Mystery

Monday we took advantage of the fact that all the museums in Grand Rapids are free because of ArtPrize.  In case you aren't aware, ArtPrize is a different sort of art competition where the goal is to get people talking about what is art.  And I came away from the event realizing I don't have a good working definition of art.  So much of what I saw made me say, "well, that's sorta cool, but is it art?"  We had many discussions around the table with my sister (an graphic designer) my husband (an art minor), my brother (an artistic blacksmith).  Anyway, still don't have a good definition.

Ok, but back to the museum.  On our way home on Monday, we took some time to show the boys a piece that my brother Nate helped with, Plan B, but we also spent some time exploring the Grand Rapids Public Museum.  So much to look at and digest normally, and then with addition of ArtPrize pieces, the boys were a bit overwhelmed.  But it was good, and they did enjoy seeing everything.  In fact this morning, Forrest brought up a piece that we had talked about yesterday.

We also tried very hard to get them to enjoy the historical carousel.  Tried.  We thought they would love it.  Forrest liked the one at the zoo last year.  But something about all the people, the volume level of the music (Elliot kept saying "too loud!  too loud!) just didn't sit right with them.  Forrest unequivocally refused to go.  I managed to get Elliot on, but he would not sit on the horse.  So instead we rode in the sleigh.

As we were getting ready to leave, Noah overheard someone talking about us.  Not as in "look at those crazy people with their kids climbing all over everything to get Away from the carousel," but as in "Look, it's Noah Kamper from Camp Barakel!  I was reading their blog this morning and saw they were going to be down here." 

What a funny mystery!  Who are you?  We wish you would have stopped to talk!  We love talking to people who love Barakel.  Were you up during family camp?  Did your kids come to summer camp?  What are you making for dinner, 'cause I could really use some new ideas!

Would you help us solve the mystery?  For anyone who can give us a clue to who this mystery person was at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, there will be a fantastic prize waiting, which may or may not look an awful lot like a Barakel window sticker.

Can't wait to solve this mystery!

Our Adventure

Noah had most of this afternoon off because all the summer staff went to the beach.  The original plan was to go pick very early because of all the hot weather and rain strawberries, but they close the patch at noon.

So, we decided that a legitimate adventure for the boys would be taking back the recycle, the pop cans, and getting ice cream to eat with the wonderful strawberries our neighbor brought us.

And the adventure started before we left the driveway.  There was a baby robin that let us get oh so very close.  The boys were ecstatic!

All in all, it did turn out to be an adventurous sort of day.  It a quiet, laid back, getting errands done sort of way.  A nice quiet afternoon before the craziness of next week.  Campers come Tuesday!

P.S.  Oh, and make sure to check out the great new graphic Noah made for me to help you all know where we are at support wise!  Didn't he do a nice job?

A Weekend, errr, a Night Away

So, in attempt at a last hurrah, we spent the night in Mackinaw City.  Sure, everything is closed this time of year, but that just means we got a great room at a hotel with an indoor water park and a hot breakfast buffet for $63!  We thought it was a good deal too.

Until we realized that our oldest hates the noise of the water park.  We sorta knew this, but thought it being a smaller place it won't be as bad.  Uh, no. Elliot loved the water, was working on studying the slides and buckets, but he was a bit overwhelmed too.  Oh dear.  I was low by 4 pm.  This wasn't going to work at all.

But we went to dinner, and on the way home we prayed that God would make Forrest brave enough to try the pool again.  We brought some plastic cups with us for them to play with and low and behold, the water park was turned OFF!!!  And we were the only ones in the pool area and the boys had a great time dumping water, playing dolphins.  Thank you Lord!

They settled down well in the room while Noah and I took the laptop into the hallway to watch episode after episode of Lost.  No one say ANYTHING about Lost!  We are only on season 3...no spoilers!

Overall it was a good night away.  Poor Elliot has a nightmarish diaper rash, so bad I called the doctor yesterday and they prescribed a anti fungal powder because it's so bad.  But he seems to be doing better today.

And we are quickly entering the crazy season!  34 days until the summer staff arrives!

A Good Monday

It was time to get out today. With it all rainyness and what not, the plan of heading to the Lumberman's Monument didn't work. So instead we headed to Gaylord to get groceries, explore the new Meijer and get some pizza.



If you are ever in the Gaylord area and need a family friendly, great priced place to hang for a while, BC Pizza is the place. They have a great pizza buffet for about six bucks, and kids under two eat free. This particular one has a play land and they play the local Christian radio station. And I know this sounds so very weird, but it's just a peaceful place. The play land is just right for Forrest, and it's big enough for adults to climb in there (if your knees can handle it. Boy I felt old today.) We spent about an hour there today, just being us, enjoying the pizza (not bad for Midwest pizza), and playing.



Afterward, we hit up the new Meijer, just for fun. Yeah, it's bad when that is the big excitement. Elliot got a big Mylar balloon, Forrest picked out a Matchbox ambulance, and a grand time was had by all watching the fish in the pet department.

