Monkey On A Mission, (in her own words)

Monkey1 was able to go on a 3 day mission trip this summer with our church.  The pictures are from the trip, taken by the adults wrangling the kids.  The text, is written by Monkey1.  Enjoy.

Day 1:

Mommy dropped me off at the church, we stood around a bit, waiting for everybody else to get there. Then once mommy had left and the other kids had gotten here, we loaded up our luggage and started work on the church.

At first most of us worked at the playground; pulling weeds and killing fire ants. Then we went inside and were tasked with sweeping out the attic, easy right? Attics are so cluttered it won't be any work! Why would a church have an almost empty attic about the size of a football field? Yeah, I and three other girls spent 3+ hours sweeping out the church’s attic! It was humid and the dust hung about in a haze, but it was fun.

After we swept we had lunch in the Youth Group room, my sandwich squished itself against my rice cake, yay. But then we were separated into groups and loaded into cars to be shipped off to For The Nations Refugee Outreach, to teach with some Burmese refugees. Us girls had SO much fun while we were driving there, we chatted for the whole ride! Once we got to the apartments, we taught the refugees; some reading, math and then bible study.

Then we went back into the cars and headed off to the Fairview House. It is so cool! They have a huge pool, with a hot tub and a little diving board! We played in the pool from 4:30 - 6:30. I was exhausted! Then it was dinner and worship. Then we played Capture the Flag. We were all divided into two teams; girls and boys. We girls hid our flag properly, where it could be REACHED. The other team hid their flag on the roof, where it could NOT be reached. So the boys team ended up winning because they cheated and hid their flag on the roof. After the game we laid out our beds and went to sleep.

Day 2:

The night of Day 1 passed WAY too quickly. I had only just put my head on the pillow, when one of the volunteers was shaking my shoulder! Though I did sleep well. Once we were all up, us kids played pool, air hockey and ping pong in the game room/girls sleep room. Then we had a breakfast of pancakes and cardboard rock waffles.

After that we loaded up again and went to the church to finish our work. Once we were done at the church we went back to the refugees and did; reading, math and bible study again. Then it was back to the Fairview house to play in the pool.

For dinner we had some amazing brisket sandwiches, they were so good! Then we had worship and challenged the boys for a rematch. We did our flag in the electrical box, the boys still cheated! Not only did they make THREE flags, but they moved them about! Not allowed! But in the end nobody won because one of the grownups lost their car keys and then a kid broke his arm, falling. So the game ended in a tie. We played in the game room for a bit, we heard the severe thunderstorm alert on the radio, some of the boys were building storm shelters out of pillows! But it ended up that everybody slept through the storm!

Day 3:

Yay! Yay! All happy and bouncy! No. We were exhausted, none would admit it, but you could see it in the quiet that hovered over our current place of living. Our breakfast was one of slabs of cardboard made to look like waffles and lemonade. But we were then tasked with packing up ALL of our stuff and loading up into the vans, because once we left the Fairview house today, we would not be coming back.

 Well I packed and loaded all of my stuff and some of the girls who I was with and I went to go say bye to the dog that lived out there. She was a very sweet dog, old, probably around Cody’s age, but she ran after her Tennis Ball like nothing!  So there I was standing still watching her chase the tennis ball, I felt something crawling on my leg, without looking I brushed it off, I felt another creepy crawly and this time I looked down! Fire ants! All over my leg, in my shoe, down my socks, up my leg! I slowly and carefully lifted my leg off the ground and hopped over to the little pavilion walkway. I threw off my shoe and sock and brushed off those that were on my leg. Not a single bite or sting. I had had an army of fire ants crawling all over my leg and not a single bite. Or sting!

Once we left we went to Shiloh Place and organized their little store that they have for the mothers. Then we left for the refugees for the last time and worked with them. I worked with a different child on Day 3, but he was VERY good with his math, i was about ready to start him on beginner’s multiplication! Once we were done with the refugees, we left to go and play at the Fairview volleyball courts, more like Fairview mud puddle courts, the whole place was a swamp from the night of Day 2s storm, so we decided to have a scavenger hunt. Originally it was thought that we were going to go shopping! But then most of the boys were like; Nnnnnoooooooo! So it was decided that we would go store hunting. The two groups were divided into; girls and boys, each team was given a set of clues and a map and we set off!

