Day Six

What a day six we have had!! Last week we had to take our new kitten(I'll post about that later) to the vet for her shots. Well it turns out she was sick and needed antibiotics for a week before they could give them to her. While we were there last week the vet, Dr. Jones (love him!) opened the door to our exam room and in hopped this kangaroo!!! I 'm not kidding!! I absolutely froze in my spot but the kids were freaking out with excitement. The kangaroo is there because she has a very bad tail injury. Why am I telling you all of this? Because we had to return today for the kitten's shots and the vet said to bring my camera this time and we could take pictures of Kanga. He also gave the kids an assignment which was researching the difference between marsupials and mammals and to find out which marsupial is native to the United States. So my kids told the Conder kids about it this week and they researched. Well...the girls researched. The boys could care less. And I went to the vet with all 5 kids and a kitten in tow. We were a sight! People kept asking if all the kids were mine. Yes...thats right I have a 10, 9,8, and 2- 6 yr olds!! Anyway, they brought Kanga out and it was awesome!! After the photo op with our marsupial friend we went in the exam room and the kids presented their research to Dr. Jones. He was so great and taught them so much today! Oh...and the kitten got her shots! Later in the afternoon we went to see Evan Almighty! Such a good movie! They loved it. Since then we've just been eating dinner, playing dress up/fashion show, and watching a little tv. Now I'm off to get them to bed...its just me tonight with them. Brian is on call. Pray for me!! Enjoy the pictures of Kanga!!

Hampton and Rees with Kanga. I love how Rees has his arms crossed. I wonder if he felt like I did last week???
Natalie being awfully brave petting Kanga's mouth. The nurse mentioned after this that she is still kind of wild and might bite if you touch her face. Great! Natalie still has all 5 fingers on that hand!!

I don't really know why I am posting this picture except that I love Ridgedon's facial expression. Kind of like..."ya...whatever...I don't really care about marsupials."

Ridge and Rees sharing a bowl of popcorn while watching tv.

The girls spent a couple of hours working on Natalie for a fashion show. They primped for ever!! This is what they came up with! Very unique, ladies!!

Day Five

Oh...my....word. I am getting very tired! So much fun but very tired! Today was a much better day than yesterday in the fun department. We started the day with a breakfast of eggs, biscuits, and bacon. Yummy!! And then after tooting around a while we headed out to the skating rink! They had lots of fun but it took a while for Rees to enjoy it. He had to get the feel of the skates but then he was off! We ate lunch there which was very kid friendly. Not a healthy choice in sight! Then we came home and baked our cookies that we would use later in the cookie contest. Once again Natalie had gymnastics practice from 4-7 so we ate dinner and watched a movie while she was gone. After we picked her up we made another trip to Braum's for some ice cream fun!! They were anxious to get home and decorate the cookies! And decorate they did! They were divided into teams and they each could submit one cookie for judging. Brian and I got to judge them which meant we got to taste them. I was a tad concerned about eating them after I watched them play with the dough this afternoon but my thinking is the oven cooks out all the germs, right? Right???? Just say right!! Now they are finishing the movie we started earlier and then off to bed. They are loving Camp Woods but I can tell they are beginning to fade on me! 2 more days! Can you believe it?

Rees practicing his skating before heading out to the big rink!

Its hard to get good skating pictures that don't turn out blurry. Here is one of the few I could see. The kids showing off all of the places they hurt themselves while skating today. Poor babies!
Hampton and Emily making their cookies

The gang pointing to their cookies they submitted for judging! It was a hard decision!!

Day Four

Wow! Sunday doesn't make for a very "fun" day four but we survived!! Brian was on call last night so he wasn't home which meant he wasn't home for all of us getting ready for church. Actually it wasn't too bad. I bribed them with going to Starbucks for hot chocolate if they got ready in a timely manner and they did! We went to "Fourbucks" on the way to church and had a good time! We actually had to drink them there because Hampton informed me that she isn't allowed to drink hot chocolate unless they are sitting in a chair and not the car. Okay. After that we headed to church and then out to lunch with my sister, Sara and family, and my parents at Humperdinks. Later this evening we went over to my parents to let the kids swim and we grilled hot dogs. A good friend from a long time ago, Wynn Heyen, is in town and came over to join in on the fun! Brave girl! We finally got the kids down about 9:45 and I think they are sleeping now! Hopefully tomorrow will be more fun for them! Not too many pictures to share but here is what I have!

The gang at Starbucks this morning before heading for church

Scary diving picture...Ridge looks like he might land on top of all of them.
Look closely at Ridgedon's mouth...he is about to say "She isn't blah, blah, blah" The tattling had begun!
This one really has nothing to do with Camp Woods. I would just like to show you what I live with. Lets count how many times I've been smacked in the face by a flying foot because *someone* can't help herself from doing cartwheels and handstands. Nevermind...too many to count! Love you, Natie Bug! I wouldn't want it any other way!

Day Three

Oh...my....word. I am so tired. No really, we are still having lots of fun at Camp Woods. Today was a great day and the kids are worn out! That was the goal! Brian is on call today and he doesn't get to come home tonight so I intentionally picked something for today that would wear them out. Success! We spent the entire day(well 5 hours anyway) at Denton Water Works. Its a very small water park in Denton that is great to take the kids to when there is only one parent and 5 kids. Much more controlled environment. They swam, had a lunch break, swam, had a skittles break, swam, had a cookie break, swam...you get the picture. The boys stuck together and the girls stuck together and checked in every 15 minutes or so. After we left, some friends came by for awhile so I put them in front of the tv(sorry D and K!) and visited for a little bit. Then I fed them homemade pizza and watched High School Musical. Anyone else excited to see High School Musical 2? I can't wait! We are throwing a HSM2 party at the house for the kids...sorry off topic. Thats what 5 hours in the sun will do to you. Now the girls are practicing their song and the boys are playing...you guessed it....PS3 Star Wars!! Enjoy the water park pictures!

