Our little camper

 This morning we left at 8:30 to drive up to Camp Susque and get our favorite girl! The camp put on a 30 minute program for the parents, and then we signed her out and got her things from Shawnee Tent. She and one of her new friends were giving each other LOTS of hugs. Nadia didn't want to leave! Ian was giving Nadia just as many hugs as she was giving her new friend. He was SO happy to be reunited with his best friend! When I asked Nadia what she liked most about camp, her immediate response was "making new friends." That's my girl!

One night they did make s'mores over a campfire, and she loved them as I thought she would! I could go for one myself right now. She did not want me to cut the yellow wristband off her arm that signified she had passed the swimming test and could be in the deep end and go off the diving board. She kept saying she needed to keep it on for next year. Ha ha! She said she didn't actually swim that much because in her opinion the water was too cold. She talked about bottle rocket launches, chapel, going down a slip and slide, going on a hike to a tepee, doing crafts, playing games, and eating a variety of foods (hotdogs, pizza, ice cream, pancakes, cereal, etc.). One day her tent won the award for having the cleanest "cabin." She said she definitely wants to go to camp for a full week next year (girl's camp whereas this camp was co-ed). It was nice to look through the 300+ photos and a few videos on the DVD we got from the camp for $5. I have included some here. I realized through looking at those that her bathing suit (which I bought at Sears this spring) is rather baggy on her now. The next time she goes swimming this summer, she'll be wearing a new bathing suit, as it seems she wore the other one out on our vacations!

The first bed in this picture is Nadia's! She loved her Frozen sleeping bag.

Normally I wouldn't post a picture with an expression like this, but it shows her eating at camp.

Walking to the closing program this morning

At the closing program this morning

My turn

Usually when I am in a doctor's office, it is because I am taking a child to an appointment. This is because I am generally pretty healthy and also because I am very hesitant to go to the doctor when I am sick, as most of the time I assume it's a virus. I have been sick since last Wednesday. It started with a fever, sore throat, cough, and runny nose. My throat was the most painful symptom. The fever was the most short lived symptom. Last night (day #9) my right ear started throbbing, and this morning (day #10) my left eye was crusted together when I woke up. These two new symptoms prompted me to finally call for a doctor's appointment. I usually try to tough it out to avoid the $20 copay for the appointment plus $10 (or more) copay for the medicine. Thankfully someone was able to see me this morning, and I was given two prescriptions - drops for pink eye and an oral antibiotic for an ear infection. I'm praying my ear drum doesn't rupture. It's really been throbbing today. I'm praying that I don't spread my pink eye germs to anyone in the family (particularly Oliver since I have the most physical contact with him), and that I am feeling better soon. I'm glad Paul was able to reschedule his meeting at Bucknell so I could go to the doctor by myself.

When Nadia and Ian were driving to Florida, I thought Oliver might miss them. He didn't talk about them at all the first few days they were gone. It has been a very different story the past two days that Nadia has been gone. Ian really misses her. He has been playing with Oliver far more than usual, and it's provided him with even more time to work on finishing the Level one reading curriculum. The boy could not be more motivated. He has been spending HOURS every day working on reading, which I never intended to do, but it's hard to say "no" when he keeps asking to do more. It's nice to see that he can stay so determined toward achieving a goal. I need to take a video of him reading. I can't wait to see Nadia tomorrow morning and hear all about her camping experience. Through the camp's FB page I have been able to see some photos and learn some of what they've been up to. I saw pictures of swimming in the pool, a campfire, eating pizza and freeze dried ice cream, bottle rocket launches, etc. The picture above was of the girls going on a hike, and the picture at the top of the post is of the girls (and counselor) in Nadia's cabin.

Thankful Thursday

1. Wendy's husband successfully defended his dissertation at the University of Chicago on Friday! We have another Dr. in the family! My dad was first, then Wendy, then me, then Paul, and then Drayton. Drayton's father also has a Ph.D, and Joe's father has an MD.