Twenty minutes later us girls came around the corner of the playground and arrived at the appointed finish. It was empty... maybe a few crickets. We had won! Finally! The judge checked our clues and pronounced us the winners! About ten minutes later the boys showed up expecting to see an empty playground. Unfortunately for them it was not empty, we got their first, and they lost. Then we loaded BACK up into the cars and headed off to the church. On the way back some of us made bets on whose parents would be there. I was like; my parents? You really think that they would get here 30 minutes early? Not happening. Turns out nobody was at the church! It was completely empty! We played around a bit, and slowly parents started to show up. Mine showed up about 3 min after 5:00, which was the appointed pick-up time. And so ended my three day of torture happiness (I loved every bit of it).                                                                                 

The End.

Merry Christmas 2013 Plus a Happy Birthday!

We all had a lovely Christmas yesterday.  Much paper was shredded, and it was fun seeing the kids enjoy their gifts.  They all got some dress clothes, so they will look decent at church until they outgrow it all...which won't likely take too long!

In addition, just days earlier, somebody had a birthday!  No, I don't mean my 50th, but another December birthday.  Yes, somebody is 12 now, and cleans up pretty well even!

Enjoy!

Soup! Food for a chilly day.

Today was not a particularly good day if one has planned outdoor activities.  With temps hovering in the upper 40's, and rain falling heavily (with hail along the 50mi route 3 times!), Dave decided discretion was the better part of valor, and declined to ride the Ataxia Ride in Denton today.  He was already cold & wet just from crossing the parking lot--and that's in his good cold weather/rain gear for cycling even.

Knowing this (ahh...text messages), the cunning plan was to make soup for dinner.  Since our friend and regular Saturday evening guest and cohort in dining  agreed with me, he brought the accessory food items, and I made soup.  The choice was Barley Beef Soup.

I got this recipe from Dave's mom, back in 2011.  It cooks up quite nicely--part soup, and part stew almost.  The barley provides a lovely texture, and cooked long enough, even the toughest beef is tender.  All the big people had second helpings, and the Monkeys had a full bowl each (gotta save room for cherry cobbler!)

Barley Beef Soup

1 diced chuck roast
2 C chopped carrots
2 C chopped celery
2 T cider vinegar
1 large onion diced
2-4 med-large potatoes diced (I leave the skin on)
3-4 large spoonfuls of Better Than Bouillon mix
1 t fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
2 bay leaves (or, 1 1/2 T Penzey's  Bavarian Seasoning)
1/2 C pearled barley
1/2 t thyme (if you don't use the Penzey's Bavarian )
1 t dried dill

Water to cover (in my stock pot that was about 6-7 C).

Brown the meat and onion together in the pot.  Add the water, vinegar, and everything else.  Bring to a boil and cover, reducing heat to keep it simmering.  Cook until the meat is tender.  Serve with fresh bread.

A couple Monkeys in the snow!

Just a couple shots of two of the Monkeys out playing in the snow on Christmas Day.  They had fun!

Turtle racing and chocolate covered bacon! Vacation 2012 - Stage 2

Stage 2 of Vacation 2012 took us to see Dave's mom in Missouri.  The town she lives in, hosts a festival every fall, and there is a small carnival that goes along with it, which the kids keep wanting to spend their money on.

Weather was pleasant the whole trip, and when we arrived at Grandma's house, (over the river and through the woods, really!) we all managed to cram into her small duplex.  This was easier in prior years, when the Monkeys were a wee bit smaller than they are now!  Still, there is a lot less of Dave and I, so I guess that makes up for it!  The kids crash on sleeping bags in the living room and we get the spare bedroom.

