Camping Trip

We'd been planning our camping trip for a while, and the kids were SO excited (especially Alex)!  They played "camping" the entire week leading up to our big 3 day weekend trip... well, it didn't go exactly as planned, but we still had a good time overall ;)  We left early Friday since Gary had a 4 day weekend and went to a campground near the Potomac Bay/Colonial Beach.  The kids LOVED helping set up camp!

Alex was probably MOST excited about the tent ;) 

 Nathan helped with his tools! 

We kept the fire going all evening :) 

The kids loved playing in the tent, love listening to little boy giggles :)

We cooked hot dogs over the fire for dinner! 

The kids LOVED playing with the sticks, rocks, mud, water spicket, etc.  They were a MESS!  That's what camping is all about though, right?  ;)

We made smores after dinner!  Alex just ate the marshmellows, Nathan tried his smore, but was more into the marshmellows too...

We put the kids int he tent around 9:00.  They were sooo excited, we knew it would take a while for them to fall asleep!  And we couldn't fit the pack n play comfortably in the tent with our air mattress (which we insisted on bringing along, since last time we were sooo sore from sleeping on the ground, haha!)  So Nathan had his first experience sleeping without a "crib" and we weren't sure how that'd go on top of being in the tent! 

They were so cute reading stories and getting all snuggled in for bed :)

 It took them quite a while to settle down... but it was just adorable listening to them as we sat by the fire!  They were playing with flashlights, giggling like crazy, talking, and having the BEST time!  It was just too cute, these two really are best friends!  Nathan finally fell asleep, and Alex was still awake when we went to bed but passed out soon after.  We all slept ok... the kids stirred some and I had to readjust the kids in the middle of the night (Gary and my bed took up most of the space lol... so they were a litte squished and I had to move them around a little to give them enough room haha!) 

The morning was when our plans started to go a little awry... Nathan threw up before breakfast.  We were hoping it was just a fluke!  He wasn't quite himelf, but they were still enjoying themselves.  We cooked bacon and attempted pancakes (then I realized I forgot the syrup and it wasn't quite cooking right on the camp stove, so I gave up and we had poptarts, fruit, and granola instead!) 

Alex could not wait to go to the beach!!  Actually, he woke us all up at 6:30 am when he woke up, sat straight up in his "bed" and YELLED, "Nathan wake up!!!! It's morning!!!!!"  Then proceeded to ask if we could go ahead to the beach ;)  He had a hard time waiting till breakfast was over and we were all ready to go! 

 Nathan wasn't quite himself at the beach, but was trying to enjoy himself...

Alex was having a BLAST!  He went right into the water and swam all around with no fear!  This was so different than how he was last summer!  I'm so glad he's enjoying being in the water so much!!   (Nathan on the other hand is terrified of the water so far...  we'll have to work on that some more!)

Nathan was trying so hard to have fun...

But just couldn't :( 

He ended up cozying up with me after about 30 minutes or so in the sand, and fell asleep... that's when I knew something wasn't quite right :(  I was still hoping it was a quick bug!  He woke up, threw up all over himself, and fell back asleep :(  He was passed out with me pretty much the whole time at the beach.  I felt sooo bad for him!!

 Alex couldn't get enough of it!! He was so cute playing frisbee, swimming on his back, splashing kicking his legs, running around, etc.

Drying off and enjoying some lunch! 

We headed back to camp after that (Nathan was starting to feel feverish and needed some meds... we weren't sure what we were going to do since we had 2 more days planned at our campground!)  We got back and Nathan slept the whole way home in the car, then took a long nap in his crib (which I set up in the tent).  Gary and Alex went to the pool, which of course Alex loved!  I stayed back and hoped he'd wake up and feel better.... but when he did he was SOOO warm.  I didn't have a thermometer with me, but he was HOT (def not a low grade fever anymore!)  the meds weren't bringing his fever down like earlier, and he was just so lethargic... just laying on me all afternoon.  Still throwing up some and just miserable.  We were getting really worried about him and talked to the camp office about it... they gave us 2 nights credit and we decided we needed to cut our trip short :(  It was just so hot outside and we couldn't imagine a night in the tent with a sick baby in that heat... Alex was pretty upset, and I felt just horrible for him :(  We promised him a fun rest of the weekend and another camping trip soon. 

