Camp Lost Lake

Usually I sit around and overeat for Memorial Day weekend.  It's my standard weekend routine.  But this Memorial Day weekend...well...it was different.  We went camping!

I have a strict once-per-year camping policy but my sissy pitched me an overnight camping trip and made it sound irresistible.  

So I took the bait. We had a marvelous time!  And I was even able to sit around and overeat. That's a win.

We began our adventure by shuttling ourselves off to Lost Lake.  As always, Kitty dressed appropriately for a night in the dirt.

What a beautiful area it was!  The lake was glacially cold but stunning to look at.  The kids didn't seem to mind that their appendages turned to icicles almost immediately, and swam around like crazy people.  They even found a critter whom Kitty named Slicky.

It was wonderful to relax around the fire and enjoy my sissy and her family.  We had zero cell phone reception and it was divine.  

The kids spent a good chunk of time in the hammock.  We had a few spills but it didn't deter them.  Kitty whacked her cheek on a giant log at dinnertime after tumbling from the hammock.  Good thing kids are made of rubber.

We tried our hand at making Elephant Soap.  Too bad someone brought all the ingredients but failed to write down the ratios.  What?  I thought I would remember the recipe.  As it turned out...I didn't.

We talked and laughed.  The kids disagreed and made up.  We swam and ate Oreos.  We poked at the fire.  We made precious memories.

It was perfect.

Madre's Day

My favorite thing about being a Mom is eating steak.

Wait.  Maybe that's my favorite thing about being a carnivore.  

Either way, Mykey made me a delicious steak on Mother's Day.  You can now add that to his repertoire of grilled cheese, eggs, and toast.

I know the answer now.  My favorite thing about being a Mom is nagging others.  

And receiving gifts from my Kitty.

She made me flowers from her thumbprints.  I loved it.

She also gave me a little Zinnia that grew into an enormous Zinnia by the end of the summer.  I loved that too. (Despite never taking a photo of it.)

Kitty wrote nice things about me for Mother's Day.  I loved that most of all.

Being a mom really is the best.  I get to see this face everyday.  And that's my favorite thing.

There just isn't anything better.  Happy Mother's Day to me!

45?!

Michael had a birthday.  He's now 45.  I now shake my head in disbelief.

Remember when we met and he was 25? What happened to all those years?!!

I figured we should make it a good birthday since by next year he may be incontinent, so we headed to the coast for a day trip.  The weather was cloudy but mild, and it resulted in a beautiful day without a lot of people hanging around.  It was perfect.

We first filled our bellies with delicious hamburgers.  Old men need energy for activities.

Then we went Geo-caching.  It was our first attempt and we were mighty successful.  We found a beaded necklace, a bird, and a toy of some villain from a movie we've never seen.  We also left behind a few 3D printed treasures for someone else.  Kitty especially enjoyed the hunt.

Next we visited the glass blowing shop, spent some time on the beach, and hit up our favorite candy store, Read's.  Everyone needs 12 pounds of salt water taffy on their 45th birthday.

At home we enjoyed cheesecake and presents.  I gave the ol'boy a massage gun.  Funny thing about that massage gun...I've used it more than he has.  What?  I gotta bad leg.  But I'm still younger than my husband!!

Kitty gave him a Superman minifig.  He is now fastened securely to Mykey's computer monitor.

I just love birthdays!  Even if it does mean my husband is an old geezer - I guess I'll love him anyway.

Happy Birthday, Mykey!

Easter!

I love Easter.  I love the promise of Spring, I love the celebration of Christ, and I really love the candy.

Really.

Especially those Cadbury Mini Eggs.  They are my downfall.

I also really love it when Easter is the same weekend as General Conference.  Despite Covid still disrupting our lives, we had a wonderful Easter weekend.  

It began with preparations for our annual Easter egg hunt.  Kitty dutifully filled the eggs and snitched candy as she went along.

This year's participants were Kitty and Michael, and the special Golden Egg contained a Lego mini-fig.  Who would find it?!  (Kitty)

On Easter Sunday, Kitty received a basket from the good ol' Easter Bunny himself.  New PJ's, bubble, bath, and a giant chocolate rabbit.  

Then we enjoyed our Monkey bread and listened to the Prophet during General Conference.  My blood sugar was so high by then I was seeing stars.

So we switched over to the protein side and dyed some eggs.  Mykey even pulled out his nerdy egg bot to aid in the decorating.  Kitty was smitten.

It was a divine Easter!  And to top it all off, my parents bought Kitty a beautiful Easter dress.

Happy Easter indeed!

Spring Break Numero Dos

I'm so good at cajoling that I sweet-talked my other sissy into coming for another Spring Break.  Luckily it didn't take much convincing since she comes nearly every year.  Our second Spring Break was much more laid back.  In fact, we really didn't do much of anything but putter around.  It was perfect.

I was happy to see Kitty and her cousin finally getting along.  They've had a rocky history together.  It made my heart melt.

We did manage to make it up to our other sissy's house for dinner and Harry Potter Uno.  I lost.

And we caught the cherry blossoms at the capital building.

My favorite activity came on April Fool's Day.  I had the brilliant idea to give Kitty a box of Junior Mints filled with rocks.  She was at school while my nephew and I dug through the rocks in my yard to find the perfect specimens.  He giggled and giggled at the thought of watching her open the box.  I giggled at his giggling.  It's always satisfying to make a teenage boy chuckle.  And the prank did not disappoint!  

Kitty was a good sport.

It was a wonderful bonus Spring Break.  

Too bad I couldn't talk anyone into coming for a third.  

It's a Goner

Kitty lost another tooth!  It was loose for weeks and she dutifully pushed and pulled on it in anticipation of the big fall out.  The Tooth Fairy appreciated the build up because it gave her plenty of time to plan ahead and have treats waiting in the closet.  This was a departure from the usual run-to-Walgreens-at-midnight routine.

Kitty spit the tooth out on Good Friday...it was an exciting start to our Easter weekend.

The Tooth Fairy was quite generous.  I guess she really enjoyed her extra shopping time.  

She brought a bubble machine!  Wowza! Kitty channeled her inner E.T. on this reach.

Hooray for losing teeth!

Spring Break Numero Uno

I cajoled my sissy into coming to my house for another Spring Break this year.  I'm awfully glad she is cajole-able because I love being with her.  And she brings along her kids for Kitty to play with and boss around.  It's a win-win for me.

Last time my sissy came I was able to convince Mother Nature to behave and bring us nothing but sunshine.  This year Mother Nature rolled her eyes at me.  She's so moody.

Regardless, we had a great time.  I love having extra people and extra noise at my house.  It brightens my soul.

So what did we do for fun?  Well...

We met our other sissy at the beach and sat around eating hoagies and Oreos.  It was cold but we had a fire so we didn't die from exposure.

We went to the Lego store and poked around for specific pieces that my sissy needed for her Lego club.

We went hiking and skipped rocks.  

We had an adventure at the park and climbed a giant tree.

We attended virtual church.

We jumped at the trampoline park.

And we hung around the house, played Fibbage, went to the Capitol, and were kicked off Willamette University's campus for not wearing masks.  It was good times for all. 

I love Spring Break!