The festival has a 'famous turtle race', that of course, Monkey2 has been totally in love with ever since his first turtle won a preliminary heat.  So every year we beg for an extra turtle so the kids can race.  The locals always catch more than enough turtles, so this isn't a big issue.  Then after the race, the turtles get let go safely.  This year, we even caught our own frisky turtle!  It was sitting in the middle of the lake road, and so I stopped and snagged it.  That way it wouldn't get hit by a lake-car.

There were over 100 racers this year, and for the other Monkeys, we had to beg a couple turtles so everyone had their racer.  They were all amp'd up and rarin' to go, as turtles will, before the race, but sadly, every time one of the Monkeys' turtles had their chance at fame, instead of running to the edge of the circle like a good little racing turtle, they stood there, as if they were bolted to the floor of the stage!  Also, I totally forgot to take pictures of the racing!  Sorry!

We spent most evenings, walking around the park where the festival is, chatting with folks we know, and looking at the goods for sale, and trying our poor luck at winning the local raffles.  They always raffle off a lot of nice firearms and handmade quilts. However the raffles were not a complete loss this year--the kids won Grandma a ticket for a drawing on $20 at the local grocery, and she WON!  YAY!  Our first winner!

Another aspect of the festival is the food...not always a good thing, if one has been working hard for a year to lose weight and keep it off!  There were funnel cakes, fried oreos, ice cream, fajitas, bratwurst, burgers, turkey legs, BBQ, hand dipped corndogs....and this Chocolate Covered Bacon!

I am adding this pic to prove that such a thing exists, and in honor of Brigid, one of my favorite bloggers out there.  Brigid, I had some of the chocolate covered bacon, and it really was GOOD!  Though I think it would be better using dark chocolate.  That sign on the end of the trailer is the Big Bee BBQ team, just in case they ever come up Indy-way.

One night there was a duck calling contest. Any kid could participate, based on age groups, so all 3 Monkeys decided they could make noise too!

 None of them had ever seen a duck call, let alone tried to imitate the real thing, so this was amusing.  We knew there were some accomplished callers in all the age groups, so we didn't expect to win.  But they all had some fun trying.

Once the competition got into the older kids, the calling got very good, and it was harder for the judges to choose the winners.  All the kids got to keep the duck call they used, which was promptly reposessed by us parental units!  Hey, we like our sleep!

The weekend features a big parade, with floats, horses (Monkey1's favorite), classic cars, and lots of candy thrown at kids along the route.  This latter has been a problem for us in years past--the kids bug me constantly, begging for candy, and neither Dave nor I want to have the candy in the house, lest we be tempted too.  So as we did last year, the candy gathered by the Monkeys will go into the Halloween give-away bowl, and they will get to give it out, in costume on Halloween.  They they get to watch a scary movie or two (we are thinking Alien 1 & 2, or maybe some Tim Burton stuff), have some pizza and popcorn, and dessert.  They seemed to enjoy the change, and I certainly did!  Last years movies were The Birds (Hitchcock) and An American Werewolf in London.  Both classics of the genre.

I cherry-picked some photos from the parade, and the car shots are for my friend in KC, who appreciates a good musclecar more than most!

The parade of course had horses.  But the big palomino with the fancy tack was absent this year.  I hope it and its rider are ok...they were always the fanciest horse and rider in the parade.

Yeah, that one is a mule.  A good ol' Missouri MULE!  He was the tail-end Charlie of the entire parade too.

Not all of the visit was happiness and joy, though, for Grandma's cat had been ill.  Rip, as he was known, used to be Dave's cat from when we were first dating.  He was about 15yrs old, and had lost a lot of weight and had been obsessing about water, not to mention some noticeable behavior changes.

So Dave & Grandma opted to take Rip on that long, one-way trip to the vet.  Nobody was happy about it, but getting him crated up would have been difficult for Grandma, all things considered, so it was probably better that Dave be there to help out.  Rip did show a flash of his old personality, by trying to remove Dave's finger with his teeth, while Dave was attempting to crate him.