2. Oliver has been MUCH better behaved the past six weeks. It is such a relief! He still has moments of hitting and throwing things, but the frequency has gone down considerably. Ian is the one most prone to set him off.

3. The kids really enjoyed watching Dolphin Tale. I am looking forward to taking them to see Dolphin Tale 2 at the movie theater later this summer. Paul and I already saw it on DVD, but we're having the kids wait until they see it at the theater. Similarly, Paul and I really enjoyed the movie McFarland, USA. It's a good movie about a true story of a high school cross country team. Sports movies tend to be a genre that both Paul and I can enjoy. He liked seeing the movie American Sniper recently, but military movies are usually a little more "intense" than I prefer for a movie. It's wonderful to be able to check all these dvd's out from the library for free!

4. Nadia has learned how to ride her bike without training wheels before she turned seven. This was a goal of mine! Yay!

5. The kids and I had a lot of fun picking strawberries at a berry farm for the first time ever on Thursday afternoon. The strawberries were SO sweet and juicy! Oliver and Nadia kept wanting to just pop them into their mouths instead of the quart container. I've been eating them on a salad. Yum! We plan to go back there next month for blueberries. They also have blackberries and raspberries.

6. The kids have been enjoying VBS. As an added bonus, the church let us register Oliver even though he's not quite three years old yet (but he will be on August 7). This has meant that Paul and I have had a couple of hours without the kids every night. Usually we have to pay a babysitter for that luxury! On Tuesday night we actually went out to dinner at TGIF during VBS. They had a slip and slide at VBS last night. Ian only did it once, but Oliver did it seven times! He loved it!

7. I took the kids to Toys R Us on Thursday while Sears was rotating the van's tires. We used
coupons and got Christmas gifts for nephews and a birthday gift for Oliver. When we entered the store they gave Nadia a mylar balloon and a crown to wear on her head due to her birthday coming up in the near future. Then they announced over the loudspeaker that Nadia was here celebrating her seventh birthday. She loved it! Every time we passed an employee in the store, he/she said "happy birthday" to Nadia.

8. Nadia has become completely independent with taking a shower and shampooing her hair. Yay!

9. Nadia and Ian had fun building Iron Man's Avenjet at Lowe's on Saturday morning with Paul. There are six Avengers projects this summer.

10. Oliver and I did a little shopping and enjoyed a pretzel at Auntie Anne's while Paul's car was being serviced at Sears on Saturday morning. Oliver loved the pretzel!

11. The kids enjoyed Watsontown's fireman parade on Saturday afternoon. We also made a brief appearance at their carnival that evening, We let each child pick one game to play.

12. My brother made it safely home from Brazil on Monday morning. He lived in Brazil for three years but has come back home as he would like to start a PhD program in 2016.

13. Although peas are still not Ian or Nadia's favorite vegetable by any means, I have to say they are getting much better at eating that vegetable. Oliver loves peas.

14. We had a great time at Summerfest on Sunday afternoon. The kids enjoyed the crafts, building a bird house, seeing various birds of prey, and going kayaking for the first time.

15. Nadia is at camp right now. Hopefully she's having a fabulous time! It's her first time going to an overnight camp. She loves her first (Frozen) sleeping bag that Grandma gave her as an early birthday present.

16.  I gave Ian an incentive that I would buy him a $20 Lego set he's been wanting if he completes the first grade reading curriculum this summer. Oh my  stars. He could not be more motivated. He keeps begging me to spend more and more and more time working with him on reading. He has made HUGE progress in the last week. He hasn't earned the legos yet, but it isn't going to take him long at this pace! Way to go, Ian!

17. Paul's mom got a good report from the doctor on Tuesday. She doesn't have to come back (except for the monthly IVIG infusion) for 4 months, and if her protein levels  should rise again in the future, she probably will be able to take pills instead of doing chemo and radiation again. Yay!

