Crosstown Basketball

 I was so happy it was Friday today! I love Friday. We all seemed to go in different directions tonight though which I didn’t totally love but it was all good things! Kade headed out for a church campout. He said he was excited but I think he’s crazy to camp in the snow in negative temperatures! They did build a tent with a heater, but still! I hope he stays warm and enjoys the night!

Ryder went to his friend’s birthday party at the pizza buffet and arcade and then back to his friend’s house for a movie. He had so much fun fun!

Brad, Tenley, Luke, and I headed to the highschool to watch the crosstown basketball game. Our team played great and won the game! 

Awesome Youth Leaders

 More pictures from Kade’s camping trip! He said he had a great time. It’s good to have him back! I’m so grateful for the leaders who were willing to camp up there and spend time away from their families and with the boys and cook yummy meals for them and take care of them. Even in the rain they made it fun!

Bonfires

 Brad left early this morning to meet up with the young men for a hike. They had planned a 10 mile hike to a downed military plane but Brad found out that he has a patient with property close to the plane and they got permission to start the hike from there so it was only 4 miles. It was still really steep and hard AND it was windy and rainy as well! It was hard! 7 of the 17 boys had to turn back because it was too hard and too cold. Brad and Kade made it and they said the plane was pretty cool. They were all soaked to the bone though and Brad didn’t have a change of clothes so he came home real quick for a shower and warm clothes. And then he headed out the door again to be with the boys for the night. They were able to have clear skies at night with a bonfire so they’re all warm and happy now! What an adventure! I can’t wait to hear all of Kade’s stories tomorrow.

Strawberries

 Kade is off on another campout! He has a busy summer ahead of him. He didn’t leave until after dinner though at least so we hung out with him most of the day. He took Ryder on a bike ride because Ryder has been begging him to and played games with the kids as well. He can be a sweet big brother! The boys also discovered some ripe strawberries in our garden patch and they’ve been enjoying those. I love it when our strawberries and raspberries are ripe!

Boating Adventures

We took the boat out today and of course had some more crazy adventures! The winds were gusting at 45 mph so the cover was putting a lot of pressure on our broken window frame. We decided to take the cover off half way through the drive. When we had almost gotten to the lake we noticed a car behind us trying to get our attention. Apparently a big, heavy seat cushion had somehow flown out! Brad dropped Luke and I with the boat and went to look for it. While he was gone someone drove by with our seat cushion. They had picked it up and realized it must have been ours. I didn’t have any cell service to let Brad know but he eventually came back and was happy to see that the seat wasn’t all that damaged.

It was pretty windy on the lake also but Kade still skied and the kids had a blast swimming.

On the way home we dropped Kade off at a Young Mens campout. We arrived before the rest of the boys and had dinner. It made me want to go camping! Luke was loving playing with the sticks and the leaves. Why do we even have toys?

When we got home Luke used his sweet puppy dog eyes on me to get me to make chocolate chip cookies. He said that all he wanted was a cookie! Haha. He’s so funny and so cute I can never say no!

Camping

We’ve been out of service for the past few days because we actually took the kids camping! Kade has been begging to go, but I have been putting it off. Camping is a lot of work and I wasn’t too excited about sleeping in a tent with two year old Luke but we finally decided to just do it. The kids helped me pack up on Thursday and were so helpful. We left around 3:30 when Brad got home from work and headed to Holland Lake. We were hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded since school has started, but it definitely was crowded! We pulled in around 6:30 and the campground was full but the hosts gave us a spot right on the lake that they call their overflow camping. It was the best spot in the campground! We didn’t have our own fire pit so the hosts let us use theirs. It worked out well. We had warm and delicious tin foil dinners and then s’mores for dessert, of course! The three oldest each had four s’mores! 

The kids and Keena slept really well and it was a dream to wake up with the beautiful lake view out our front door. Brad made warm and delicious breakfast sandwiches and then he took Kade and Tenley on a hike to the waterfall. Ryder, Luke and I got in the kayak and kayaked to the base of the waterfall. It was a long trip, but my boys did a great job and I loved being out on the lake. We played for a few more hours on the beach enjoying the beautiful view. It was definitely worth it and I’m so glad we went!