He did tear up and say he wanted his little buddy to be better and play with him like they did yesterday.  Poor little boys :(  We tore down camp around 7pm and were home around 10:00... Alex was so tired he slept the whole way home, transferred right to his bed, and then slept in until after 9 the next morning!  Nathan was up some throughout the night, but his fever did break once he got in the air conditioning. 

We'll have to go back for a redo soon... but all in all, we still had a good time ;)  I'll post more about the rest of our Memorial Day weekend later!  :) 

Playtime

Ok, crazy, I know... 4 posts in 2 days!  That's what happens when the kids sleep in until 7:30!!  Alex sleeps in until around 7 most of the time now, but Nathan is normally up between 6 and 6:30.  I don't want to jinx myself, but he's sleeping in past 7 for the 5th day in a row today! 

Alex has had this Trio Blocks set for a year or so, and has enjoyed playing with it some, but not really "building" with it.  A couple of weeks back he found the book with all of the "maps" of things you can build... he sat down and started building!  Here is one of the things he built ALL BY HIMSELF! I was pretty impressed!  He is such a perfectionist, he had to have each little peice EXACTLY like it was in the picture... 

One day Alex asked if he could wash his cars... they were apparently "dirty" and he wanted to use his carwash!  Here they are busy cleaning away!  (This kept them busy for close to an hour!)

Park Time!!! The kids just LOVE playing outside :)

They discovered a ton of roly polies on our front sidewalk!  They spent the whole afternoon collecting them and playing with them :)  I remember doing this when I was a kid, so fun!

I was surprised Nathan didn't squish them, but he was very careful...

 We left them on the front porch to show daddy before letting them loose in the yard... then I saw them the next morning still sitting there, oops!  Most of them were dead :(  Speaking of creatures and dying, my sister got Alex sea monkeys for Christmas and one of them is still hanging on!  We've had a couple of talks about how they will eventually die and they don't last forever and he's watched as more and more "dissappear".  Well yesterday, he asked to feed the one that's left, then told me that he doesn't want him to be hungry when he goes to heaven :)  too sweet! 

Nathan loves to be a ltitle helper (and to do things "all by myself!)  He helped daddy rake, trim, and mow the "yard"  ;) 

Small Group

This is the small group we've been part of since September!  I've always found small groups to be one of the most important things in our lives, it's where true fellowship, study and growth takes place.  We've loved getting to know these families!  Our leaders got orders and moved away a couple of weeks ago.  Another couple took over, and we started hosting at our house each week.  I've really enjoyed hosting, and so have the kids!  What a great group of people we've been blessed with :) 

Andrews AFB Air Show

We were so excited to take the boys to the Andrews AFB Air show in MD this past weekend!  They both absolutely LOVE planes and have enjoyed every "airplane" museum we've been to, so we figured this was the perfect event for them!  And we were right!! 

There were lots of planes, tanks, helicopters, etc. that you could walk through and look at up close, the kids loved it! 

They especially loved "flying" the helicopter!  They could sit in here forever...

 They also enjoyed all of the "tankers" as Alex calls them ;)  They loved seeing all of the weapons on them and talking about how they get the "bad guys"... this probably would have freaked me out a couple of years ago to hear kids talking like this, but I've sense come to realize it's just the way boys are wired and I'm not going to let it bother me! ;) 

There, of course, were airplanes flying overhead doing tricks the whole time! 

After looking around for quite a while, we set up our blanket, ate some way over priced food and some of the snacks we snuck in, and watched the show!  Nathan passed out shortly after lunch and a little walk around the area since he was SO over tired by this point! 

 Gary and Alex had THE BEST time watching the airplanes fly in formation, do tricks, etc.  It was so cute watching Alex's face light up all afternoon, he was in heaven! 

Nathan woke up when the F-22 demonstration started... it was SO LOUD!  He was pretty shaken up by the whole thing to say the least!  He clung to me tight whenever the plane would come close and the noise got really loud.  But it was truly amazing to watch!  After that demonstration Nathan pretty much melted and we picked up a couple of souvenier planes for the kiddos and headed to the car!  They have been playing airplanes almost non-stop since.  Alex loves to have an "announcer" announce all the tricks his plane is doing, and of course they love to fly super fast and be the "fastest plane in the whole world!"  Too cute :)