Sunday 6/30/13 horse racing...

William and I went to see the horse racing this summer. It was a warm evening when we went. The races had already started by the time that we got there. I think that they were having ten races that night. There are picnic tables by the track and indoor seats on the second floor. The first floor has the betting areas, the food and the stalls for the horses. We sat outside first. William and I decided to see two races sitting outside and two races inside. It was warm out, but the sun sets behind the building, making the outside picnic table area chilly...OK I was chilly, William wasn't. The horses trotted around the track for a while so that the guests can take a look at them, then they race. The car with the gates lines them up and goes with them around the track for a while, finally pulling in the gates and moving to the side of the track. After the race, the owner, trainer and jockey get their picture taken with the winning horse. A close look shows the world of racing horses but a more distant look shows the stores in the background, just outside of the track.  After the first two races, we went inside to find the other seating. We did find the stalls off to one side. I would like to go again and take Maggie and Beth.It was fun to go somewhere new.

Thursday 6/20/13 new cat...

We are going to get a new cat his week. Part of me is excited and part says that this may not have been one of my best decisions. The final decision was made today. We have begun to decide on the name. We have a list of about ten names. When we get the cat we can see which one fits her the best.
We have been forgetting to do our sit-ups. Maybe tomorrow.

Wednesday 6/19/13 camping...day 3

We went camping last weekend.
It rained Saturday night. First there was a small leak in the tent. We woke up and decided to just move away from it. Then there was a second leak. Then the water started coming in from the bottom of the tent. We did have plastic under the tent, but weren't on high enough ground. It was raining really hard, so we decided to move everything into the car and sleep there. The girls got into the back seat and I put the blankets on them. We filled up the passenger seat and finished the night in the car.. Next time, we will look for higher ground and put the tarp over the tent.
We had a lot of fun. Maggie voted that it was fun on Saturday morning. Beth said that she reserved her vote until later. On Sunday on the way home she gave the trip a seven and said that she would go camping again. By the end of the trip "Harry Potter" was in the house by the sea and was about to go and get school supplies. We kept the list of things to pack with us. As we realized that we needed something, we added it to the list. Sandals and a folding chair would have been good. We can make adjustments to the list as we go. The planning for the trip was a big part of the fun.
We had a lot of lessons learned:
Have a list to pack from.
Pack all of the things on the list into the car.
Only take as much as can fit into the car with you if it rains and you are in the car with all of your gear.
Be ready to make changes to your plan.

We had a lot of time to whittle, build fires, laugh together, cook together and plan, remember and talk together. We made a lot of good family memories this weekend.

Tuesday 6/18/13 camping...day 2

We went camping last weekend.
The first night, the neighbors stayed up until about 1:00. They weren't loud, but it is different having them so close. Maggie and I got up early. She told  me about her last day of school and the things that she has been doing lately. We went out and looked for sticks for the fire. We had already changed our thinking from the house to the skills of the campsite. It is always nice to get some time with each of the kids. After breakfast, the three of us played "21" and tried to play a game called "Pirates" but the pieces wouldn't assemble. Whenever we had some relaxing time, Maggie read "Harry Potter" to us.
We went swimming later and found seashells. We went to church Saturday evening. The message was about following God's will. We went home and got William so he could go to church with us. We also picked up the things that we had forgotten from the first trip, or had gotten ready but had forgotten to put into the car. We had the grate for the fire ready, but had put it behind the kitchen door, so it never made it into the car on Friday. I hoped that everything would  fit into the car on the way home.
That night, back at camp, we built a fire, had dinner and smores and heard more about "Harry Potter". The forecast for Saturday night was rain...
We went to bed.

Monday 6/17/13 camping...day one...

We went camping last weekend. We had a great time!!!
When we started to pack, William said that he wasn't going to go. I talked, and reasoned and said that it would make great family memories, but he wouldn't budge. So he stayed home. That was sad, but at 23 years old, he would have been board. Maybe he will go with us next time.
We had started a list of what to take earlier in the week and started assembling the items in the living room. The intent was that everything make it to the campsite in one trip and it would all fit into the car. Some people go into the woods for weeks with one small back pack and a pocket knife, but this was our first trip. We did get everything together in an hour or two. We needed to get there and have the tent up before it got dark.
We arrived, checked in, picked our campsite and started to assemble the tent. This is the tent that wouldn't go together in the living room. We finally put it together in the backyard. We felt confident about it at the campsite, but managed to put it together wrong twice. On the third try it went up...and it was still light...mostly. I had wanted to get a paint marker and mark which poles went where, but hadn't gotten to it yet. Maggie and Beth tipped the tent on it's side to get the dirt out of it. We had only just arrived and were already a spectacle.
We unpacked and built a fire. The wood burns faster than you think that it will. The kindling was gone almost instantly. There weren't many twigs around and no medium sized logs...and it was dark. We let the fire go out and decided to start again in the morning.

