Okay, obviously I am blogging but I’m not really blogging. At least not “Tim and Kathy Style” with a plethora of pictures accompanied by wordy paragraphs that may or may not have anything to do with the photos.

Rachel and I went away for our Passport 2 Purity weekend. It was wonderful! We had a fantastic time and loved every minute. Tim found us a great deal on a beautiful hotel and we ate out, went shopping (several times) and enjoyed a movie. Just a lovely mother/daughter weekend.

Not to mention all the discussions on dating, sex and purity.

Yikes!

More on that later (maybe).

Meanwhile, and here’s where some gorgeous photos would be included, Tim took the boys off on their annual father/son/men’s camping trip. They had such a great time last year that this time they expanded the group to include a family whose father is currently deployed. Tim, and five young men (ranging in age from 7 to 14), tents, food and sleeping bags in hand spent the weekend at Mount Rainier.

Let’s see feather beds at the Hyatt or sleeping bags in a tent? Hmmm. Which would you choose?

Pictures coming, I promise.

Kathy

I think I’m losing my touch. A week away at camp and I only took 500 or so pictures. Gasp! I’m so embarrassed. And among those photos there are only so many that are truly blog worthy. So not only are there only a handful of stellar pictures, but there are some serious gaps. For example, I spent time with several of my dear friends. Did I take a single picture of them? No. Did I hand my camera to one of the many budding photographers milling about and make sure they take a shot of me with these friends? No. Pathetic.

I went walking three nights with a friend. Is there a picture of the trail we took? Nope.
Our next door neighbor brought over a delicious dinner one night. Photo proof? Nada.
Sleepovers for Rachel and Daniel. Nothing.
A late night CIT (Counselors in Training) camp out. Don’t even think about it.

Goodness. This doesn’t look good. Well, what all did we do this week? Let’s see if I can’t round up a few pictures to document our time away.

All of the children managed to spend quite a bit of time with their friends. Sarah is especially spoiled to have some special girlfriends out at the Duckabush. Since camp is within walking distance of our place we managed to sneak friends home with us several days during the week.

There were many exotic animals at camp this year. Frankly, you just never know what creatures are going to show up to surprise the kids. On Thursday we had a long, and very informative, visit with a rather large spotted owl.

Of course, it wouldn’t be camp week if we didn’t play games. We brought an entire laundry basket full of games with us. Talk about over-packing, we didn’t play a half of them. It is good to be prepared, though, as you never know when someone might stop by for a game.

Speaking of wild animals, Buford the Bear made an appearance at camp this week. It’s always good to see him, but some people are intimidated by his size and good looks.

The camp week ended with a CIT sleepover. Although I didn’t get any pictures during the actual overnight, I did manage to snag a few shots on their return. Basic requirements for the night include: sleeping bag, pillow, goofy spirit and low need for sleep. Check, check and double check.

There’s always time for sleep later, right.

There you have it, a very small representation of our wonderful week away. I’m trying not to panic as the summer screams along at a dizzying pace. Repeat after me, “Summer is NOT over! It is NOT time for school (yet).”

Kathy

It’s always hard to pack up and leave for a vacation, there are so many details to remember and things to do, but it’s almost equally as difficult returning home.

Joshua, Stuart, Tim, Bethany and cousin, Timothy, set off the first morning of camp.

• The children are grumpy as they come down off their camp/friends/sleepovers adrenaline rush.
• The parents are tired and worn out from all the busy activities of the vacation.
• There are suitcases to pack, but they’re usually filled with dirty clothes, well worn and dirtied.
• All the cleaning and tidying up means saying goodbye. There is none of the excitement of heading off on a fun adventure.

This was Sarah’s first year as a camper. Such excitement!

All of that said, there’s something deliciously sweet about coming home, the familiar comforts (like high speed internet and a comfy computer chair) awaiting you. The answering machine has friendly messages (like requests for Sunday nursery duty) on it. The mailbox is full of credit card ads and grocery fliers.

Gilligan’s Island was one of the themes this year. Don’t they make a believable bunch castaways.

And, depending on the work you did before you left, your bedroom is either a complete mess or a welcoming haven.

Thankfully we have a big family, full of capable workers. Joshua brought three friends from our homeschool co-op with him to camp this year. They served as CIT’s with him (Counselors In Training). With our five, plus the extra three around, we had 8 children available to clean, tidy and vacuum. Many hands make light work indeed.

Several of the counselors play instruments. They had their own band this year and played several times for us.

Now feeding them all (three of whom are boys) is another story. That takes work!

We had a fabulous time and, after cleaning up the house, managed to get on home. Tim kept the boys and did the final work. It was an exhausting, satisfying, and thoroughly delightful week.

Kathy

I’m roughing it this week out in the woods which means I’m sitting on my inlaws deck stealing their internet access on an old lap top. My cell phone doesn’t work. I don’t have internet at the house (not even dial-up).

There are a few advantages. A humming bird is keeping me company while I type. Bees are flying in and out of the gorgeous foxglove just off the deck. Children are here and there playing with friends.

It’s quiet and peaceful for the moment (until dinner begins).

I have some adorable pictures of David and Sarah as they posed for me on their first day of camp. You’ll have to use your imagination. I even managed to get up early enough to snap some shots of Joshua and his group of CITs (counselors in training) before they walked off to camp.

The week is flying by (as it always does). There was a magician at camp this afternoon. He was hilarious and David was one of his assistants. That moment I even managed to capture on video.

I hope your imagination is REALLY active because there is no way I’m going to upload that in the short time I have before the mosquitoes drive me inside.

More later your absent blogger,
Kathy

It was sunny and beautiful on my birthday which means I was able to be gracious today when the sun hid behind clouds all day like a naughty puppy, refusing to come out and play.

Sarah LOVED her purple birthday cake. Together we managed to blow out all the candles.

Rachel babysat in the morning while the younger children were at VBS and Joshua was off on some lawn maintenance jobs. I managed to sneak in a workout at the Y - glory be my elliptical muscles are rusty. How embarrassing for someone who has logged in many hours on those cardio machines. Use it or lose it, they say.

Sigh. I’m losing it faster than I can pop the popcorn and relax in my recliner.

Sarah helped me open my gorgeous new rice cooker from Mamie and Grandad. Thanks, Mom/Dad!!

Daniel spent the afternoon and evening being actively tomato staked. He did some great service projects around the house, blessing the family as he went.

David, Sarah, Rachel and I went to the VBS evening finale and ice cream social. Lots of singing and performing. Nothing like a big VBS program to round out the summer.

What a delightful bunch of VBS kiddos.

Tomorrow we have some friends coming over to treat us to a (late) birthday breakfast, and then we have all sorts of things to do to prepare for next week’s camp. And so the summer zips along.

Kathy
Project Day - 199