Cashier compliment

The kids and I went on an errand run the other day to Walmart.  I was there for necessities, the kids had their own money they wanted to spend.  Zach had been collecting coins from on the street for months.  He said the fair was like a gold mined!  Yeah I know, I'm a terrible mother who lets her child pick up coins from the ground.  But this kid picked up $7.10!  How can I deny him his resourcefulness?! 
Anyway, at the check out-line Sam decides to get a treat for her best-friend Lily because she has enough money.  however, she forgot about tax.  Zach had already finished his purchase and when he heard that Sam was short.  He, without hesitation, got out money for her even though I was ready to pay the difference.  He tells me, no that he will get it.  So I let it go, and then it's my turn.  The cashier asks, "by chance, do you homeschool?"  I said, "Yes, why? Cause they are handling money?"  She said, "No.  It's the way they treat each other with such love and respect.  I just notice that homeschooled kids are more like that."  Wow, what a pleasant compliment! 
I am pretty blessed to have two kids that really get along together so well, being of opposite gender and 2+ age gap.  Zach just last week got really hurt when Sam told him she would rather clean her room with Lily than play a game with him.  He asked if Lily could go home so he and Sam could have some time together.  We have a rule now that Lily can't come over on Sundays anymore because that is family day.  Thanks Zach for reminding us the importance of quality time.

Little Amerricka trip/review

The kids and I went with Joe and Rhonda Scarpelli and Rhonda's grandchildren to Little Amerricka in Marshall Wisconsin. It's a strange little place out in the middle of no where.  Seriously, There is a cemetery on one side of it, what looks like a junkyard on than other, and a stinky farm across the street that made the whole place reek most of the day.  At least while we were down wind from it.  Either we got used to the smell or the wind shifted because by the end of the day it wasn't as bad.  This place is about the size of your local county fair with similar ride and cost is about the same; $36.64 with tax for the "blue ride pass" for both of my kids.  The train was broken down while we were there too, which was a small disappointment to our younger companion (Rhonda's granddaughter, Broklyn (sp?)) who didn't like the bigger faster rides.  Not that there is a whole lot of big rides there.  At least not from my perspective.  That was just fine for Zach who hates big roller coasters.  We went to Great America once and (luckily his ticket was free) found out he was not to keen on the big rides.

Despite the unpleasant odor, we had a great time. 

 Because the roller coasters were smaller and no loopty-loops, Zach actually enjoyed them.  It took awhile to convince him to ride the biggest of the roller coasters, but once he finally did you couldn't get him off.

Sam on the other hand was the first one, along with Faith (Rhonda's other granddaughter) to try it out and they loved it too.

Sam in our adventurer.  She loves action, and trying new things.  Safety first? Pfft.  This "Meteor" roller coaster was nothing compared to the rides she was on at Six Flags Great America that we went to 2 years ago.  In fact, she was annoyed she couldn't go on the bigger rides there because she wasn't tall enough for most.  Can't wait to be able to take her maybe next year when she will be taller and older.  She is going to have a blast.  Zach said, now that he is older, he thinks he will enjoy the bigger roller coasters.  So next school year I plan to have the kids do the reading program to get their free tickets.  Hopefully, we can give Great America another shot.
We ended our Little Amerricka trip with the bumper boats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2kmaq2iGzY

Your word is your promise

Matt told me the best story this morning.  He was putting the kids to bed with their nightly bed-time story.  But he was tired and only read half the chapter.  Zach promptly reminds him that he said he would read one chapter a night.  Matt says, "well that was more of a guideline."  Sam, pipes up and says with a smile "your word is your promise." and then uses her index finger to bop him on the nose a few times as a gentle reminder.  Who knew they were paying attention!

Memorial Weekend Camping at Lake Emily

What a wonderful Memorial weekend we had at Lake Emily.  The weather was beautiful for the most part.  We got a doozy of Thunderstorm on late Sunday night through early Monday morning.  The kids had their own tent and slept thought the whole thing without a hiccup.  Everyone else had some water in their tents but nothing serious.  Matt and I on the other hand, had to throw our tent in the dumpster because it didn't survive the storm.  Matt slept in the van and I slept on my cot in our partially collapsed, water drenched tent.  Note to self:  BUY A QUALITY TENT!  That of course means spending money.  And most of you know how much I hate doing that.  Matt and I still got enough sleep and didn't effect us negatively.  Really glad Zach and Sam's tent (which was cheap) kept them dry.  Thankfully, the storm happened on our last night and not the first.  Otherwise we would have had to run out and buy a tent.

We had a man come to our site with an owl and talk to the kids about her.  She was in a car accident at one time and is missing an eye so she no longer can live in the wild.  Apparently crows hate owls and we had one show up and voice his protest the entire time the owl was at our site.

Because of the hot weather, the ice cream man showed up and Matt's brother, John bought all the kids a treat.  It was also John's birthday on Monday but we celebrated it on Sunday night with an ice-cream cake, yum :).

Matt also came up with a fun little project for the kids on Memorial Day.  Bird seeds, glue and paper plate to make their own pictures to honor those who died for our country.

 The one thing that was the highlight of every day while we were there was of course the beach!  Sam relentlessly asked to go. 

Zach and I got sun burned so after the first day I stuck to the shade.  Zach still played on the beach and enjoyed the cool water a bit.  He sure doesn't whine anymore about putting on sun block.  Lesson learned...painfully.  Sam is blessed with the Baierl olive skin that takes more to burn.  We all used the same sun block but she has this golden tan while Zach and I yelp when touched.  I'm so jealous.

Another on of the kids favorite activities was to whittling.

And then they used those stick to roast marshmallows.
All and all it was a great camping experience filled with memories to cherish.