Gwyn lost a front tooth!

I received this message from her teacher. Look how happy she is!

Gwyn was eating a rice krispie treat for snack. When she took a bite, her tooth stayed in the rice krispie treat! And she got a little treasure box that the nurse gives you when you lose a tooth at school. She went to a friend's house after school to show it off, and left it there. They left to go out of town for the weekend, so she can't even show off her tooth! But she is still very excited. And you can sometimes tell she lost a tooth when you listen to her talk.

Talking Like a Kid

I am going to miss when Gwyn outgrows the little-kid things she says. She has already outgrown calling her brother Cow-lin. She still says usually with an L on the front - lusually. (That is one of my favorites.)

I remember how deep Colin's little voice was, and how seriously he would say normal things, and then cross his arms like he was so cool.

Colin (just now): Do any of them have beards?
Me: Yes.
Colin: Good, then that proves they are wise.

Remember when Kevin used to say "yestertime" when he talked about things that had already happened?

One time Colin yelled, in Target, "Mom! Who is that black guy? Who is the black guy that I like?" It was Batman.

I will post if I remember more. I just like them being little.

Colin's Star

The students at Becky-David get to sign their name on a star in the gym if they surpass all the fitness tests. It includes the mile run, sit and reach, and other tests.

Colin got his name on the star at the end of third grade! I was so excited for him, and he is so proud! Of course, he didn't tell us until the start of 4th grade, but I will take what I can get.

I went looking for the star after a PTO meeting, and didn't see it. Apparently, it is right next to the door and I overlooked it. (Reading teacher in the house!) He showed me at Parent Teacher Conferences.

Both boys are super proud of the mile times. Kevin is 6:29, and Colin is a few seconds slower. Both want to set the record in the school for their grades. There is one student faster than Kevin, and I think the same for Colin. Kevin is considering running track in the spring just to train for it.

Happy July 4th!

We had our typical 4th of July, and so far it is fantastic.

Today we did some things around the house (next post), and then headed to Frontier Park in St. Charles to watch the big fireworks.

The weather was AMAZING. There is little humidity, and it was almost cool. The kids rode carnival rides, and we ate funnel cake. Colin talked to me about Minecraft, Kevin read his book (He is reading the I Am Number Four series), and Gwyn just wandered around talking and whining. We even brought corn hole, so Kevin and I played that for about 45 minutes.

Tomorrow we are continuing the tradition of setting off fireworks and inviting neighbors. It started when the boys were pretty little and they went door-to-door inviting the houses around us. We did that for two years, and then figured the neighbors were tired of our kids. But the third year, a few neighbors asked us why they weren't invited. So it continues. I will spend some time making red, white and blue food with the kids, and Kevin will clean the house. This year I am not making strawberries. (They are so good.) But I am trying red, white and blue jello cups, chocolate covered pretzels, and rice krispie treats. No big deal, but a fun tradition for me and the kids.

I hope you have a great holiday!

Kevin is back from camp.

Yes, I started crying three times on the way to picking him up. I didn't talk about him much when he was gone because I prefer to be in denial about how much I miss my kids when they are gone. There is less crying for my husband to deal with. But the drive down was very exciting for me. I was nervous about his mood when I picked him up. I drove down with his friend's mom, so I had someone to talk to on the way, and the boys got to ride home together.

He was so freaking happy when I picked him up! He was telling me about how he went horse back riding (his favorite of the trip), zip lining twice, and rock wall climbing. (He made it to the top.) At the closing event, he and Alex and the others sang their chants from camp, and I wish I got it on video. He was so happy in it. (And he voice was horse when I picked him up.) By the time I asked to get his picture, he was exhausted and didn't want a picture taken. (I don't know how he didn't fall asleep on the way home.)

Here is what he has to say about Camp Lakewood -

Cabins: It was nice, we had 16 beds, including the counselors. There was plenty of space, the bathrooms were fine. We got to play hide-and-go-seek in our free time and there were plenty of places to hide. We played games in our free time. (His cabin group was the smallest as there were only 6 kids in his group. There were plenty of open beds, and one of the boys was special needs and slept separately. Kevin and Alex mentioned his name first when we asked about making friends. I am so glad that all the kids felt like part of a group.)

Food: The food was nice. I liked it all. They had good food.

Cabin mates: They were fun. Ramorie was a lot of fun. Jo Jo loved his music and he was so much fun. I want to see him again next year. Edison was fun when he wasn't angry. And you know Alex. (His friend.)

Counselors: Sassquatch was fun and did fun stuff. Mumble was fun and did fun stuff as well. Racoon helped mainly with Jo Jo.

(Me:You keep saying fun. K3:Because it was so fun! That is the best word to use!)

Clinics: They were good. The only one I will change is soccer, otherwise they were all really good. I liked basketball, floor hockey and flag football. I want to change soccer to something else so I can try something new.

Other activities: I mainly played Gaga since I liked it. We did an indoor Gaga with the other side of my cabin. I played Medic Ball once and we played counselors v campers. Campers won. My horse was named Charlie Brown and he was nicely trained. The zip lining was okay but it was sort.

Do you want to go back: YES!

We have been trying to get the boys to attend camp since they were 8. I am so happy that this was a wonderful experience for Kevin, and both boys will attend next year! We have to wait two more years for Gwyn to join since you must be 8 years old to attend.

Alex during the water fight. (Kevin said he stayed completely dry.)

All the Raptors. Kevin is in bright green in the center.

Kevin's cabin. (26L) Ramorie, Kevin, Edison, Alex and someone else. Jo Jo is not in the picture.

More Camp Lakewood

Colin thinks this egg throw has something to do with Humpty Dumpty. (The egg on the wall has legs!)

Camp Lakewood

I still have to write about our trip to Trout Lodge from last weekend, but for now I want to post pictures of Kevin at Camp Lakewood. (We dropped him off at his camp on Sunday, and finished our trip with just two kids. Colin and Gwyn have a week with just each other!)

The camp posts pictures from each day, and I tried to cut out other kids of the pictures I am posting. (I only feel fine posting since the pictures are available online anyway.)

It looks like Kevin is having fun!

The first night is utensils-optional spaghetti dinner.

Crazy-clothes parade.

One of his best friends is in his cabin with him!

Playing hockey.

Football.

Penny Jane Wall

My sister had her baby today, on Memorial Day! Penny Jane Wall was born shortly after 10 am this morning. Her nicknames are already PJ and Pia. (Pia because big sis Ruby can not say Penny, and says Pia.)I went up to the hospital to see Cathy and Dave around 8:30 this morning, along with my mom. Dave's mom arrived not long after.

Every thing went well, and Cathy and Penny are doing great. When we left the hospital around 3 (my family arrived around 2:15) we took Ruby with us. She hasn't been to our house in about 2 weeks, which is a long time for us. I plan on taking her to the zoo tomorrow with Gwyn, even if it is supposed to rain. We will just bring towels.

She looks so much like her big sister, Ruby!