. I hand cut a banner that said Happy Birthday Carl but never got a picture of that... It was also trains!!

As you can see, I was trying to help wet down the plastic and spread out the soap to help with the slippery factor. It was slippery. I believe I stayed on my feet the entire way down!

 Everyone was pretty excited for the races! Jon and his dad stood at the top with two hoses spraying the ducks down the tarp. If they caught one of two currents they most definitely medaled... but you had to hit the right spot!

Did I mention we used soap?! Yes the ducks needed to be hosed down after the races. Soap was everywhere!

Uncle Jeff got off easy this year and didn't have to brave the creek. Like I said, creek levels were just too high. I'm sure he would have done it anyway for his fabulous nephew!

Our mid-range age group winners. The duck that got Gold in this picture won it all with a final race between all three gold medalists! He was pretty excited!

After the races we moved onto food and opening gifts. Carl was very thankful for all of his friends being at his party, and for the loving gifts he received.

Carl opened one gift from his Uncle Dave and Aunt Betsy pretty early on. It was a cool matchbox truck and a snoopy jr. ranger t-shirt. He loves both! I asked Carl to go say thank you and he also asked Uncle Dave to open the truck. The awesome Uncle Dave opened it! So after that, Carl decided that every other gift he just needed to bring to Uncle Dave and he would open it for him. It was really cute!

One gift item I thought Carl would enjoy was a bubble lawn mower. My sister had one, and C just never wanted to leave it. Well, he got one for his birthday and it's a good thing he opened it last. There was no stopping him. All of his friends and cousins were trying to check it out, but he carried on mowing the back yard, just as daddy does!

Lastly, the cake! Did I mention it was a train themed party. I was thrilled with how it turned out. I had a chocolate cake and yellow cake in there, both delicious and everything gluten free: cookie wheels, animal graham crackers, and coal chocolate chips. He turned two... choo, choo!!

Carl liked it too but did not want to touch the frosting. Silly boy! Happy Birthday Carl. We love you very much!

P.S. He also was wearing a special choo choo train shirt. He couldn't wait to put it on!

Two Tractors...

This happened Friday morning, November 22 around 6:30 am...

A short story, as told by Carl Bonkoski through two tractors:
Tractor 1: Hi.
Tractor 2: Hi.
1: How you doin'?
2:Um... I like my church.

The End.

Carl's 2nd Birthday

I was told once that I should have been a party planner. That might be true, because of how much I enjoy planning events/parties, but that also might be because it's usually for my family. 

Carl's birthday and the following day party were so much fun. We were so blessed to have such a great turnout this year for our Second Annual Rubber Duck Race (you might remember the first ever race!). But before we get there... let's go here...

Picture this with me, the day before the big party, also Carl's actual birthday. I was busy making Carl's birthday Choo Choo Train cake when I noticed the sink backing up. Yes, backing up, as in not draining and I can't wash pans and utensils I need to continue making more cake. This issue was not easily solved by simply running the garbage disposal, no we had a major problem. I almost freaked out but I called Jon instead to tell him my predicament. He came home to help solve it. 

Finally, just before close of business on a Friday evening, we called in a plumber. My mom had been watching the kids for me that day so I could prep, so when she came to drop them off around dinner time, we piled back in her car to go out to dinner. (the kitchen was already a mess, there was a plumber in the house, and I'm pretty sure it was easier to just go out at that point)

So grateful for Chipotle and the many meals it has served us over the years. Carl and Brianna were excited to eat out with Gammie and the bonus, eating outside!

We came back to a working sink, to which I am extremely grateful we called when we did so we wouldn't have had to pay for plumber overtime. AND that we'd have a working sink for the big party. Although it was getting late, we decided to make one final adventure before shuffling everyone to bed. Jon was promoted to a Manager's position this year and with that comes a company car which just happened to be ready for pickup that day. We are so proud of Jon and his accomplishments, this was well deserved!!  Plus he moved desks and now has an awesome view which we just had to check out!!!

"Me Drive?"

Anyway, so we drove down to work to pick up the new ride. Carl and Brianna were eager to explore the new car. We briefly discussed a birthday dessert but thought it best to get home for bed... there would be PLENTY of dessert at the party! Also a special treat, is that he got to be with bot sets of grandparents on his birthday. It's not every year you can say that!

How's the View From Up There??!?!?

Because I have a hard time waiting, I'm overcoming my deep seeded need to keep posts in order and bring you a few more pictures of our new place!

One thing that surprises people as the look around the new house is that there is a tree house in the back yard. You might be thinking that, yeah that's not that unusual, but the surprise comes from when they look at the distance it takes to even get up to it! Yes, our tree house sits a good distance from the ground, above our roofline. I have yet to venture up, but Jon and his brother Jeff went up to check things out. Both Brianna and Carl were disappointed they couldn't make the climb, but that's another problem to solve in a few more years. Feel like conquering your fear of heights??

Rounding out the Fourth Weekend

After the fireworks and after we all tried to regain some sleep, we headed to the cabin to spend more time with family. Everyone was already there, so we just added to the full cabin fun! Brianna and Carl enjoyed searching for rocks, pinecones, leafs, and flowers. They also thoroughly loved getting in the water to go swimming! Brianna has been getting more and more confident in the water - which is awesome. There were times out in the lake that she was all by herself swimming (meaning no one was touching her, but generally close by).

We always love being with cousins, uncles, aunts, and even the added bonus of Cody being along for this trip!

Just before bed, Brianna loved listening to her cousin Elissa read to her. So blessed to have older cousins who love on their younger cousins!

Before leaving for home, we went into town to watch the water show! The jumps and tricks were fun to watch and (mostly) kept Brianna and Carl's attention. Carl enjoyed hanging with his Uncle Jeff for a while! And no, he's not wearing pants... It's how we roll!