Summer catch-up

I know, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted and I’m very overdue in my updates. Let’s talk summer! Wow. Where to even start? The nutshell version would be that camp was absolutely wonderful, but that doesn’t quite cover it. There were a lot of challenges at our respective jobs this summer, and the camp itself dealt with some unusual situations that I can’t go into detail on. A lot of our friends from previous years returned and it was wonderful to see them. H3 didn’t remember camp from her first year obviously a little too young), so everything was brand new for her. She absolutely adored her bedroom. I put little foam squares down to cover the old linoleum.


We had a larger cabin this year, so that was nice too! It was located right next to the Health Lodge, where I worked, so I could leave H3 in the cabin for her naps and just have the baby monitor in the lodge with me.



The Sports field is a fantastic place for running around!


A couple of the waterfront guys found a huge blow-up dragon for H3 to play with in the lake…it took them a while to get it puffed up.


One afternoon, H1 and I took H3 out in the kayaks. She sat in front of H1 and just lounged. It looked like she wanted to take a nap! She seemed to enjoy the view from the water and kept babbling about the trees and clouds.



I climbed the climbing wall and took a picture of our archery range from the top.


H3 got to eat her first powdered sugar donut while up at camp. Her shirt started out green, and was pretty much completely white by the end.


H3 sat and watched while Daddy and Mommy went cliff jumping one afternoon. I was swimming the mile (across the lake and back) while H1 rowed alongside me, H3 and another friend, Christie, in the boat. A couple other guys swam with me, and others who were in boats all joined us at the far side of the lake to jump off the rocks before we headed back.



H3 loved all the mud puddles! This particular afternoon I just let her run through them for about an hour. She giggled the whole time, running from puddle to puddle and stomping in the middle of each one.



She liked to try and help me sweep the Health Lodge floor. I’ll give her an A for effort, but she missed quite a bit of dirt.


One of the hardest parts of the summer was when I got a call from my dad that my grandfather passed away. Grandpa was a very good friend, not just family. I really enjoyed talking with him and hearing all his stories. This fall I will be 25, so I have been very blessed to have him as part of my growing up years. He will be missed. I flew to SC to help pack up the house and be present at the memorial service. My dad, and my uncle and aunt from WA also came. It was quite the packing process, and it was a good time getting to know my WA family better.


I flew back into PA, where my father-in-law picked me up and drove me to meet H1 and H3 in NY, a few hours from camp. H1 took us to a mall in Syracuse so H3 could ride the carousel—a nice break after hours in the car for her. The carousel there is hand carved, hand painted, and really old. Beautiful though!



H3 loved to ride around camp on the golf carts with Mommy and Daddy!


She was really excited when Pop-pop came to visit.


On the way home from camp, I looked in the backseat and H3 had grabbed my sweatshirt from the other side of the seat and wrapped it around her! So funny.




Camp is always a good family time for us. H1 gets to spend a lot of time with H3 and I that normally doesn’t happen during the year because of his busy work schedule. The Adirondacks are exceptionally beautiful, I think, and I revel in the peace that I find there. We have jobs there, true, but it’s the most relaxing time of the year for me. The temperatures are ideal (in the mid 70’s – mid 80’s during the day, 40’s at night on average) so we get to spend a lot more time outside than back here in VA, where heat stroke is a frequent problem. Our boss at camp is an awesome guy—the best I’ve ever worked for, and he makes camp a good place to be for all of us. I’m so thankful God has left that door open for us to be there these last 3 years. H1 and I are looking forward to going back next year and so is H3, judging by how frequently she asks about her friends at camp!

Our arrival back in VA has been a busy one, so I’ll probably save that for this weekend. Suffice it to say I’m mostly caught up with everything, or will be as soon as this weekend is done!
~H2

Summer fun!

The last couple weeks have been packed! H3 and I have been everywhere. We've been hanging out at a friend's swimming pool a couple times each week. They have three boys (age 5 and twin 2 year olds) and H3 loves playing with them. She's still not too keen on the water, but is gradually getting used to it. Each time we go she stays in a little longer, as opposed to preferring the rocks and other landscaping objects around the pool! Here she is taking a break from the water.


I've noticed that she likes to line things up, whether it's her food on the table (like cheerios), or toys in her room, or foam bath toys!


We went to the birthday party of the granddaughter of my EMT partner (birthday girl in the middle).


We went to Busch Gardens for a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. H3 enjoyed the music, but got really excited anytime people started clapping. She would squeal and clap too!


This past Monday, H3 and I drove to Roanoke to visit a friend of mine I used to work with at Liberty. She has two little girls, one 16 months old and one 8 weeks old. The 16 month old and H3 have played before, and this time was no different. They ran around the house chasing each other and playing with toys, and then before we left on Tuesday, we took them to a park and let them climb on the playground (see below).