18. Paul took Nadia to her Annie rehearsal yesterday. It's only 15 minutes farther than Bucknell so he can get some work done in his office during her practice. She has two rehearsals a week. The plan is that the boys and I will take her once a week, and Daddy will take her the other time. I greatly appreciated being able to finish getting her packed up and being able to stay home yesterday morning with Ian and Oliver. We took her to her first two rehearsals and did grocery and other shopping during both
practices, but I wouldn't want to shop for four hours a week!

She's at camp!

As I type this, Nadia is at Camp Susque, which is a little less than 45 minutes north of us. Bedtime for her this week at camp is 9:00, which is 30 minutes later than she usually goes to bed, but it certainly won't be the first time she's been up that late by any means! Wake-up time is 7:30 at the camp, which is perfect for her because that's usually when she gets up although she has had to get up earlier than that lately due to tennis lessons and such. We arrived at 2:00, and it took about one hour to go through the registration process and put her stuff in her tent. I was assuming she'd be in a cabin. The beds are on a wood platform, but the "walls" and "roof" are a tent. When we left, the girls in her tent were putting on their bathing suits to swim in the pool. The pool has a diving board; she hasn't been on a diving board since last summer. She picked a bed right beside the counselor's bed. This picture at left is of her with her counselor. A girl Nadia has known for years (Melanie) is in the same tent. A homeschooling mom I know is the counselor of the tent next to theirs.

The theme of the week is Space Week. It said there will be a moon carnival and at one meal they'll be eating moon pizza and astronaut ice cream. There is a snack shop, but they don't have to spend money to get food from it each day. It's included in what we paid for the week. The only extra expense was $5.30 for a dvd we'll get on Saturday containing pictures from the camp. I gladly purchased that! I dropped off two letters. It was so strange to hand write two letters in manuscript (she can't read cursive yet). One will be delivered to her at lunch tomorrow, and the other at lunch on Friday. Also, my mom sent her an email. They will print that out and give it to her at lunch. We wanted her to know we are thinking about her while she's gone. She already told me that next year she wants to do a full week of girl's camp (kids going into 3rd grade can choose either the 3 night adventure camp like she's doing now or a full week of camp). I hope they make s'mores at the campfire. I was telling her about s'mores, and she definitely wants to try one! I can't wait to hear ALL about her adventures when we see her on Saturday morning! She's supposed to have campfires, hayrides, nature classes, Bible study, chapel, crafts, go swimming, etc. If she goes to girl's camp next year, she'll get to choose from the following activities:  archery, arts & crafts, astronomy, canoeing, dagorhir (foam sword-fighting), dancing, drama, drawing, kayaking, nature, photography, pottery, riflery, rocketry, and wilderness survival skills.

Three birthday celebrations

We've never planned a big birthday party for any of our kids yet. The most extravagant thing we've done thus far was buying tickets for shows at Sight and Sound (Jonah, Noah, and Moses) the past three years for Nadia's birthday. She wanted to see Joseph there next week, but we decided to wait until later in the year when it will be *much* cheaper due to buying discounted tickets for homeschoolers. She also wants to see Samson there next year. I would like to take the family to see both of those shows, but I'd rather pay a fraction of the cost, if possible. I love that seeing a biblical play is how she most wants to celebrate her birthday! We have planned three special celebrations for our soon to be seven year old. Paul's family will be coming up on Sunday for a Father's Day/ Nadia's birthday celebration after church. We're going to grill burgers and hot dogs, have corn on the cob, chips, baked beans, deviled eggs, etc. Paul's parents, brother, and sister-in-law plan to join us for the festivities. She'll also get her birthday cake that day (courtesy of Aunt Millie) and will open presents from Paul's side of the family (including one from Great Gram who won't be able to join us).

Last Wednesday the boys helped me shop for her birthday party supplies (tablecloth, napkins, paper plates, and cups). Today I will let Nadia pick out her birthday balloons (mylar balloons are $1 at Dollar Tree) because she'll be away at camp Wednesday through Saturday. We'll have other princess decorations up by the time she comes home on Saturday. She wanted a Mulan cake. I couldn't find any Mulan birthday party stuff, so I just got general Disney princess things (not Frozen because last year she went with the Frozen theme).

