Trout Lodge 2016 (Part 1)

This past weekend we all returned to Trout Lodge. This is the 3rd time we have been there. (Here are here are the posts about our first time visiting.) We drove up Friday afternoon and returned Tuesday morning. It was one of the best trips of my life! The kids had fun, and they all tried new things. Here is my best retelling with MANY pictures.

The camp fire was our first night. The councilors encourage you to get up and sing and dance to all the songs. Colin was not very interested that night, but he sang the songs the rest of the time there!

He was very pleased with the s'mores that ended the camp fire.

Sleeping arrangements the first night. My mom (Downtown Grandma) slept in the loft where we took the picture. Neither Kevin nor I got a good night's sleep since we rolled into each other.

We tried to do something new each day, as well as swimming. Archery was Saturday morning. Everyone tried it. Colin did not like it, and didn't want his picture taken. Here is the leftie Kevin. He was debating whether or not he was left-handed or right-handed. He should write left-handed, and does every thing else left-handed.

We talked Gwyneth into this by telling her she was going to do the same thing as Merida.

After archery we spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon on the lake. Kevin spent so much time in the kayaks and funyaks. (Kayaks went out onto the lake. This is the smaller funyak.) He wanted to go out on the lake on innertubes (he didn't like), canoes (he liked), and kayaks (he loved) over and over again. Colin tried this smaller one, which was only on the smaller, blocked-off area next to where we swim. It probably got to about 15 feet deep, and started at the beach. He went out once, yelled and screamed, and never tried again.

Saturday night was the luau. There were different activities and slushies.

Gwyn played catch with a water balloon. They got out the first round.

The evening ended with some epic games of tetherball, which of course turned into American Ninja Warriors for Colin.

Sleeping arrangements night #2. Again, not good nights of sleep. Apparently, Colin elbows people in his sleep, and Gwyn flipped somehow and ended up with her feet in my armpit. She kicked me hard enough to wake me up 3 times.

Sunday morning was zip lining and wall climbing. Kevin was excited to try both things. This is his face when he sees what zip lining looks like.

The hardest part was that we had to climb this pole to get up to the zip lining. Kevin just looked up and kept going. (This part scared me the most.) But once at the top he freaked out and said he wasn't doing it. The amazing councilor calmed Kevin down and told him that he either had to climb down or zip down, and climbing was way more terrifying. So he zipped!

He did it. Although he didn't smile for a few hours.

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Daddy checking the harnesses.

Next up - wall climbing. He was much more relaxed for this one.

Kevin struggled with the little hand grips. I did as well.

Before

During climbing. Colin got a bit higher than this and wanted to stop.

Gwyn before.

And during. She said she would only climb if I climbed next to her. She really didn't get much higher than this, but she tried it!

And then daddy made it to the top in about 20 seconds.

Back to the lake! The water slide was open for a bit and Gwyn loved it. Neither boy liked it. Kevin wouldn't even try since the water was not clear.

Gwyn went down the slide every time it was open until we left.

Then she went out in a canoe. A lot of the time was spent splashing each other with lake water using the oars.

When it got super hot we headed to the arts and crafts center to paint ceramics.

After dinner we played games. Catan was played. I won.

Night #3 sleeping arrangement.

I will finish more later!

Last Day of Preschool Interview (Gwyn)