6/12/13 Happy Birthday to our pastor! movies, pizza and missing children...

Today is out pastors birthday. Thank you for leading us on our spiritual journey!!!
We watched the movie "Soul Surfer" tonight. It was great to see how their faith carried them through the crisis. Their core beliefs quietly carried them through, as the movie was about surfing. Sometimes knowing that you are not alone, that all things are possible with God, is a firm structure to balance on when everything falls apart.
We got pizza tonight. While waiting for our order, the lady behind the counter mentioned that the small child that is missing in our town is a relative of hers. She said that they all cry a lot each day. There are so many people that we pass by each day that need a prayer and a smile.

Monday 6/10/13 youth group, exercising and the "Family Experience" at church...

Some days it is difficult to find anything to write about. The days seem so normal.
The girls made it to youth group tonight. I haven't been writing about the "90 day crunch challenge" because we have been forgetting to do any sit-ups. Maybe we can do some tonight. William says that he is not interested, but waits to hear our laughter. Beth says no, but watches us and directs on the correct way to do sit-ups, and Maggie exercises with me. She can exercise faster, but doesn't keep count so my counting messes her us and she does extra.
We have a big event coming up at church this month. It is the first "Family Experience". It would be great if all of the kids will go with me. They are having videos, games and popcorn.

Friday 6/7/13 school, flowers and projects...

Maggie is done with her first week of summer school. It is a two week class. So, I guess she has gone over a half of a semester of work. It is an Economics class. She said that it has been mostly supply, demand and graphs.
It has been raining so much that all of our flowers are in bloom.
We need to get a summer project set up. We will have camping, but we need something else to do and plan together.

Wednesday 6/5/13 school ending and exercising...

Beth finished school today. She is always sad on the last day of school. She misses her friends. The kids put a movie in tonight, a week night, as celebration for school being out. We took pictures of Beth since it was her last day of school. She made a lot of faces in most of the pictures and stood still in a few of them.
Beth has a friend who is already posting a status on Facebook as totally board. She has only been out of school for a few hours.
Maggie has one more week of school after this week. Then we can officially start summer.
We forgot to do our "90 day crunch challenge". It looks like this will take a lot longer that 90 days.

Tuesday 6/4/13 exercising

We forgot to exercise tonight. The chart needs to be moved, maybe to the fridge.
Today is Beth's last day of school. On the kids first and last day of school, we take the kids pictures. We can take her picture tonight. Beth likes being with her friends and will miss them over the summer.

Monday 6/3/13 summer school, youth group and exercising...

Maggie started summer school today...with her new cell phone. It went well. She came home with the phone and didn't get into any trouble with it. She said that school was OK. She is taking economics.
The kids had youth group at the church tonight. None of us knew what time it started so we guessed. We got there just as it ended. I e-mailed the head of the group to get the times, and will put it on the calendar. To the kids it is a priority to go, but not a priority to get the times, or put the times on the calendar. We can go next week.
We have started a new exercise program at our house. It is the 90 day crunch challenge. The first day we did 25 sit-ups. Well...really, Beth, Maggie and I did the sit-ups. William tried not to be amused. The second day we need to add five more sit-ups, and add five more each day for 90 days. I made a chart so that we can keep track of what day we are on. By the end we are doing 300 or 400 sit-ups a day. The chart is hanging on the computer so that we can remember the challenge. We will see how it goes.

Sunday 6/2/13 Maggie's new phone...

Today is the day that Maggie got her cell phone. She was so excited that she was up and dressed for church by 6:00 am. She was bright eyed today. She had some phone numbers from friends at school so she got a copy of them ready to take with her. Then she could load them onto the phone on the way home. We try to keep a copy of the list of cell phone numbers at home so that if the phone dies, we have the numbers to re-load into the phone. It is the same way with our e-mail, we print out our contacts twice a year.

Maggie got her phone after church. It is the same one that Beth has, so it was easy for Beth to help Maggie set it up. Maggie is thrilled.

Maggie and I did have a talk about phone responsibility. Now that Maggie has the phone, she still looks as excited as she did this morning.