Next Wednesday is her actual birthday. We'll have donuts for breakfast and let her open her gifts from us, Aunt Yvonne, and Aunt Wendy that morning, and we are going out to Friendly's for dinner that night before Nadia and Ian head to summer musical rehearsal and I head to my last choir rehearsal until September.

Her third birthday celebration will be in Maryland with my parents and Uncle Maurice. We plan to leave around 3pm next Thursday. My mom is planning to have an ice cream cake for her, and she'll open her presents from my parents. That Friday we plan to take her to Six Flags (we have free tickets) as the grand finale of her birthday week of celebrations. The kids are registered to do the next Lowe's project in Maryland with Grandpa that Saturday morning, and then we'll head back home to PA after that. Throughout the week she plans to wear her birthday t-shirt. We love our almost seven year old very much, and I hope she has a very special birthday week next week!

Hat she "won" at the carnival

Goodbye, training wheels!

Nadia has been riding her bike without training wheels in the grass for quite awhile, but on Friday Paul deemed her ready to start riding her bike on the road (it's a lot softer to fall on the grass). She's doing a great job! I'm hoping that Ian can do the same before he turns six years old.



Today is a stay at home day for all of us until this evening when Nadia has Spanish class and the boys go to VBS. I was very grateful this morning we didn't have to rush out the door at 8:05 for tennis lessons.

Summerfest

We had a fun, busy weekend. Yesterday morning Paul took Nadia and Ian to Lowe's to build the first of six Avengers projects. They made Iron Man's Avenjet. Ian loved it SO much, he asked if tomorrow we'd be heading back. Normally they only do the kids' workshops once a month, but in the summer they do them every other week. This means Ian only has to wait two weeks until the next one! While they were at Lowe's, Oliver and I were at the mall while Sears was rotating Paul's car's tires. We did some shopping at Claire's and JCP, and then we enjoyed a pretzel at Auntie Anne's. It's no shock that he loved it! It was special to have that one-on-one time with Oliver. Then we spent a few hours at home during which time the kids played outside some, and I mowed the lawn. Then a little before 4:00 we headed into town (5 minutes away) for the annual Fireman's parade. Oliver absolutely loved seeing all the fire engines (about 20 of them plus several ambulances). He waved his little hand ever so vigorously as each one passed. Nadia and Ian were somewhat interested in the parade which also included two bands, tractors, cars, etc., but for them the main highlight of the parade was the candy being thrown in their direction. After dinner at home, we went back into town to walk around the carnival a little bit. It had been going on since Monday. We used to take the kids every year, but we hadn't the last couple of years in part because there are MANY more rides at Knoebels and they are also cheaper to ride than at the carnival, but we did want to support our local fire company so we let the kids each play one game. Oliver picked the "pick a rubber duck" game, and the other two chose to throw darts at balloons. They didn't pop any balloons, but all children under the age of 9 who played the game were guaranteed a prize. At least now they know what a carnival looks like.

After church this morning, we drove to a state park for their Summerfest activities (maybe they should have called it Flag Day as technically it's not summer until next Sunday). The kids hammered nails and made a bluebird bird house that we brought home, and they each made two other crafts. Nadia walked away with a falcon decoy that was on sale for $10 because the man who made them just gave her one. The kids also had their very first experience in a kayak, and then we watched a 45 minute presentation about birds of prey (demonstrations by owls, hawks, and falcons). After cleaning up from the sand, we fed the kids a very quick dinner and dropped all three of them off at VBS. It is Nadia's 5th year of being in VBS, Ian's 3rd year, and Oliver's very first time. It's supposed to be for ages 3 and up, but since he will be turning 3 in less than 2 months, they let him join a preschool class. He loved it! In the past whenever any of our kids were in VBS, we still had one child at home with us. This was the first night of VBS that translated into Paul and I being home alone for 2 hours. We rather liked it! I will have choir rehearsal during VBS on Wednesday night, and Paul will be taking Nadia to Spanish tomorrow night, but we'll have the time to ourselves on Tuesday and Thursday nights. We're planning to go out to dinner on Tuesday night without having to pay a babysitter. What a novel concept! My baby is growing up. We are having the kids do three weeks of VBS. Usually this church and the one where they'll go the third week use the same curriculum, but they're not using the same one this year so the three weeks will each be very different. This week's is about Christmas. It felt strange to hear them singing Christmas carols in June. Nadia was disappointed that she'll only be going to two nights of this VBS, but she will be able to do more nights the other two weeks.