Wednesday we met a friend and her 3 year old in Williamsburg for breakfast at Panera, then we took the two girls to a park and let them burn off some energy while we moms tried to stay out of the sun. It was still morning, but it was already in the high 80s and very humid. H3 and I headed home by 11 because it was so warm!

For the last couple days, the school has been having half-days. Tomorrow is the last day of school for H1, though they still have a teacher work day on Monday. We're so happy that the school year is closing out! H1 has been busy getting grades together and working on inventory stuff. It's been a good school year. Next year's schedule looks to be a challenge for him, but we'll cross that bridge in September. For now, we're going to enjoy the summer!

This morning H3 and I drove to Auntie Amber's house. After playing in her pool for a bit, H3 got to help collect eggs from the chickens. It was so fun to watch her. She was fascinated by the birds and they were actually pretty tame. They would let us pet them and everything! When H3 picked up the eggs, she was pretty gentle. We let her reach into the nests to get them, and she would take them out and hand them to me, though a bit reluctant to give up her prize before closer examination! Amber was kind enough to let me set up the pack-n-play in an extra room for H3's nap so she and I could get some more chat time in. H3 still naps for 2 - 3 hours in the middle of the day, and since we live at least 45 minutes from everything, it's quite a challenge to get in a good nap for her while we're out. Tonight has been spent in a cleaning frenzy so far. My parents are coing in town tomorrow morning and staying through Monday morning. Monday evening we have a dinner with our church home group, and then Tuesday we leave for NY! More cleaning and packing still to go!

~H2

Reflections and Anticipation

Am I ever glad that May is over! Granted, a lot of really good things did happen last month, like the renovations on our house being finished and H1 and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It was busy though! H1's baseball season finished, the previously mentioned renovations on the house, and then the cleanup from that took up a lot of the month. June is looking equally busy, but in a different way. I'll get to that in a minute.

First, backtrack to the anniversary. Since our special day was on a Thursday, I made a nice dinner of steak, shrimp, mashed potatoes, and baby brussel sprouts. H2 had to work that day, so we made plans to go out over the weekend instead. On Saturday morning, we dropped H3 off with some friends and hit the town! After a nice lunch at Applebees, we went to see a movie. It's been over a year since we've gone to a theater, so it was kinda fun to see something new, before it makes its way to Redbox! After the movie, H1 and I enjoyed walking around for a bit before going back to pick up H3 and get her home by her bedtime. It was a fun day just hanging out.

We've rarely gotten to do that since H3 was born--a grand total of 3 times, partially because we live in the middle of nowhere and mostly because H1's schedule. Teaching + coaching 3 sports = no time at home, especially once you add in worship team at church and the church softball league this spring! God has blessed us though. We are so grateful that I am able to stay home with H3. Back when I was pregnant, we weren't even sure that was an option.

When H1's dad visited back in April, we got our season tickets to Busch Gardens. Since then, we've taken advantage of them twice. Below are some of the most recent pics. H3 had a blast and is becoming quite the adrenaline junkie when it comes to the little roller coasters. She's pretty tall (around 36"), so she can ride a lot of things. Most people think she's close to 3 years old when they first meet her because of her height, until she starts talking!






Now, back to June. As I said, this month is getting to be pretty packed. We've got something on the calendar everyday for the next 2 weeks, whether it's a doctor appt, birthday party, rescue squad activity, etc. On the fun note, we're hoping to go to a couple concerts. Busch Gardens hosts Christian concerts on Sunday nights throughout this month, and we are hoping to at least make it to see Steven Curtic Chapman. My parents are coming to visit Father's Day weekend, and then we leave for the Adirondacks on the 23rd!

Once we leave, I probably won't be able to post much until August. The camp only has dial-up in the main office, so more than a quick update will be hard to do, unless I take my laptop into town. We'll see. I'm really looking forward to going. H1 is the assistant camp director this year, so it will be a new experience for him. He'll also get to hang out with H3 a bit more, since his previous job had him down on the lake, and H3 couldn't be down there during the day. I'll be at my usual spot in the health lodge, patching up all the hurt/sick scouts and staff who come in. Again, this place has been a blessing to us. It provides a little extra money and has the huge bonus of getting to be in a place we love, enjoying the sports we love! I'm totally getting ahead of myself, but I'm just so excited about going!

Tonight H1 is at a church softball game. The games starts at 7:30, which is too close to H3's bedtime. We had pancakes and pineapple for dinner before he left though. What a dinner, right? That's what sounded good! Time to get the munchkin headed for bed....