GWYN
Friends: Evelyn, Anagha, Cannon, Mrs. Chris, Blake, Oliver
Thoughts on your teacher, Mrs. Clayton: she is kind, she lets me play with her and she's good
Best part of the school year:when it was cold since I just like it when it is cold
Favorite lunch: peanut butter and jelly, white cheddar popcorn and blueberry raisins
Favorite part of school: recess and to just play
Field trips: I went to go look at a farm close to my school. And Discovery with Dad with pappy.
Summer goals: go to the beach, go to Chicago with grandma and Cathy and Ruby and you, and also go to Trout Lodge
How did you feel about your school year? Awful since I don't like school
How was this year different from last year? Not better than last year. I liked last year at the other school. I just remember about lunch. I didn't have to pack lunch. I got lunch from there. And the same with drinks.
Name two books you read this year: books that I am learning to read and books that I can read. "They are called learning books, mama."
What was one of your favorite things to do with grandma and Pappy: my last tumbling class which was my performance
What were your favorite clothes to wear: my swimsuits, my short sleeves, the headband that I am wearing today (blue with a flower and a jewel)
Bad memory from this year: when I got hurt at the park we went to with Braedon but when I went with Pappy when he picked up Colin from Vacation Station
One of your favorite days at school: when pappy visited me, we had popcorn for snack in the morning and when I got stuck in a bubble

Last Days Of School Interviews (Kevin and Colin)

First day of school

Last day of school

COLIN
Friends: Owen (best), Jack R., Jack B., Jackson B., Jackson, Carson (I am not kidding with those names!)
Thoughts on your teacher, Mrs. Goudy: Nice, kind, caring, she helped me with reading,
Best part of the school year: playing kickball with friends at recess
Favorite lunch: Papa John's every Thursday
Favorite part of school: math because I just like math
Field trips: Butterfly House, we saw butterflies, and I was about to melt
Summer goals: have friends over, go on vacation to the beach and Trout Lodge, and looking forward to spending birthday money at Target and the Lego store
How did you feel about your school year? It was good because I saw and played with my friends.
How was this year different from last year? Different teacher and people in my class. And different schedule. And only one recess.
Name two books you read this year: Captain Underpants and Harry Potter (book 6, with me at home)
Extra jobs in the classroom that you liked: mail patrol and line leader
What were your favorite clothes to wear: my Hulk shirt with my Spiderman shorts. (In the picture.)
What was your homework this year and did you do it? I did it every night but sometimes I turned it in and sometimes I didn't. One of them was (a packet with) a bunch of random stuff, the other was reading, spelling words and math facts every night. I liked math facts the most.
Favorite class this year: Mrs. Goudy's class because I liked all my friends.
Bad memory from this year: getting blamed for something I didn't do by Olivia and Jaylen. The whole class was wondering who did it. A long time ago and no one admitted who put the juice box on Jaylen's desk. So Mrs. Goudy checked the security cameras and she never told us what she saw and then months later in art they were saying I did it but I didn't do it. Lying is a lot of dojo points, and that is why it is a big deal. They thought it was me because I was sitting right next to him. I never had juice boxes at school. (That part is true.)
One of your favorite days at school: Monday because I go to Spectra and I get to skip a lot of stuff I don't want to do.
Favorite Spectra thing: getting candy
Least Favorite teacher: Mr. Smith because I don't like music

KEVIN
Friends: Alex, Brandon, Mason, Dylan, Michaela, Gavin
Thoughts on your teacher, Mrs. Gresco: really nice because she always helps us out when we need help
Best part of the school year: last day of Spectra because we got to play around and we got to have a popsicle
Favorite lunch: half day lunches because they always have chips and stuff we don't always get
Favorite part of school: PE because I really like running around and playing the games. Favorite game? Everybody's It.
Field trips: a play I can't explain.
Summer goals: to learn to always write in cursive (to get ready for next year), and play in Read Theory because it helps me get better in reading
How did you feel about your school year? Great because I had a great year with all the sweets and the fun times with my friends in math and PE and art. I just love math, it is fun. In PE there was Everybody's It, capture the flag, battleship and that's it. In art I just love the projects, it was fun. The African masks were my favorite.
How was this year different from last year? I got harder math and I have longer time in specials with is better because I have more fun time. And this is the best year I have had so that makes it different.
Name two books you read this year:Harry Potter 6 and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats Of NIMH. (We read that at home last year, but he read it again in class.)
Extra jobs in the classroom that you liked: messenger, secretary and teacher helper
What were your favorite clothes to wear: long socks
What was your homework this year and did you do it? It was two page packet with math and reading and yes I did do it most of the time. (He would sometimes forget the packet at home, or forget to have me sign. But not often.)
Favorite class this year: I don't know because I had my friends in all of them.
Bad memory from this year: bad lunch since I never ate my turkey sandwiches.
One of your favorite days at school: Field Day because I had ice cream and I played fun games with my class. We played clear the yard and a relay race.
Favorite Spectra thing: Watching my Rube Goldberg machine work
Least Favorite teacher: I don't know because I liked all my teachers even though I don't like music.

