The drive home

As I mentioned in the last post, most of the kids were sick for the drive home.  Some to greater extents than others.  While it did make the drive a bit harder I was thankful that we were just dealing with colds (runny noses, coughs etc) and NOT issues related to the digestive systems. ;)  Our van did smell good though, due to all of the essential oils the kids were doused in. (If you are interested in learning more about using essential oils feel free to contact me or check out this link).

Due to our late start from camp we arrived at our hotel for the night very late.  Everyone had gone to sleep on the way.

Miss E has been wanting to go into the Dinosaur exhibit in Cabazon for quite some time and has waited patiently for the time to be right.  Rob decided we should make it happen this time.  Mr. M was not feeling at all well though, so I took him to sit and rest in the AC of Burger King while everyone else explored.  It looks like they had a great time!

 

I think I had been running on adrenalin for most of the trip.  As soon as we got home I crashed.  I spent the first day napping most of the day, or at least with my poor swollen feet up.  By the next day my feet were back to normal and I was starting to bounce back a bit.  A slow week will do us all good and we should be back in the swing of things soon enough.

Home sweet home!

Ah, it felt so good to get home!  We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed some very sweet fellowship with dear loved ones, but I was more than ready to be home.  By the last week of the trip when asked how I was doing I had started answering "I'm on a 2 week road trip in the third trimester....I'm doing well considering"  usually I had a smile on my face while saying that.

Kids were still sick when we got home and everyone was tired.  Mr. K had an icky tummy the first morning.

Between emptying suitcases, doing laundry, and general clean up the kids managed to get some time in on the go carts.  I'm glad I put more thought into the recovery end of the trip before we left it felt good to come home to a clean house, food ready for us and a grocery list.

 

During a monsoon storm the kids (with daddy) had some fun with the sailboat they made at camp and a firecracker left over from their visit with Uncle D.

Time to say goodbye to camp. :(

This is the third year that we've said that we thought it was our last at camp.  This year we think we really did mean it.  We'll be moving to Colorado and my hubby will be stuck to a school schedule with his teaching job. :(  It was hard saying good-bye even though we know we will be making the effort to see these friends in the future one way or another, but it will not be soon enough!

Miss E spent quite a bit of her time at camp with some of these friends.  We were pleased to see the choices she made throughout our time at camp.  Every morning she helped me get the little ones ready for the day (usually without being asked).  I noticed her choosing to sit with her little sisters and their little friends (who love Miss E and had been looking forward to seeing her at camp) at meals instead of with her other friends just two tables away (and plenty of space for her).  She took time to take her sisters shopping at the little store and do some activities with them as well.  She is growing into quite the young woman and we were so blessed to see this fruit in her!  (I also need to note that for the 3rd or 4th camp in a row Mr. R spent his (nearly) entire recreation time at camp serving up at the zip line.  They actually put him on the schedule this time since he has been so reliable and is always so excited to serve in this way!  What a blessing it is to see him serving and giving of his time!)

Remember those go carts that the camp was needing to get rid of?

 

Yea, Rob thought it would be fun to take them home.  We got a screaming good deal on them from the camp (including the trailer).  So they followed us home!  Now we'll have a bit of camp with us at home (camp at our house next year!?!?)

As we pulled out of camp kids started asking for tissues, complaining of stuffed up noses and sore throats etc.  Yep, the kids were sick.  The timing was perfect.  We almost always catch some sort of bug on a trip.  This time we got to have all of our fun and then deal with the ickies.  It did make the drive home a bit rough for some though.

Homeschool family camp day 2

Mr. K was up bright an early for his second full day at camp.  This camp stuff is fun!

After breakfast we had a quick announcement session and learned a bit about hand-to-hand combat.  Miss E, Mr. R and Rob all got to help demonstrate, but I forgot to take pictures.  Instead I got this cute one of our sweet friend Miss R.

 

Our learning sessions for the morning included one on nautical communication (flags and morse code), and then weapons at sea (which I missed because I was keeping myself and the little ones out of the ash from the forest fire burning 20 miles away).

 

The kids love camp food (this camp actually has some GREAT food).  Getting to pick drinks at every meal is fun too!

Once again the fun morning did Mr. K in.

After lunch the ladies had a Titanic themed tea.  Each woman was given a boarding pass with the name of a female passenger on the Titanic.  I received the ticket for Mrs. Harder, who survived along with her husband (as far as we know, no direct relation).

I looked out the dining hall window to see Mr. M and a friend practicing walking on the barrels.  They were getting quite good!

The go-carts are always a big hit with our family.  The kids were sad to hear that this would be the last year the camp would have them.  For insurance reasons the camp would no longer be able to run them, so they would need to be sold.

