Spring Thunderstorm

I had to mention the thunderstorm we had around 2 am Monday morning. The line of thenderstorms spawned 4 tornadoes. While we were lucky enough not to have an actual tornado real close to us, we did have 80+ mile per hour winds. Not a lot of structure damage occurred in our neighborhood, but lots of branches and trees were down, the internet tower was damaged (so our connection is sketchy until it gets repaired), we were without power for awhile, and a couple of trampolines went flying.

Our neighbor's trampoline ended up over the fence between our yard and hanging on our back fence.

And our trampoline was (I believe) lifted up very high in the air and carried over to our house, dropped in our back yard, and then lifted again over our back fence into the yard behind ours.

Sadly, the top part was bent and twisted to the point we can't set it back up. So for awhile at least, the kids are without a trampoline. I miss it too. But at least there was no structural damage to our house, fences, or cars. And next time I will go out and tie it up, even if it is 1 in the morning.

Weekend Camping

The weather has been so great lately; nice but not too hot yet. One of our friends who is also in the home-school co-op had a great idea to go camping. So last week we packed up the car, made the reservation at the nearest state park, and we all went camping. It was lots of fun and I hope we do it again sometime.

We went up Friday after we dropped the kids off at school. We set up the tent and then headed down to the lake for some swimming to cool off in the heat of the afternoon.

"K" is a great girl and she took it upon herself to be Joey's buddy at the lake, even when we tried to assure her she didn't have to. She pushed him in this little boat for a long time and tried to teach him how to swim.

Here is Joey practicing his stroke.

Even in the water he has his thumb in his mouth.

David just had fun goofing off with his friends. I felt bad though. He has never really burned before, but I guess with him always having had a life-jacket before, his back wasn't used to the exposure or reflection from the lake, so he got a pretty bad sunburn. Bad Mommy. I think I learned my lesson though and next time he gets sunscreen.

I left the fun so I could go pick up the other 3 from school and check on Bandit at the house. When we got back to the campground there was just enough time to change before we joined the others to have dinner.

Aaron helping David to set up the fire as Carissa watched.

Aaron and "R" started the fire as most the kids watched intently

The boys watching the fire burn

Catching Carissa in a picture

I got a new camera just in time for the trip and was having fun with it.

Aaron cooking our fajita meat. I wasn't

sure what the fire restrictions were so I planned

something we could cook on the stove.

Jacob enjoying his s'more with a

giant marshmallow....They are at

Wal-Mart and fun for the kids.

By the time we had really started dinner, the other co-op families that came, joined us. There were (I think) 14 kids between the 4 families between the ages of 5 and 13 (I think that's the oldest) and they all got along SO well! I love homeschooling and these families I have met. I don't think in many other situations it is possible for that many kids to play together with no problems.

Night-time game of Uno

We hated to break up the game, they were

having so much fun...

Thanks for a great weekend! We will have to do it again sometime.

This last picture doesn't really have to do with the camping trip, but I had to throw it in. As we were leaving the house after checking on Bandit, Isaiah came to me with a mouth full of blood. He thought he hurt it, but his teeth were just really loose. I thought he would loose them on the trip, but he waited until we got home and then pulled one of them and asked me to get the other two.....three teeth in one day has left my growing-up little boy with a very gappy smile. I'm sure his speech therapist is loving it.

Cub Scout Fun

I think I've mentioned before that Aaron is now the Cub Master. This keeps us very involved with Cub Scouts. (I'll admit, sometimes more than I'd like...) Two of our biggest events for the year have happened recently. The first was the Pinewood Derby, the second was the Blue and Gold Banquet.

Setting up the Pinewood Derby was a little challenging, but we got it done. That night we got there early and Joey kept racing an extra car down the track so I picked him up and asked one of the mom's if she would be willing to hold him. About 5-10 minutes later he was asleep. I put him on one of the back rows of chairs and wouldn't you know it.....even with the noise he slept through the whole thing! I'm just glad he's still too young to realize he missed it.

All the boys had fun, I think. David was happy he got 4th place and not by too many points. I think next year he'll work even harder on his car.

The yummy cake

The lineup. We had 14 boys build and race cars. David's car is #7.

Opening flag ceremony

Group photo

The Blue and Gold Banquet was Wednesday. We chose the theme "Medieval Times" and everyone worked so hard to pull it off. We had knights, swords, shields, candles, jousting, log pulling, and a dragon we slayed to earn back the treasure. Aaron made each of the boys a T-shirt. It was a lot of fun to plan, set up, and be there. But, I'm glad it's over for another year.

The side view of the dragon pinata. L did a great job!

The front view. Look at those glowing eyes

and flames coming out of his mouth!

The jousting dummy

Our Webelos leader did a great job on the knights!

He did the castle too

Aaron knighting the Bears and giving them their awards.

There's David's head. He's bowing it so low you can't see his face.

We have 2 more months of scouts, twilight camp, and then we are done until August. It's been fun and with 4 boys, I am sure we will have even more fun with Cub Scouts!

New "Job"

Well, the thought got planted in my head last year sometime that I was having fun stamping, scrapping, and paper-crafting. So when a good deal came up on the started kit last November, I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. It is a good hobby for me and will hopefully earn me a little income to allow me to have even more fun with it.

I'm not asking any of my readers to spend any money or buy anything from me, but I would really appreciate it it you would support me by going to my Facebook page (Scrap and Stamp Inspiration), "like" it, and tell your friends about it and recommend they "like" it too.

And if you would like to take a look at our current products, you can go to my own demonstrator website ( acvanslyke.stampinup.net ) where you can view our current promotions, shop our online store, or sign up to host a workshop with me.

This is a lot of fun for me and I hope you can have fun with it too!

Field Trip

On Friday we went to the Dallas Arboretum for a co-op field trip. I had never been there, even though it's been on my to-do list, so that was one thing that made it appealing. The second thing was we got to spend the day with our friends. This family is such a neat family. I feel inspired and renewed every time we visit. I'm glad they were able to come as well. Next time I may pull the other three out of school so that they can enjoy the trip too.

The tulips have been in bloom at the arboretum this month.

Some of our group hanging out at the little houses they have there.

Joey in one of the castles....can you

guess the theme?

David being the solemn king.

Joey peeking around the corner

in one of the castles.

And to finish it off, I have a video of Joey rolling down the big hill they have there. So fun! I can't wait to go back!