The girls after their first dip in the lazy river

I love how boys can use anything to beat each other up with. Ridge and Rees bashing each other with the tubes!

The age old pringles trick! Unless they really are....nah!!!

At the end of a very fun day!!!
This one I had to post because I was so sneaky! I was making the girls hold a pose in front of the landing strip of a water slide. I saw this person sliding and acted like I was focusing the camera! Fun times!!

Day Two

Wow! It's Day Two and the kids still like each other!! Seriously, only minimal whining going on but I think that is because they are so tired. Hampton and Rees are kids that normally go to bed at 7pm. I'm not kidding. So last night when I put them to bed at 9:30 I thought I was being the coolest camp director in the world! An hour and a half later....still awake. "Oh, they'll just sleep later" she naively thought. No, at 6:30 am they were up and ready to go. So by mid afternoon they were a tad grumpy but we kept them busy and now they are nice and "ripe", like Kimberly says. We made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then headed outdoors for some arts and crafts projects. We made posters for our friends who were returning from Africa this afternoon. And then we made camp t-shirts. Fun times! Only one cry session when Natalie informed me that I had not said that I liked her poster and I told the others I liked theirs. Can you hear me sigh? Then we played some PS3 games, ate lunch, and waited for the time to leave for the airport to greet our friends. After the airport fun we came home and made tacos!!! Yummy!! The kids have also been coming up with some fun songs to sing when their parents return for show off day. So the girls worked on their song which is So Long. And the boys worked on theirs which is Life Is A Highway. One minor problem today was when we discovered that Hampton is allergic to our cats. We started her on some medicine and she is doing better. Nice being married to a doctor!! Enjoy the pictures...


Nat and Rees working on their posters


The rest of the gang working on theirs

Brian helping the girls with their song. They LOVE singing on the microphones! Also nice being married to a music guy!!

Rees and Ridge jamming out!

This is what the kids like to do most....Play Station 3...Lego Star Wars game.

Day One

Camp Woods started with a bang this morning at 10 am. Doug and Kimberly dropped the kids off and they haven't really slowed down yet. We went swimming this afternoon and then had movie time in front of the tv while Natalie went to gymnastics practice. After a yummy spaghetti dinner we went to get Natie Bug and then made a trip to Braum's!! So far so good I'd say. Much more fun to be had! The girls are now in the bedroom working on a song they will perform on Wed. night when D and K return. Should be fun! Anyway, enjoy the pics of today!

Ridge and Rees getting ready to play some water basketball! They play so well together!


Emily, Hampton and Natalie taking a little break from swimming. Cutie pies!

The crazy gang at Braum's. Maybe already a little hyper from the sugar rush?

Ridge and Rees shared a double candy bar sundae! With what candy? Of course...Reeses in honor of little Rees.

The girls in the car eating and jamming to some Rascal Flatts!

Camp Woods

Tomorrow marks the first day of Camp Woods!! We are truly excited and have been anticipating this day for a long time. Several weeks ago my friend, Kimberly, called me and presented this idea. They would keep our kids for a week and we would keep theirs for a week. They went first with Camp Conder in June and boy was it a hit!! I haven't stopped hearing about it and it ended like 4 weeks ago! Doug and Kimberly have 2 children, Hampton and Rees. Rees is Ridgedon's age...6. And Hampton is right in between Emily and Natalie. They all truly love each other. So tomorrow Doug and Kimberly come to drop off the kids while they go on a much needed vacation! Cancun!!! I'm a tad jealous but so glad we get to love on the kids this week. Especially since they told us a couple of weeks ago that they will be moving sometime in 2008. Yikes! So stay tuned for pictures of Camp Woods! And pray for the Camp Directors!!!

Mom My Ride

I saw this video at church a couple of weeks ago! Too funny! My ride is totally "mom"ed!!!

Ode to Starbuck

I'm not even really sure what an "ode" is but I thought it would be fitting to do a little tribute to our beloved cat, Starbuck. Starbuck has been gone for nearly a month now. I'm a terrible cat mommy but the guy liked to be outside! He couldn't help himself. He would come in to eat and say hi every morning but for the most part he like to wander around at night. There were many mornings (very early mornings I might say) that we would get phone calls from people around the neighborhood telling us they had our cat. Someone actually called once and said "he is so pretty. Can I keep him?". Ummm, no. Brian finally bought the cat a tag that said "I like to play outside and then I go home". Very clever! Anyway, Starbuck had this attitude, as most cats do. Unfortunately, his attitude is probably what got him....ahem....we'll just say lost. He loved to lay in the street! He would lay there even if a car was driving down the road. It didn't bother him. He just thought they would go around him. And they did! Many times I would see cars slow to a near crawl and swerve very carefully around him. All the while I'm standing there feeling about an inch big because I have such a snot for a cat. But oh how we loved that snot! He really loved Brian! The one who originally hated cats. They loved each other. I would sometimes have to wait in line to get some lovin' from my husband until Starbuck was done with him. The kids adored him and I was quite fond of him too. He got his name from his creamy color and my frequent trips to Starbucks. Well, Starbuck, we loved you! We hope you are happy where ever you are!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! Summer days keep us busy. More posts later...maybe we'll even get a new cat!

Yes...I'm still here! I have not left blog land. I've been so busy lately and every time I think about updating the blog I get overwhelmed. So I promise I'll update soon. Just wanted to let you all know I am still here!!