Mother's Day Treat

For Mother's Day this year, I took the family to see Captain America: Civil War. I loved it. I wanted to see the movie, but I know the boys also really wanted to see it. So that was my treat to myself. It was a good thing we had bought our seats early since the theater was packed. And since we had the loveseat seats, we all got to sit together.

Afterward I made a new kind of chicken (I have been looking up recipes online to a good amount of success.) that people liked. We had a small BBQ in the backyard. I invited Cathy, Ruby and Dave, as well as my mom. There was swinging, ladder golf, and eating. So it was great. I got a nap in the afternoon and then dinner with my mom and the boys. (Kevin and Gwyn took out his mom for dinner.)

But really the best treat was that my boys actually took pictures with me. Colin rarely lets me take his picture, and so with minimal prodding, they took a few pictures with me on my phone. And of course, a few faceswaps ensued.

Colin and Ryan

My friend from high school married Kevin's friend from high school. (Leah and Steve.) Leah and Steve live about 4 miles from us, and have two kids. Ryan is the same age as Colin, and Ashley is the same age as Gwyn. So let's just sum that up to being awesome.

There were some pictures of Gwyn and Ashley from Gwyn's birthday post. But I actually have pictures of Colin and Ryan! Ryan invited Colin to go to the Science Center to meet with a paleontologist and do dinosaur stuff. Colin came home with a stormtrooper Build-a-Bear and some pictures. The pictures are awesome so I wanted to post them.

Bonus child - you can see just a pit of Ashley in the first picture!

Spring Time At The McGuires!

I am loving this spring. The weather is nice, the kids are enjoying playing in the backyard (and outside in general), and we have time to relax, even though both boys were in soccer. Here are just a few pictures of things I want to remember.

Colin was in the same league as his friend Ryan. This is after the game they played against each other.

Gwyn and Emma playing on the sidelines.

Gwyn, like Colin, puts her arm out the window. I love seeing that in the mirror. (They both also try to stick their heads out as far as possible, too,)

Apparently, the kids took the camera up to the court where they ride bikes. This was one picture...

This was another picture...

And this was the last picture. ????

Another benefit of the kitchen is that it works well for feet-washing.

Ladder golf! And swinging. And grilling.

He is getting SO BIG!

We still happened to have this table in the backyard, so the kids decided to clean it off and eat outside last weekend. And Colin was drinking his "wine." It is really Pom, a juice he sees when he watches American Ninja Warrior. And he (usually) spends his own money to buy it. 

Colin's Presentation

Colin had to pick a country to study, and then do two projects. One was a slideshow with a classmate, comparing the two chosen countries, and the other presentation was about his country. Colin chose Canada. At first I was perplexed that he didn't choose something farther away (especially Australia since his aunt, uncle, and cousin live there). But he seemed to really enjoy what he learned.

Here is the poster he made for his individual presentation. I love all the details about Canada on there! And he really seemed to know what he was talking about. When I would ask something he would explain it to us.

He also had to bring in two items from the country. It could be food, art, an example of the language, music, and instrument, etc. He chose maple syrup, which he was excited about because then everyone got to eat some of it. He also chose a hockey stick. That one was more about convenience for the parents, since we had one in the basement. But it worked out great.

Super Girl Is Real!

And she lives at my house.  (If you can't notice, she is wearing a dress with a big red Superman S on the front. She loves it!!!!)