Shenandoah

For weeks leading up to our big camping weekend, Clara has been excited and wanting to talk about it and prepare for it. Every night after her reading time, she would chat with Jason or me about camping. She knew that it was going to be very different from camping in the backyard... I don't know how, but she did. And as the days got closer, she just oozed excitment. The smile that stretched across her face was contagious as we put fresh batteries in her camera and loaded it up into her backpack. She helped me gather all sorts of things that we would need. And the whole while that she was anxious beyond containment... I was hiding my worries. My fear that Eli would not be a good camper... that we would come home covered in ticks... that we would get there and have forgotten something big (like the sleeping bags)... that Clara would get horribly carsick... that it would storm on us in our tents. I just had to keep telling myself it will be fine... it always turns out fine.

Sat. - Our drive was full of sightseeing... we stopped at just about every overlook on the way. The campsite was perfect, we set up the tents and then headed to a ranger-led program. The ranger led us on a short hike up to Blackrock summit, the highest point in Big Meadows (3,092 ft) for a beautiful view. Then it was time to get the fire going. More than 2 hours later, the fire was still not going. This, of course, made it extremely difficult to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, but we managed. That horrid fire will be a funny story in months and years to come, though. The kids got to bed quite late. Eli was so overtired that instead of falling fast asleep, he was laughing and climbing all over both Jason and me... until all of a sudden he was quiet and still.

Sun. - Lucas woke us up dark and early (5:40am) the next morning with a bathroom run... so we got an early start. A breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, and chocolate milk got us going strong. We started off with a nice long hike through the Big Meadow (in the early early morning... this area is a deer magnet). Clara and Lucas entertained themselves by climbing any tree or rock they saw along the way. After our hike, Clara and Lucas participated in a junior ranger program about insects. The ranger gave all the kids their own magnifying glass and told them to go hunt insects. Clara and Lucas absolutely loved it! Clara found ladybugs, frog hoppers, crickets, japanese beetles, and more butterflies than we could keep count. After lunch back at camp, we headed off for a hike to Dark Hollow Falls, which had an elevation change of 600 ft in less than a mile. Going down to the falls was easy, but climbing back up was very strenuous (Clara ended up with raw heels from her shoes... all the way up the mountain, she kept crying that her "heels were on fire"). After that, it was time to relax back at camp... with a much much better experience getting a fire going (thanks to scavenging for wood at empty campsites). Dinner and smores were done by 7pm! That gave us plenty of time before getting ready for bed to enjoy the show... of deer marching around and through the camp. This time, Eli gave out within 10 minutes of getting in the sleeping bag... he must have been worn out!!

Mon. - Eli woke up laughing! So... we were up at 6am and decided to wake Clara and Lucas to enjoy the sunrise at one of the beautiful vistas. Then we had breakfast at camp before packing up to head home. Before going home, Clara wanted to do one last hike... up to Hawksbill summit (the highest point in the entire park at 4,050 ft). So we did, Clara in her flip-flops (since she couldn't wear her other shoes), the trail had a 650 ft. elevation change in less than a mile. It was breathtaking.

So I think I've highlighted the majority of our weekend... with the negatives being the fire that wouldn't burn, the kid that wouldn't sleep, the kid that got blisters on her feet, and the kid that came home with his eye nearly swollen shut (turned out to be a bug bite). What I have omitted thus far was that Lucas wandered off and we couldn't find him!! This happened at the very end of our weekend (actually on our way home, we stopped at the Skyland lodge to get a couple pictures). It was scary and infuriating and did I mention scary? I finally found him after what seemed like an eternity of looking. The reason that he wandered off... he was looking for a trash can!! Even after I found him he was still saying that he couldn't find a trash can!! The ironic part? There were trash cans right behind where Jason was sitting when he went looking. After I calmed down, I was (and still am) determined not to allow this to overshadow all the great moments we had, as they sometimes can. In fact, I'm ready to do it all again... well, maybe after I rest for a bit...

Catching Up

I can't believe that it's been over 3 weeks since my last post. There has been a lot going on, but in all truth... my free time (that I would normally use to write a post) has been otherwise occupied reading my (750-page) book for my book club. For those interested... I did finish it and although it's not my typical pick, I did enjoy it.

So let's see... it's a good thing that I keep an outline of points of interest, otherwise I wouldn't remember what's been going on as there are constantly new things coming up that take all my attention.

July 25 - Jason stained the deck. This has been something that he has been wanting to do for some time. It made quite a difference as you can see.

We attended 2 baseball games at the end of July (23 & 28). The first game was at the Nationals Ball Park to watch the Washington Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals. I spent a bit of time trying to decide who to root for... but since the Nationals didn't really provide much competition for the Cardinals, I ended up just wanting the Nationals to get on the board. Luckily, they got 1 run before the game was delayed and later cancelled due to the storms... storms that actually delayed the game twice.

