Camp Nirvana

Finally - 365 long days and longer nights have passed until FINALLY the Z-boys were able to return to Camp Kaluqua.  This is basically the equivalent of nirvana for these children -they just love it there and Kaleb wasn't able to go last year because he got strep throat, so he was especially excited.  The weather was less than stellar with it raining on both Friday and Saturday morning, but thankfully it stopped raining fairly early on Saturday and while it was wet and mucky, it was at least not raining!

We went up on Friday and were able to leave early enough to actually get there in time for a group supper at a 50s style diner.  Thankfully we were able to eat outside as that many kids created a LOT of noise and mayhem.  The food was great and the company even better!

The gang all outside of the diner

The kids, including Addi, all lined up in order to order their ice cream - she thinks that she's a big girl!

We took Addison after much back-and-forth, finally deciding that even though she may not sleep well and may not eat well that she wouldn't starve and she'd have a lot of fun!  She slept like a champ though, so we were quite fortunate.  We had a chalet (aka tiny 2 bedroom) so we put the boys in the loft together, Addison in the back bedroom and we slept in the bedroom underneath the loft.  She did not eat very well for the weekend, but oh well, she didn't die! :)

The expression on her face says it all!

Saturday was a blast - we always have three group meals, so we started off the day with breakfast by Cochrans and Isidros and then the church events (thankfully inside while it rained).  Zachary loved having all of the kids there that he could play with, and it seemed that he was always playing soccer or some other group sport.  We then went to the zoo before Amy took Addison back for a nap.  The kids thought that they were in the big leagues when they were allowed to take their bikes and just ride around the campground on their own all the time - we were never quite sure where they were!  Sort of scary for an overprotective parent, but they were always in a group and it was a contained campground, so bygones!

Breakfast delights

Zachary out on the soccer field

The Sabbath School for Addison's age

Karis - the peacock whisperer! :)

Amy and Addison with the peacock behind us

Making smores in the afternoon

Yum!  It tasted especially good after they had gone on their canoe ride and worked up an appetite!

One of Kaleb's favorite girls - Miss Lindsay, he has even hinted that she needs to marry him someday! :)

On Sunday, we had the morning to enjoy pony rides and go-cart rides before heading back on home.  The weather was lovely, so we were thrilled to be outside.

All of the kids from our group - minus Luke who went home early with another friend.  Poor Addison is in the front but is in the sun, so it is hard to see her face! :)

Zachary and Karis in the go-carts

Zachary, David and Blake

And the little boys.....Jonathan, Kieran, Evan and Kaleb

  Addison and Uncle Rob have a little love affair going on - she just lights up whenever she sees him and runs over to him to grab onto him.  So whenever Uncle Rob is around, she is not too far away.

Sitting with him at church, and indulgent Uncle Rob has let her play with his phone!

Not to be left out, Addison gave some snuggle time to Aunt Lisa as well!

Phrase of the week:  Why do we have to leave?  Why can't we just live here at Camp Kalaqua!  Oh, it is a rough life to have to come back to the real world!  They didn't seem to care that they were tired, living in a tiny trailer, dirty all the time - they were just as happy as could be!

Forty (Almost) and Fabulous!

This was the theme of last week's birthday (surprise!) party celebration for Amy's upcoming 40th birthday.  She isn't QUITE 40 yet, but Karis decided that he needed to get the party early otherwise there was no chance that it would be a surprise!

It was a real treat - Karis, Jennifer and Allen (our very talented/creative friends who love to throw parties!) put their creative juices to work and got our close friends together for an evening of memories.  The party ended up being at Tavern Opa, which is a Greek restaurant with "flair."  We've never been to this restaurant before, and when we arrive outside the restaurant, one close friend Abel was already chuckling as he told Amy that this would be an experience that she wouldn't forget!

No birthday is complete without an embarrassing hat to wear!

The restaurant's "flair" is that there is extremely loud (interpretation YELL TO BE HEARD) Greek music playing with ladies dressed in Mediterranean garb belly-dancing on the tables as the waiters throw paper napkins in the air yelling "Opa!"  It was something else.  For anyone who knows Amy, she DOES NOT DANCE, so she immediately started to get nervous as we took our seats.  Thankfully, Allen (bless you Allen!) informed her that if the belly dancers wanted her to get up and dance, that he would take her place. The food was great and the company of course the prime highlight of the evening.  When it came time to blow out the candles, the belly dancer of course came to our table, so Amy conceded and got up onto the table long enough to blow out the candles but then scrambled down with the bellydancer saying "No, no you're supposed to dance with me up here!"  Amy's retort "ALLEN!!"

Love Allen's face - oh my!

Allen was a super sport and got up there and danced his heart out with her - bringing all kinds of funny moves from famous movies over the years.  It was hilarious!  It was a great evening, and we are truly blessed with awesome friends - that is the best part of getting old - the chance to make deep friendships over the years!

Isidros, Bergherms, Deiningers, Grodacks, Hilliards (back row); Biris, Cochrans (minus William who was studying, Johnsons, and Amy's mom (front row) - picture taken standing on the table (back row) and on the chairs (front row)!!

To top the evening off, Allen had put his movie-making magic creativity to making a movie of my life over the years - it was so awesome - and horrifying - to have all of your close friends see THOSE HAIR-DOS that everyone has in their past that you wish would just cease to exist and that all pictures would be burned!!! :)  Ha ha ha, good times.  THANK YOU to all Karis, Jennifer and Allen for taking the time and care to put on a celebration - it was a great evening! :)

In "normal" news, Zachary's varsity soccer league wrapped up last weekend with an all-Sunday tournament. His team took 3rd place, although it could have easily been 2nd place if it hadn't been for a last second "measly" (to use Karis' term) goal from the other team.

The green team - Zachary scored 7 goals over the 8 weeks (about 50% of the team's goals!!)

Hanging out with grandma on the soccer field

Giving Grandma a little love

Phrase of the week:  Bye!  Addison loves to say good-bye now and wave vigorously!  She has now mastered her facial body parts and will say "eyes" as she points to her eyes now. Her love affair with ears continues, but she won't actually say ears yet!

As we downloaded some pictures from Amy's mom's camera, we came across a few that she had from Kaleb as a baby as he practiced scrunching his nose - and we couldn't resist posting them - how cute is he!??