 The kids didn't understand at first, why Dave and I dug a big deep hole in the back yard.  I took them out metal detecting at the lake swim beach, while Rip went to the vet.  I told them to find Grandma a 'nice lake rock' for her garden.  They managed to find a suitable headstone for Rip.  Then, once they were back home, we told them what had happened, and they wanted to decorate Rip's grave, much like we had decorated my father's grave the week before.

The trip home was uneventful, and we got in early enough that I was able to drive 90mi west to get the dogs home the same day.  I think EVERYONE was happy to be home, sleeping in their own beds!  I know I sure was...

Vacation 2012-Stage 1

Vacation 2012 has come and gone--all too short as usual.  Our trip was like most of our family vacations at this time of life--fondly called the Grandmas Tour.  Both our mothers are still living, and with our young children, we want them all to have time together while they can.  ( I grew up without grandparents of any kind, so I want my kids to have that relationship that was denied me by death.)

Stage 1 of the tour took us to our favorite little piece of Heaven on Earth.  It is a 30 acre retreat, owned and managed by the church we came to faith through.  There is a shelter house, with kitchen facilities, flush toilets and showers, not to mention heat/AC !  We bring our sleeping bags and fishing poles, for there is a wonderful 3acre pond on site.

Normally this pond is a bass fisherman's dream.  This year however, with the drought in the area, the pond was down about 3ft.  The bass were noticeably smaller than in past years, and not as hungry.  However, they did bite for all of us, save Monkey1, who caught a crappie instead.  I did ok, too, with a couple bass, a crappie, and a mess of bluegill.

Here are some of the Monkeys' catches.

There were plenty of other critters to play with, chase, and/or catch up at the retreat.  Darned bullfrogs!  Those dunb things would always bite on a fishing lure...and they are most difficult to UNhook too.  There were a couple dogs up there, for the kids to play with.  One, Hank, is a lonely border collie, who stayed around us the entire time we were there--even to the point of sleeping outside the shelter house, to chase off critters for us at night, barking barking barking all the while...

Then down by my mom's, her neighbor has 3 more dogs, two of which are playful, with the kids too.  The dogs loved the extra attention, and the kids cherished more dog-time.

Rusty

Pixie

We got to spend time with my mom, and even persuaded her to go fishing with us one afternoon!  She said she hadn't been fishing since she was a kid herself, on vacations to Minnesota.  It looked like she had fun too, though I did wish I had a Zebco reel for her to cast with--the open faced reel was not her favorite.

It was a pleasant time, well spent with family and friends, and good food.  We actually managed to not gain weight, despite eating off the plan, and not getting any riding or much walking in.

Thus ends Stage 1 of Vacation 2012.

And Monkey3 turns 8!

Since MonkeyBoy recently had his birthday, it was time to consider Monkey3's day that was rapidly approaching. She had expressed a desire for ice cream, not cake, so I secretly plotted to get her both--an ice cream cake!

As Dave had to work all day (being junior man on the vacation schedule means no extended holidays...), Monkey3 had to wait ALL DAY to open her gifts!  Well, she did confess that she opened the gift from MonkeyBoy the night before.  We let the kids wake up with one package, and this time she got a bit of an early start apparently!

Dave also had a secret gift for her that she actually thought had been given to a co-worker's child.  (Dave is sneaky!)  More on this later...

On to the pictures...
The Trifecta of unders, shorts and socks!

 Monkey1 gave her a large fluffy cat...

I gave her the multitool...

Dave and I decided she was ready for her first BB gun, and of course it had to be PINK!  (Aargh!  Daisy is buring my eyes out with PINK!)

After that, Monkey3 thought that was all the gifts....but guess again!  Dave told her he had forgotten one in his car.  So he goes out and drags in a reel of nylon webbing...much to her disappointment.  Then he relented, and went out and got the gift.  Her new bike!  Yes, she had seen it before, as Dave and the girls had got to pick it up during Cubscout Twilight Camp, when MonkeyBoy and I were busy.  Dave told them the bike was for his co-worker's little girl and that he was going to tune it up and take it to her.  So imagine Monkey3's surprise and confusion when Dave wheeled that bike in, for HER! (Hers is the little PINK one....)

Finally after dinner it was time for ice cream cake!