~H2

Putting the house back together

Except for one more little metal plate to tack down the carpet in a closet, everything is done!!!!! They came in and finished yesterday at 2:30. We're slowly getting everything back in place. I'm throwing out a lot of stuff too, since there's a lot of clutter that we don't need and is getting in the way now. I'm really looking forward to having everything put away. Last night I made pizza dough, and it was the first time I'd done any real cooking/baking in my kitchen in several weeks. Hopefully I'll get to do a lot more of that in the next few weeks, before we leave for the summer.


The master bedroom when we started pulling up the original carpet--you can see the old stuff in the corner, and the damaged hardwood.


The bedding piled in the living room


The kitchen area turned to storage for a day


As did my laundry room


Pretty new carpet!


Most of the master bedroom


There was a small bedroom that got carpet in it too, which is going to be my craft room/storage area, but that room is so small it's impossible to get a good picture of it. It's a weird "T"-shape too!

I'm so glad it's finished. Over half of our house has new flooring right now, so it almost feels like a brand new house. The process was a bit painful, but it feels very worth it, not to mention that it's safe now without all that mold!

~H2

What a Difference

I have a floor!!!!!!!!!!!! They completed the laundry room, bathroom, and kitchen yesterday. Hurray! Below is the kitchen area before furniture, and with furniture (obviously facing away from the cabinets, stove, sink, and fridge!). We're still moving some things around, but it will at least give you an idea of the space.





I'm so relieved. I love having my kitchen back! This morning a plumber came by and changed the connection for the dishwasher, so hopefully we won't have any more issues with that either.

Now I'm just counting down the hours until my house changes again. Tomorrow morning the master bedroom and the small bedroom are getting torn up and new carpet put in, so tonight H1 and I will be moving all the furniture out of those rooms. I'm babysitting today, so we want to wait until the little guy goes home before we start moving things. Since there is a regular hardwood floor underneath the current carpet, there's not much concern for running into the same issues that we had in the kitchen, or at least there isn't at this point. We're praying things will go smoothly!

This weekend we'll concentrate on trying to get everything back in place. I'm looking forward to it!

~H2

What to say? Two days after the gross moldy flooring was revealed, my dear friends Dean and Robyn invited H3 and I to come stay with them until the new subfloor was put it. It took about a week before renovation resumed. During that time, I did come back to the house for a couple hours at a time to babysit Aubrey, the sweet granddaughter of my EMT testing partner, Selena. She and H3 get along quite well and had lots of fun playing in H3’s room, with the kitchen area closed off so the moldy fumes didn’t spread in the house.

H3 playing with plastic Easter eggs---cereal pieces were hidden underneath


H3 and Aubrey


Aubrey


Last Saturday morning, H1, Robyn, and I decided to take all the girls to Busche Gardens. We didn’t tell them where we were going until we arrived. Were they ever excited!
Even without knowing where they were going, Julie got into the spirit of things…maybe in response to Robyn’s driving? Just kidding Robyn!


Robyn with Julie and Natalia


H3 enjoying the water park portion in the Sesame Street Forrest area


H3 and Julie riding the little Clydesdale ride


To my delight, my friend Kristina came to visit from Florida on Friday—even though my house was a mess! I took her to Williamsburg and put her in the stocks. I’m a nice friend huh? Seriously though, we had a wonderful time catching up. I got to go to her wedding in July 2007, but other than that we haven’t had a chance to get together since college graduation.




And now for the fun part! Renovations have resumed! Last Wednesday (the 5th) the contractor came in to start on the subfloor. Between that day and Thursday morning, he got it done. So below is what my kitchen and laundry room look like now.



Today is May 10th. It’s been 2 weeks since the floor was torn up in my kitchen. We’ve been dealing with lots of clutter with everything relocated right now. I’m so thankful for Dean and Robyn opening their home to us. Thanks to them, H3 and I were able to avoid living in the mess for most of the time. H1 had to stay there except for weekends though, because of his job. Still, his exposure was very limited, and that was the goal. This morning, there is a guy laying down a layer on top of the subfloor. If all goes as planned, they will be putting down the rest of the floor tomorrow and the kitchen, laundry room, and one bathroom will be done. Later this week will start the master bedroom and one other room having the floor torn up and replaced with carpet. The end may be in sight! I’m just praying that it will go more smoothly from here. H3 has done really well with the major detours from her normal schedule, but she does seem out of sorts! I'm so looking forward to the end result of all of this!

On another happy note, the weather has been incredibly gorgeous here! We've been spending a lot of time outside enjoying it! For all weeks that this could have happened, at least God gave us sunshine!

Back to babysitting a six month old today, more updates to come this week!

~H2