 

That evening we got to enjoy a Winton concert, this year they were joined by the Pelster Sisters (we enjoyed getting to know this family at camp, they are great!).  Miss J was so excited, and Mr. Winton was so sweet to play Amazing Grace just for her.

Miss C may not have been quite as excited about the concert, or maybe she'd just had a really exciting day?

Homeschool Family camp day 1

As I mentioned in my arrival day post; camp is more like a family reunion now.  Our kids have built some special relationships with some very dear families, and we want to encourage these relationships.  Since they only see them once a year we give our older kids a fair bit of freedom at this camp.  Miss E asked if she could serve with another family working at camp so that she could be with a friends.  Service is something else we want to encourage, so she spent the entire morning working with that dear family.

The rest of us enjoyed the nautical themed learning stations (the theme for this year was "Shipwrecks" as in teaching how to avoid, personal, spiritual, and family shipwrecks).  Our first station was a bit of a team building activity.  The first object was to roll a large barrel down the field, around another barrel and back again; each person in the family needed to do it once (exception made for pregnant mamas).

 

I loved that they had alternative activities for the 3 and under kids.  After watching Miss C roll her "barrel" a few feet, around a bucket, and back Mr. K set to work and did a great job!

Practice setting the table while on a rocky sea (see the ball under the board?).

Rob got most of the family balanced, trying to get their sea legs.

 

We also learned about navigating, the history of navigation and about navigating by the stars.  Rob and some of the kids got to make up a map and send another family on a treasure hunt (while they went on a hunt using someone else's map).

After a busy morning Mr. K was ready for a nap.  He didn't even make it through lunch!

He first grabbed my hair and then laid his head on my hand and jus settled in like this.

 

I took a nap during recreation time.  Rob took the little ones to play until I joined them again.

It wasn't just the big kids looking forward to seeing their friends at camp.  The younger kids also have plenty of friends that they love to see at camp!

 

The big kids (down through Miss J) enjoyed the English Country Dance that evening.  Miss C was quite upset to hear she would have to miss it, so she was allowed to go watch for a bit before joining me and Mr. K for an "early" bedtime in the cabin.

Jenness Park Homeschool Family camp arrival day

Our first time or two at camp we were going for family time and good teaching.  Now we go for the relationships we have build with some very dear families.  Camp is like a family reunion that also includes a wonderful speaker that will impart wisdom to help us lead and guide our family.


Most of the women at this camp were pregnant.  Rob got this quick shot of me with some dear friends, all expecting!  We are standing in order of due date from just two weeks left to go, to due in January.  Yay for new babies!

This camp had a very different dynamic than past camps in that it was a very young camp.  Out of 80 people registered 60 were 10 or under!  Yes, our kids had a great time!  Don't worry about out older kids, they had plenty of friends there too, some of their friends actually live and work at the camp (so they were not registered).  

 

Ah, late nights at camp!

Playing with the G family

We were blessed to get to worship at CVP while in CA and see some sweet couples become members of the church.

Then we headed over to stay with the "G family" for a couple of days of play.  We visited a local cheese factory where we fed animals, sampled cheese, and got to see a bit of the cheese making process.

 

The men were inspired to try making cheese themselves.  Mazarealla is easy to make isn't it?  Lets give that a try!  Ingredients were rounded up and we spent the afternoon visiting as the guys made it up!

 

The kids enjoyed the combination of making paper airplanes and the fan that was supposed to be cooling us off. ;)

Hey Dad!  Mr. G has a great canoe.  Wouldn't it be fun to go for a ride?

Thanks "G family" for the great visit, you are such a blessing!  Now off to camp we go....

A play day in Monterey!

It has been fun to be able to take the kids back to a place where they've lived, and enjoy some of their favorite things (even if most of our friends have moved on).  Our first stop for our play day was the park.

Fisherman's wharf is fun, but a tourist trap.  As we were playing the part of tourists that day we thought we'd make the stop. ;)  It is always fun to taste test all of the chowders as we walk along.

This place got us with the big windows, great children's menu, and FREE dessert!

 

 

The dry ice in little cups next to the dessert was a HUGE hit! Everyone was experimenting and having fun with it.  Yes, we are a homeschooling family! LOL!

A stop at the candy store was promised if the kids were well behaved AND all of the food we ordered was gone.  They were remarkably well behaved and also scarfed up all of the food, so we stopped.  Salt water taffy for everyone!  YUM!

 

I had taken Miss E to get a pedicure (with me) at the end of my pregnancy with Mr. K.  We spotted this sweet butterfly chair that looked perfect for Miss J, but she was still too little.  We decided to get our toes done while in town so she could sit in the chair.

These two sat quietly eating snacks and watching signing time.  Miss C did not want her toes done, but had fun watching.