snap shots of a summer adventure

a glorious week on clayter lake.

sailing, canoeing, swimming, snorkelling, rowing, water skiing.

a summer to remember.

i think C is the last one in the last canoe.

sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

sunshine in my eyes can make me cry,

sunshine on the water looks so lovely...

(sorry, i just couldn't resist breaking into a john denver song)

the dock

umm. i guess they weren't really "roughin' it", now were they?



the rocket, pulled by a speed boat

a beautiful sail boat.

C tells the story of their first day out in the sail boat when a storm popped up. the wind was keeping them from making any progress toward the dock and at one point the boat was almost capsized! i'm not sure, but i think he actually enjoyed it. or maybe he just enjoyed telling the story and how he had lived through it! ;o)

C learned to row and really fell in love with this sport at camp. living right on the mississippi river, he may have the opportunity to pursue this new interest. i'm looking into it.

his incredible week of water sports ended with a bang. the night before heading home, C caught his hand between two boards tearing his finger, requiring an ambulance ride to the ER and 11 stitches. now i know why i was praying so hard this week! and despite the injury, i know that God protected him. C's tendon was exposed from the cut. had his tendon actually been cut, he would have needed surgery instead of just stitches! so we are thankful for the silver lining.

C in the ER

"yes, mom. i'm really okay!"

everyday gift: C on an exciting adventure... and safely home!

good times with grandy

B with grandy on father's day

i adore this sweet picture

a few weeks ago S spent the week at boy scout camp. the camp is close enough that we were able to visit him on family night and enjoy dinner and a special bonfire. at the bonfire, the scouts who had been selected for order of the arrow were called out, and C was one of those scouts! it is an honor to be selected because they are voted in by their fellow scouts who believe they demonstrate best the scout oath.

it was so nice that my dad was able to be there. he was once a boy scout himself, earning the rank of life scout. i know he takes a lot of pleasure in seeing his grandsons enjoy scouting.

dad with C and S at scout camp

everyday gift: time with grandy

klondike saturday

i awoke this predawn morning to the alarm clock. not my alarm. :o) i was careful not to move or open my eyes lest mark would think i wanted to help with breakfast. i just sprawled to other side of the bed absorbing mark's warmth and listened as he got the boys up to go on their boy scout winter adventure. the sound of toast popping and cheerios musically filling bowls somehow made my bed feel all the more cozy. i smiled at the muffled voices discussing the weather and temperatures, gear, and some klondike joke which was lost on me. they hurriedly put on their 2 pair of socks, boots, coats, hats, and gloves and slammed the door as they left. (either they leave it open completely or slam it, can't they just shut the door?)

ahhh. a quiet house. i can sleep 'til 10 if i want! but, no. my mind is already moving on into the day. i know i will find the kitchen table decorated with crumbs, peanut butter knives, open jam jars, and soggy cereal bowls. but i smile anyway. i will relish the morning alone...until B wakes up. i'll read my Bible (it is the last day of january and i am still, remarkably, on track for my read-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule! amazing.) i'll peruse my cook books and actually make a meal plan this week. i'll work on my plan to warp my loom this year, supplies were delivered this week! oh the possibilities...

everyday gift: a saturday all to myself and my sidekick, B :o)

stitching patches

monday night was the court of honor. S and C brought in quite a few merit badges and S moved up in rank. that means that the rest of the week i am stitching patches!

C earned 11 merit badges over the summer including first aid, small boat sailing, archery, horsemanship, bird studies, fly fishing and pioneering.

S was awarded 6 merit badges: swimming, fingerprinting, basketry, environmental science, motor boating, and forestry.

moving up in rank from scout to tenderfoot

C's pan-fried bluegill

C started working on his fishing merit badge in colorado. he had a great time learning to fly fish, but the problem is, he didn't catch anything. so last week we went to a local park with a beautiful pond (sorry no pictures, i forgot the camera!) and he pulled in some bluegill. to earn his badge he had to catch, clean, cook and eat his fish, so although they were small, C brought them home. under the watchful eye of his dad, C cleaned the fish with only 1 minor cut to his finger (no stitches were necessary). he cooked up the fish devising the following recipe on his own. i was allowed to sample the fish and it was really delicious.




C's pan-fried blue gill

fish, cleaned
butter
onions, sliced
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese, freshly grated

first, melt the butter in a frying pan. put the fish and the onions in the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper. stir and turn the fish until done. grate parmesan cheese over the top of the fish. eat.

everyday gift: boys that cook

ben delatour scout ranch

i have posted all about my week with B while the guys were gone: baking cookies, tea parties, and our trip to the little house in the big woods of wisconsin. now, i am finally getting around to posting the boys' adventure. these are pictures they took and obviously, i wasn't there, so i can not give you much commentary. but i think most of the pictures speak for themselves...they had a fantastic time! (but i am so glad they are home!)

mark with C and S in colorado

the old homestead site

i wonder why they call them the "rocky" mountains?

they t00k an over night trail ride, sleeping in tepees up on the mountain.

saddled up and ready to go

the wrangler who told stories around the campfire was very entertaining, they say!

some of the boys working on merit badge homework

C shooting archery

everyday gift: an adventure in the mountains

before-n-after

human foosball

have you ever played foosball?

no, i mean have you ever played foosball???
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the golden arrow

while at camp, C earned 4 merit badges: small boat sailing, pioneering, leather working, and archery. he was especially excited to receive the golden arrow at the end of the week. this is the award for the highest scores in archery for the entire camp.

shotgun shooting

knife case made for his leather working badge

everyday gift: a bullseye

boys and tents

highlights from a week at boy scout camp: swimming, boating, mosquito bites, sleeping in a shelter made from lashing branches together, archery, silly skits around the campfire, $1 icecream cones at the tradin' post (how many did the boys consume? don't ask, don't tell!), earning merit badges, rain on your tent at night, wet socks, surviving a near miss lightening strike!, indian lore, human foosball, mud, friendship and fun...

lowering the flag at the end of the day

S enjoying his first boy scout camp

C at his campsite

everyday gift: boys safely home

a milestone

last thursday night S crossed the bridge. it was a simple ceremony. boys who have spent the past 5 years camping with dads, learning how to handle a pocket knife safely, singing Christmas carols at the nursing home, selling popcorn, racing pinewood derby cars, pledging to the American flag, collecting canned goods for the local food pantry, earning badges, shooting archery at day camp, tussling and rough-housing and, in general, goofing around...solemnly crossed over the bridge greeted on the other side by the older boy scouts. a milestone in my son's life. in boy scouts more will be expected; more challenging activities and skills will be learned; more independence; more responsibility required. he eagerly accepts this next step without hesitation, while i look on with a mother's pride. part of me wants to scoop him up in my arms and travel back to a time when he clung to my legs, timidly peeking at the world. but instead i watch him embrace his ever widening world.

it is hard to believe, but my boys are growing up.

S with his framed cub scout awards, and his proud parents!

receiving the red epaulets from his brother, signifying his new status as boy scout

burning his name in the bridge

(you must have cookies!)

everyday gift: boys on the way to becoming young men!