The second game was at Camden Yards in Baltimore to watch the Baltimore Orioles play the Kansas City Royals. This game ended up being extremely similar to the one we went to last summer... extra innings with the Royals winning it in the 11th. Although I think the kids like the idea of going to the games, I'm not sure how much interest they truly have in the game itself. The first game, Eli sat in my lap the entire time but throughout the second game he was up and moving wanting to explore and climb into and out of every empty seat. Clara's form of entertainment remained fairly constant throughout both games... peanuts! She would eat the peanuts, then proceed to lick the salt off the shell and then place them on her fingers... repeatedly. Lucas snacked and snacked and snacked. I was so disappointed that I didn't bring more snacks to the first game because that is all Lucas wanted to do.

Aug. 1 - We spent a day at the beach, Clara's favorite summertime activity. Originally, we were going to spend a weekend, but decided that might be too much sand and sun. The weather was perfect for our day and the kids absolutely loved playing in the sand, Eli included this year. As previous years, though... Eli still did not enjoy the water (which I thought he might since he acclimated so nicely at the pool). He was thoroughly enjoying himself as long as he stayed on the sand, shovel in hand. We've been to this beach before and have always had a good experience. We like that it's not crowded. However, this year was a little different... it was crowded (not with people) with jellyfish! The jellyfish were being washed in by the tide (I guess), because they were quite numerous in the shallow area. We all ended up getting stung, but it wasn't bad... it burned for a bit at first and then nothing. Lucas was the first to get stung and I was just shy of panic mode when he came out from the water crying. I had heard stories of people getting stung and how bad it was, so I was really expecting the worst. By the end of our day, many of the jellyfish had washed ashore. I wish that I had had my good camera... that would have been a picture. Clara became focused on burying the beached jellyfish in the sand. Poor Jason came home from our fun day with the only real sunburn and what we originally thought was a broken toe. He kicked a stump or rock while moving quickly through the water, but didn't realize how bad he had injured himself until we got home and his toe (next to the littlest toe) was dark purple (almost black) and swollen. It's been almost 2 weeks and the toe is still a bit swollen and the coloring is almost back to normal. Poor Jason is paying for our day of fun in the sun.

Aug. 4 - I took the kids in for their portraits. This is Clara's yearly portrait (at 6 1/2 years) and the first time I've taken the kids in together. I thought they turned out pretty well.

Aug. 7 - Clara and Lucas both had dentist appointments. Lucas is always so good at the dentist... he just follows the directions so well and isn't afraid of anything. It took the hygienist half the allotted time to clean his teeth. She told me later that with young kids, they schedule more time and he was done with enough time that she could have also done Clara! Clara, however, is usually just the opposite... afraid of everything. When they tell her to relax and open her mouth, you can just see every muscle in her body stiffen up. The last time we were at the dentist, she had to be held down by the hygienist while the dentist examined her... it was painful to watch. This time she went back with the hygienist all by herself and even got bite wing x-rays!! I couldn't believe it when I talked to the hygienist at the end of the visit. What a change!! She just made me so proud. As far as results go... both kids came out with good results. Clara's permanent teeth look like they are coming in crooked, but the dentist said that he'll just keep an eye on them and see how they look once they are completely in.

Aug. 10 - Clara had her first doctor's appointment with the doctor at the new practice. I have to say that once again I had my expectations set high. I had just heard so much about this doctor (same practice as the doctor that Lucas sees now, just different doctor) that if I had had another bad experience, I would have literally been heartbroken. Finding that perfect doctor has proven to be quite an adventure for us. Well, immediately I knew that things were good when it wasn't a nurse that came out to greet us in the lobby, it was the doctor! She was so personable and completely on top of things... I just felt like she really had Clara's interests in mind as we talked. We talked about the Asperger's and how to approach it from a medical standpoint. Right now, her thoughts are to let the school handle it and if it starts becoming a hindrance to Clara's education, then bring it up again and we'll look at other options, such as a behavioral specialist or medication.

Eli has discovered the word "no" and it has preempted most other words now. It can be super frustrating. It used to be that when asked a yes/no question, he would respond with the typical "mm hmm"... not anymore... now it's "no". He used to respond with his version of a real answer to non-yes/no questions. For example, when asked "what do you want to drink", he used to respond "meew" (milk, of course)... and now, it's "no". I know this is just a phase (a phase that none of my other kids went through), but it is a highly frustrating phase... grumble!

I just wanted to include this little tidbit (I know some of you will appreciate this)... we went to the thrift store on Saturday and as usual came home with a load of books. The biggest find, though, was a near perfect jogging stroller for... wait for it.... wait for it... $7.50! Can you believe that?? When we bought it, the tires were flat, but Jason pumped them up and he's taken Eli for a ride every night since. I'm really excited to see how it rides this fall when we walk around Lake Accotink.

This weekend we are off to Shenandoah National Park for a long weekend of tent camping and hiking. Keep your fingers crossed that Eli is a good camper or it could be a VERY long weekend!