Off to Girls Camp!

Tomorrow morning I am headed to the great outdoors for the week! I was asked to go to girls camp with our church's Young Women a few months ago, and it seemed to creep up on me rather quickly! It's 11:00 PM, and I think that I am finally ready. A little procrastination is good for the blood...isn't it? Something like that!

Below are just a few quick things that are on my mind before I head off for the week...

• I owe my sweet mom a HUGE thank you. She is watching Kyle for the week while I am off playing in the woods. Scott is actually going to be heading off for Scout camp Wed. - Sat. too, so she'll be all alone with Kyle for a few days...PRAY FOR HER!!
• An Update...I asked the girl today who's fish Kyle went Ninja on earlier in the week if it was still alive. Yep! It has survived with minimal trauma.
• Why do toddlers think that when they fall is will be more comfortable for their head to hit the ground first, rather than catching themselves with their arms or hands? Kyle took a 'good' header into the sidewalk this afternoon. He's got a HUGE goose-egg to show for it.
• Will my son be traumatized for life because I am missing his 2nd birthday? The only reason I ask is because I missed his 1st birthday last year due to girls camp. Hopefully this will be the last trip to girls camp for a few years! I'd like to be around for his actual birthday one of these years. Because I won't get to do it on his birthday, Happy Birthday to my sweet Kyle on the 28th. Mamma loves you.
• Wish me luck and good weather for the week!
  

We'll just call him Ninja Boy

Okay, I am going to do my best to re-create what happened earlier today, because it is simply unbelievable. I swear to you this is how it happened...

I had a meeting today at family's house that we go to church with. I obviously had to bring Kyle along. They have three teenagers that love Kyle to pieces, and he adores them too. Anywho, their mom put them in charge of Kyle for the duration of our meeting.

At this point I have to make a side note that this family has a bench seat in their family room, and they had an angel fish in a vase-like tank on top of the bench seat.

Back to the story... at one point I heard Kyle come up the stairs, but thought nothing of it because the teenagers were supposedly watching him. All of a sudden we heard a big THUD in the family room, but no crying. In my mommy mind I thought "huh, I wonder what Kyle tipped over" I hopped up super fast and ran into the family room. There I saw Kyle sitting on the floor with the fish vase (which had to weigh about 8 lbs. - 1/3 of Kyle's weight!) but no, it wasn't tipped over, it was sitting upright, and there was no water on the carpet. While frustrated that Kyle had been playing with the fish vase/tank, I was pretty impressed that he had gotten it down without tipping out the water. But then...I noticed that there was NO FISH INSIDE the tank. After some squeals on my part about the missing fish, and not being able to see it, one of the other ladies found it, I scooped it off the carpet with a cup, and helped it back into its water safe and sound. Here's the thing...Kyle's arms were wet, but I repeat, there was no spilled water.

The rundown:

• Kyle's arms are wet
• There was a fish outside it's bowl
• No water on the carpet or window seat

Put two and two together, and this is what we came up with. Kyle must have climbed up onto the window seat, busted out Ninja Boy and caught the fish with his bare hands, lost his grip on the fish, climbed down from the window seat, and then for whatever reason pulled the fish tank down to the floor (I'll add again, without spilling a drip of water!) From there we are not sure what he would have done, because that is where we found him...

Crazy!! The kid has talents we are just discovering! Who ever said a two-year old couldn't catch a fish with his bare hands?

Orioles Game...

We went...
We saw...
We enjoyed...
We experienced...
We got very very tired...Overall, we had a GREAT time! Kyle's first trip to a professional baseball game was a success. It wasn't until the combination of extreme tiredness (is that a word?) and super loud fireworks that he had a meltdown. I think that if Kyle could tell you in his own words what he loved about the game he would say "sacks!" (Which means snacks...He ate TONS!)

I've had the itch!

I am LOVING to scrapbook right now! I seem to go through spurts where I am feeling creative, and then other times theres nothin'! The last few weeks have been one of those spurts. In my free time it's all I want to do. (Which is a bad thing for my laundry piles, kitchen counter, and bathrooms.) I am really chugging through Kyle's pictures. While I am only through the first six month of his life, I am definitely making progress. The photos below are of just a few of the layouts I have done recently. They are from December 2005/January 2006.

Maybe this post will give some of you talented ladies the itch too!

A "Real" Hero

I wanted to pay a special tribute to my Great-Uncle Milt. We took the opportunity a couple of months ago to visit his niche at Arlington National Cemetary.

You know in elementary, middle, and highschool how you always have to write papers and reports about your 'heros'? My Uncle Milt was usually who I chose to write about. He truly is a hero to me and our country. He was a pilot in WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...and lived to tell about them. I am so thankful that we have/had such brave individuals like my Uncle who fight for the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation.

Beatin' the Heat!

When the temperature gauge reaches a steamy 100 degrees, and the humidity feels thick as rain, what do you do? Go to the water park!!

We had a blast yesterday afternoon. Kyle is a fish without gills - a.k.a. he LOVES the water! Even more than that, he loves the water slides going into the water. The kid has no fear.

We went to SplashDown Water park with a few of our friends yesterday afternoon. Scott was also able to meet us there after he got off of work. We had a fun family and friends outing and all the kids had a great time. Kyle's little friends...

Jack Arnold
and Amelia Hutchinson

We are lucky to have such awesome neighbors with kids the same age as Kyle. It helps that all of us adults are the best of friends as well! Anyway, the water park has a couple slides for the kids, a great play area with mushroom sprinklers and fountains, etc., six or so slides for adults, a lap pool, and a nice big lazy river. We actually got a season pass yesterday, so we'll be back often! - One of the awesome benefits of going to the water park is that it totally wipes out the kids, and they all sleep like rocks through the night.

Here are a few more fun pictures from our outing...

Angie, Scott, Lee, Kyle & Jack

Scott & Kyle after climbing the water net... Kyle can do it all by himself!

E - I - E - I - O !

Sister Seely had a farm, E - I - E - I - O!
And on that farm she had a Turkey, E - I - E - I - O.

And some goats, E - I - E - I - O

And a cow, and some chickens, doggies, horses, and more!

We had the opportunity to go to a super fun play group last week. The nursery leader at our church lives on a farm, and she invited all the little ones out to her farm to see, pet, and play with all her animals. The kids had so much fun. Kyle LOVES animals, so he was in heaven. The only problem that we had was that he desparately wanted to ride a goat...? Yep, a goat. For whatever reason as soon as we got into the goat pen he kept trying to climb on top of them. We obviously put a stop to it, but it was amusing to watch. It is times like that, that I wish we could read the little minds of our children. What could possibly make him think... hhuumm, I think I'd like to get on top of this goat!?

Proud of my girl!

Miss Amy Ferguson is now officially a high school graduate! She invited Kyle and I (Scott couldn't get out of work) to her commencement ceremony, and then out for a celebratory dinner. We are so proud of our Amy!

I realized how much of a mommy I've become, and how much I must dearly love Amy when I actually shed a tear or two when she walked across the stage to receive her diploma. She is such a great girl, we all adore her. Amy is one of Kyle's most favorite girls. We sure are going to miss her when she heads off to BYU-Idaho for college in the fall.

Whew! I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. Time just seems to get away from me these days. Today is literally one of the first days that I feel like I have a minute or two to myself. Between my new calling at church, main street festival (a few weeks ago), craft projects, and my sweet Kyle...extra time is not something that I find in excess! Time management skills take on a whole new meaning with a busy toddler!

I am excited to be back on the blogging circuit! We have lots to catch up on, so check back often!