Comparing two 5.5 year olds

1. At this age Nadia was really into princesses and dolls - little figurines, bigger dolls, magnetic dolls, etc. whereas Ian is really into Star Wars, superheroes, and Legos.

2. Nadia was sleeping with a Rapunzel doll and her beloved Poland pillow. Ian doesn't have a special pillow, but he has a special blanket that comes with us when we travel. Lately he's been sleeping with a large stuffed Yoda, Squishy, Mike (those two are from Monsters, Inc), and a very large Iron Man. Yoda and Mike were gifts he received 6 months ago, and he got the Iron Man for scoring his first goal in soccer the beginning of May.

3. Both of them gladly would have played with the iPad more, if I let them. Ian isn't as prone to asking for it as Nadia was at this age.

4. Although Ian now does play board games with us, he doesn't ask to play them anywhere near as often as Nadia did at this age.

5. Nadia was more advanced academically at this age, but she has a summer birthday so she had been in Kindergarten for a few months when she turned 5 1/2 whereas Ian will be technically old enough for Kindergarten in two more months. Nadia was on step 5 of Level 2 spelling. I plan to start Ian on Level 1 spelling the end of August. She was also on step 36 of Level 2 reading. My goal is for Ian to start the Level 2 reading curriculum the end of August, but I discovered two days ago that he had forgotten quite a bit during the last six weeks when he didn't do any reading. I need to backtrack some. We shall see if he can finish Level 1 in the next 10 weeks. This definitely reinforced in my mind why we don't take the whole summer off from school work!!!

6. Although Ian likes costumes, he hasn't been wearing them nearly as much as Nadia did at this age. Nadia loved to wear dresses seven days a week. Although Ian does like to get dressed up on Sunday mornings (he loves to wear a tie and even a suit jacket in the colder months), his favorite clothing to wear the rest of the week would be anything that has Star Wars, a superhero, or a pirate on it.

7. At this age Nadia was playing soccer and taking gymnastics. Ian hasn't done much gymnastics over the last 18 months, but he says he'd like to start again this fall. Ian has played soccer, and he scored his first goal (which Nadia had done before she turned 5 1/2). He also took ice skating lessons and has been in a homeschool gym class. Nadia didn't do either of those until she was 6 1/2.

8. They were both singing in a kids' choir at church at this age. Nadia had been in Sparks for a few months. Ian will be starting Sparks in September. Nadia did her first theatre camp before she turned 5 1/2, but Ian has no interest in that. Both kids were doing the musical at the Alliance church and VBS each summer.

9. Nadia usually had either a bagel, English muffin, or Raisin Bran for breakfast. Ian always has cold cereal. His first choice is Cocoa Puffs. For lunch Nadia's first choice was a ham and cheese hot pocket. If those weren't available, she'd have either yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, or peanut butter crackers with either baby carrots or clementines. Ian usually has peanut butter crackers or a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich and a banana for lunch.

10. Ian started riding the BIG roller coasters before Nadia did. She was almost six the first time she rode the Phoenix and Twister. In general though she was much more adventurous than Ian. She was walking across the rope at the playground and loved the big water slide at the resort in Orlando. Ian has only gone across the rope once (with assistance) and only went down the water slide twice. 

11. At this age Nadia had lost two teeth (as seen in the picture at the top). Ian doesn't have any wiggly teeth yet.

12. Nadia had a daily quiet time in her room, and sometimes she took a nap in her bed. Ian hasn't yet gotten into a quiet time habit. He never naps in his bed, but he is far more prone to falling asleep in the van than she was.