Today

Today I sent the kids out for the bus. The stop is at our driveway, convenient. The neighbors went down the street instead today (don't know why), so it was just my kids. I spied on them through the window. They seemed to be enjoying each others company for a few minutes.



And then...
they got on the bus.

yesterday

As I was walking out of the office yesterday I noticed Justin lying on the floor in front of the door in the sun just like the cat. So I snuck over to the camera and started snapping some pics.

See? Just like the cat...
and then, I got busted.

And those of you with keen eyes will notice the wallpaper in the dining room has been torn down- next room on the hit list.

The big Camp Jewell Post

About mid January I received and email from Camp Jewell announcing their first ever February Vacation Family Camp. I was so excited, I knew it would be so fun and just what we needed for the vacation. And so I began my campaign to recruit some other families to join us. The nice thing about the pricing structure at Jewell is that the more people you bring the cheaper it is (and the more fun too)- so the more the merrier. After a little prodding and a smidge of pressure I was able to convince Michelle to come along with her kids and she was able to rope in 3 other families as well. We made our reservations for 5 moms and 14 kids (5 girls and 9 boys)! I was excited to introduce new people to Jewell and camping as I know it, but a little nervous too. What if they didn't "get" it, what if the camp accomodations put them off, what if it was miserable- ack!

We were concerned about the weather- our winter has been less than impressive this year. The week before vacation week school was cancelled for a HUGE impending storm- we got nothing. At the beginning of vacation week Justin came down with a fever. Family Camp was to begin on Tuesday evening. Justin was still not quite himself so he spent the night at Grandmommy's house and Jessica and I headed up to Jewell.

As luck would have it, it snowed all afternoon on Tuesday. At Jewell they got 6+ inches that stuck around the whole time we were there- we couldn't believe our luck. On Wednesday many of the boys got up early and snowshoed up Sunrise Mountain before breakfast (um, not Jess and I). After breakfast morning Jessica and I headed out cross country skiing. There were no trails due to the recent snowfall so it was slow going which was fine with us. It was just 2 staff and Jessica and I and we skiied around Sunrise Mountain- very fun. Jessica loves Cross Country skiing!

The big hit of the morning with most of the boys (and a mom or two) was broomball.
Justin arrived at lunch time raring to go. Jessica on the other hand was tired and cranky and voluntarily headed to the cabin to take a nap. Justin and I headed to Target sports where he tried his hand at BB guns.
Michelle showing off her skills!
Next we decided to head out onto the lake to see how the ice fishers were doing.

Ben was determined to catch a fish and I believe it took some serious negotiations to get him to leave his hole (no fish were caught by anyone).


A view from the lake looking at the Dining Hall, Chapel Island on your right and the Tubing Hill.
Parker and Justin both trying their hand at being goalie in broomball.
After that we picked up Jessica from her nap and headed to Arts and Crafts. She really wanted to make a candle. Here is Justin with his leathercraft.

The boys seemed to all want to paint snakes.
After Arts and Crafts we headed over to pony rides. Jessica sat on one of the hugest horses!


Tubing was, and still is one of the most fun things to do at Jewell in the Winter. It was a little slow going at first because we had to make our own paths. But once we got the runs going it was pretty fun. BUT just like when I used to go to Jewell you still have to walk those tubes up the hill yourself and that can be the most tiring part. I believe I took this picture just after Amy had whined that she couldn't walk anymore because she was so tired- then promptly went down and back up the Tube Run 5x- hee hee.
Here are a bunch of Tubing Videos...



Justin Tubing with Mike- he soon learned to go down with staff and they would pull his tube up the hill for him....



Justin and Parker going down on a Train with Chaz...



That night was a Campfire and my kids were the first two to sign up to perform. It was very fun and everyone got in on the show. Jessica decided to perform a favorite song of hers from Camp...



Then Justin got up to lead a song and before I started recording he asked for a volunteer from the audience.



Soon after Justin decided he was tired and all done and he and I headed back to the cabin. Truth be told we were all pretty tired and I crashed at 9:30pm.

It seems this is the only picture I took on Thursday- Justin and Amy working hard on their candles. Thursday morning each family group had staff at their disposal to do what they liked. Some headed to candles and others to target sports. Then half went X-country skiing, Jessica chose to go with them and Justin and I headed to Tubing.

After lunch it was Age Group Time. So we dropped the kids off with their different groups. They even had a group for Adults. Me? I was so tired I went back and took a nap. It is very tiring walking and playing in the snow- trust me!

Thursday night it was Dutch Auction Night. This is a very fun camp activity. We divided up into groups and then the staff announce tasks or other objectives each group must perform or accomplish. Unfortunately after the second item Justin announced he was all done and ready to go to bed- problem with being a sleep nazi all these years is that my kids can't just push their tiredness they know when they are tired and they call it quits. So he and I headed back- he was asleep for almost an hour before anyone else returned. Michelle says she was thrilled that Jessica was on her team because she has no problem getting up and performing. Here is a little video that Michelle took- it seems the task was to "sell" a kitchen item they were given.



Friday morning ALL the kids wanted to do the Flying Squirrel. Here is video of Jessica- I haven't gotten Justin's video up yet, but when I do I will add it here.



After that all anyone had any energy to do was Arts and Crafts- so we hung out there most of the morning.








After lunch we grabbed two staff and took a group picture. Unfortunately one of the families had to leave earlier the previous day.
It was so fun and exhausting. Everyone had a great time and I think I have converted a few more families. Next time I doubt I will have too much trouble convincing them to come along. Assuming they offer Family Camp again next February Vacation we are totally going!

Valentine's Day Cards

The kids decided to make their own valentine's day cards this year. Grandma Sara had brought some supplies with her when she visited and that got them started. They were very excited at the beginning of their project, but alas the final valentines were a bit of struggle to get to.

Justin put this in almost all of his cards somewhere.

On the top part of this card I believe Justin included a ticket for his friend to sleepover.

I was proud of them that they made them all this year and they did enjoy the process (mostly).