Then it was off to our normal grocery stop, where Elliot managed to loose his balloon to the heights of the Walmart ceiling. He didn't even notice, but I have been lamenting the lose of it all afternoon, because, well he really enjoys them. And I was hoping it would last through our trip downstate in two weeks. It would have been such a very good van toy for the many hours on the road. Sigh.

After the boys are down for the night, I think I am going to attempt a new granola recipe (thanks Jenn!) and enjoy some F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories on CD while I whip my kitchen into shape. Noah's plan is to do some studying for class, and to work on plans for a toy kitchen for the boys for Christmas. All while the rain pours down. Oh, and maybe a cup of hot cider will work it's way into all of this.



Have a peaceful night.

Little Old Men

"Yep, that's the one I was telling you about.
The gigantic worm eating butterfly. I saw it I tell ya."

"Ahhh, come on Hudson. I think you are full of it.
That says they live in Sub Sahara Africa."

"I don't care what the thing says, I saw it!"

"Come on, let's just look at the butterflies that we know are here."

Mackinac Island

Yesterday, at far too early in the morning, camp was a buzz. We all headed to Mackinaw Island for the day together. Most were riding the bus, and while that would have been a great time, with a 2 1/2 year old and an almost 10 month old, that would have been almost too much fun. So we opted to drive our own vehicle and meet everyone at the ferry.



We did catch up with the bus at a rest stop and got to play with everyone in the parking lot. Noah commented that it felt something like a family reunion, a whole mass of kids, adults laughing, and just the general overall circus type feel.

After a nice ferry ride with a quick tour of the Mackinaw Bridge, we enjoyed a buggy ride up to Fort Homes for a picnic lunch. What a hoot! There was also an attempt at a group picture of sorts and then we split up for the afternoon.





We, along with the Bakers and Linsleys headed to the butterfly house, and I going to guess it took us about an hour to walk from the picnic site to the house. What with the kids, a total of 8 between the 3 families all under 7, and the stroller having to be carried down massive amounts of stairs. But we laughed and talked.

I will say that I totally brought all the wrong stuff and none of the right stuff for the trip. We should have brought the jogging stroller, or better yet, the baby backpack because Forrest just walked the whole day. We did not need the winter coats, hats and a four blankets I packed. I kind of over did it on the snacks too. Oh, and totally did not pack sunscreen and spent a good portion of the day trying to keep the kids in the shade. Elliot did fine, he got a bit brown, Forrest has some pinky cheeks, and I, of course, fried.

All in all it was a great day, and we were thoroughly exhausted on the ride home. What a fun way to spend our day off.

Blogging at 55

Well, we are on our way home from a quick day trip to Traverse City. We left our house this morning at about a quarter to seven. We made good time and had a good day with Noah's family. All of us were able to be there, which is a rare thing now during the summer. There was some hot tub fun, some boating and water skiing, and a whole lot of eating and laughing as kids ran around underfoot like a whole bunch of ants. Good day.

We also were able to glean some apricots from one of the orchards on the Peninsula. The apples in the backyard were ready to be picked as well. As I was picking, I thought of those verses, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew6:26)

I have felt that over the past few weeks, with all the free food we have been given. He will indeed take care of us.

As we drive, my mind is thinking ahead to this week. How in the world am I going to get 4 bushels of apples sauced and canned, as well as figure out what to do with the apricots. But, never turn down free food that God has provided, even if it throws your week out of wack.

An Uncollection

• Today I was able to run some errands by myself. I started the trip out with a free mocha sample from McDonald's. It was alright, but hey, it was free. Too bad today was the last day for it.
  

• I was able to hit Family Dollar, the library, the Amish store, and the Greenhouse all within an hour or so...must be some kind of record.

• I don't know what I would do without the Amish store. Where else within 2 hours of here can I get stuff to can pickles and essential oils? So great!

• A family brought the zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and green beans that were coming out their ears to camp this last week. Today I grated all the zucchini to freeze, made baby food with the squash, and canned pickles. Never turned down free food. Never.

• All my pickles sealed. It remains to be seen if they are any good.

• We relieved a spontaneous dinner invitation from some new friends in town. Boy was it nice to get out of camp to the "real world"!

• Two more weeks of camp! Then vacation time...more about that later.

Monday

We try to make Monday somewhat special around here. And as the summer goes on, I can tell Noah needs to get off of camp more and more. Local family fun is somewhat limited, but today we headed into Mio. There were library books that needed to be dropped off, new ones to picked out, and a McDonald's picnic seems appropriate. I think Forrest enjoyed the whole time. While eating his lunch, he said clear as a bell, "Chicken nuggets are the bomb!" Oh my.



We ate by the Ausable River and then took a nice walk up to see the Mio dam. Like I said, not a whole lot to do around here. But really the walk was just the right length for the boys. And we still had time to visit the library.





The big unexpected was that there was road construction. It was amazing to see all the traffic! I know, I know, makes me sound like an old farm wife, but who knew Oscoda county had this many cars! Of course, the construction was quite exciting for the two year old. In fact, after we passed it all, he wanted to read his book, Easy Street.





It was a good late morning, early afternoon trip. Noah and the boys are all taking naps now and my next project to create something yummy for dinner...hummmm