Vacation 2014

I debated on which of my blogs I would post this and I decided here this time. Let's get going on our family vacation 2014!!!

Because of all the hail damage and expenses we all decided to go on a smaller vacation this year but in place of fanciness the kids were allowed each to bring a friend.  A very relaxing fun vacation was had by all as you will see by the photos that follow.

First off, as we are driving I just had to have a picture of this water tower. It is the absolute coolest water tower I have ever seen - an 8 ball!~! The water towers around here are all boring compared to this one.

I also "had" to include this photo as it is a joke. On every family vacation we have gone on with Superman he ends up intentionally or not taking us down some spooky out of the way gravel/dirt/other type of road. This year was no exception! :-)

Next we are onto swimming.  I don't know what is going on with this child but she decided eating rocks was fun.

Superman tried and tried but this was the closest photo we could get of all 4 kids looking at us...we got 3. They had a beautiful day to swim while I lounged on the beach in the shade.

No matter what I tried on this photo the blog turned it sideways. Even when I uploaded it was horizontal until I brought it into the blog so we will have to live with the photo the wrong direction. Even with that you can see the kids were all getting along great and having fun with the bunk beds.  NO they did not sleep like this!!!

Next we are going fishing!  We even got the girls to fish and Ann caught her very first fish ever. You can see them holding it here. Right after this shot was taken the fish decided to "beeee freee". He leaped out of their grasp and went flying through the air landing on my second toe spearing it as it landed. Blood gooshed from my toe. Ann's friend ran to get paper towels. I am healing and that was the worst injury on the trip.

Here is Vern with one of his MASSIVE  catches.  Hey ~ at least they were catching fish.

Here is a much nicer sized fish for a photo.

I am including this next photo because I think it is a great photo of Vern's friend!!! He and Vern had a great time doing boy stuff. Yes, we let them do a bit of playing on games in the evening...

I also included this next shot as it is my favorite of those silly boys of mine. They were chilaxin in the hammock. I could barely pry Superman out of the thing!!!

                                     

Next is Vern on one of the zip-lines. The proprietors were very safety oriented and no one was going to fall out of their lines!

Next is a shot of the two younger guys relaxing in that same hammock.  It was the favorite thing to do after zip lining.

And here we have rock eater posing for some crazy reason. No wonder her and Ann get along so well both are drama princesses!

Another zip line shot of the kids having fun.

Here is a nice shot of Ann on the zip line. She of course thought it was not nearly exciting enough. My dare-devil and fearless child.  She is so beautiful in this photo. (Yes I am biased just go with it k?)

I will end with this scenic shot of the lake the kids swam in. It was so peaceful and not crowded. I loved the afternoon we spent here.

Now back to work and reality...vacation is over.

Pond Study

Our school has developed a great relationship with a federal reserve nearby.  The kids get out into the environment to study science and nature. It is great for both the kids and a positive and productive use of the reserve.

Vern got to spend an entire day at this reserve. They got to make breakfast on an open fire. They got to hike, fish, canoe. Do ALOT of things many city kids never get to experience.  I tried to get some info out of him but he was so tired he didn't want to talk much. Vern's face was red from sunburn and you could tell he was exhausted. So the most I could get out of him were grunts and yes/nos.

He did tell me the pond study was boring and he didn't catch any fish!  His dad went and I asked if he had a good time since his dad was there. He said yes.

I believe it was a good experience for Vern. Not in that he got to spend time in nature as he is a boy scout and does that fun stuff all the time. Rather, that he had to learn some organization skills to prepare for this event. (He got his ICMM's taken away if he didn't bring items by a certain time.) He had a list of items to bring and it helped him learn to get things put together without "mom" doing it. He was in a group of all boys so I think that it was helpful for all of them. You should have heard him a couple nights. MOMMMMM they will take away my ICMMS and I will have to stay in from recess if I don't get this done. It made me smile.  :-) ICMM's are play money they earn to spend on various things during the school year. Kids hate to lose them and always want to gather more.

Thanks for the great learning experience!