Camping With Pack 233

Our first weekend in our camper with the whole family. Yes, even Carmine. I don't think I will ever sleep in a tent again. Camper camping is like cheating, I know. But if loving campers is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Friday night we did a little dutch oven cooking. Each of us made a personal size pizza. They were delicious. Here is a picture of mine. Cheese, pepperoni, olives and pineapple.

The pack had a fishing derby so Dominic and Ethan took their first real shot at fishing. Actually casting their lines and baiting their hooks. Ethan had a lot more patience with the whole experience, but Dom seemed to genuinely enjoy it too. This was also a new location for the pack. It was a lot more scenic, but the bathrooms were not so great. Everyone got to camp right on the lake. It was so cool. Lots of wildlife. Frogs, ducks, snakes and tons of bugs (this is Texas). One sibling found a snake skin of what she was sure was a water moccasin. It sent the kids into a tizzy. They also had a playground located right in the middle of everything. Ethan spent most of his time there and has an awesome bruise on his knee to prove it.

Brad has recently taken over one of the grub master roles so he was busy spending most of his time cooking for the next meal. It takes a long time to cook for 100+ people. This left me pushing Carmine around the campground in his stroller. It was overall a nice weekend for weather. A little muggy during the day but the night was gorgeous.

Happy Easter 2010

We had a leisurely Easter Sunday. But how leisurely can Easter be with 3 kids? Well not all that bad because because Grandma Jean came up and spent the night. Brad's been putting in some late hours at work and even though he's been getting some Friday's off, it's been exhausting for both him and I. Some nights Brad doesn't even get to see the boys, in which Dominic says "It just doesn't seem right." I agree. Jean was a tremendous help because she never put Carmine down freeing up my arms and legs to move around. Ahhhh freedom.

Coloring Easter eggs Saturday night was great. The boys are getting better handling the eggs and figuring out what they want to do with them. On the other hand, we had a 10 month old sitting at the table trying to grab everything. Did I say 10 month old? Aye, aye, aye.

Last year the Easter Bunny made the boys search for their easter baskets by giving them clues inside a plastic egg. One egg led to the next egg that had another clue inside. They hoped he would do it again this year. In fact Ethan wanted to leave a note for the Easter Bunny asking him if he would do it. I like how on the bottom of the note he added "Say yes or no" then he added a little box for him put his answer. How could he refuse that?

In the morning after everyone was up and coffee was made (and in that order), they ran downstairs to find a note on the kitchen table. While last year the clues led the boys right to their next clue, this year the bunny made things a little bit more challenging and they actually had to hunt around the room for the egg. ... Listen for Dominic's comments when he finds his basket in Carmine's closet. He wasn't that impressed with the toy the Easter Bunny left. He scoffs then after a pause he add's "Oh well, better than nothin'."

I think they were more excited about the donuts than anything.

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Easter morning. Looking for eggs in the backyard.

On the run.

Spring Break

Allthough it is nice not having to get up at 6:30 to get the boys off to school, I think spring break got old around.. oh, say, Monday morning. Well I guess that's not entirely true. Dominic and Ethan spent the first weekend with Grandma in Midlothian, so Brad and I were able to get some things done around the house. NOT! We had another baby, so it was all about switching off the job of baby holder so one can either paint a wall or any other odd job around the house. Carmine did manage to crawl around the floor of the garage. He got a tastey sampling of dried leaves, dusty cobwebs and other courious garage floor bits. Mostly I hovered over Carmine while Brad repaired an old chair, finished putting together his portable workbench, assembled a cabinet, and painted a wall. See, he got it done after all.

We've had pretty nice weather during the week. It actually got into the 70's. Beautiful. I treasure these days in Texas, I realize how much I took for granted the good ol' days in California when we were very rarely subjected to mother nature's mood. Now, today is Saturday, it's 35 degrees (but feels like 22) and we're expecting 2-3" of snow overnight... That's Texas for you. But maybe the frost will kill off a few more insects. See how I see the silver lining?

Wednesday night we had cousins Lizzy and Walter spend the night. And Thursday we took all the kids to Bear Creek Park in Keller. It was a nice park. Dominic and Ethan each got to pee on a tree (yesss) and we all had a turn in pushing Carmine in the swing. He didn't stop smiling.

Dom diggin' the swings.

Ethan could swing himself the highest, and he loved to push his little brother. A little too much. Carmine got much air.

Aunt Heidi made Carmine laugh. He was so cute with his crooked smile.

Mommy and Carmine in California

This past weekend Carmine and I went to California for a long weekend. It was so nice to see everyone, even though the trip was over in a flash. In fact it feels like we never even left Texas. But 3 days is better than nothing. What was awesome is that we managed to surprise everyone. With many a close call, neither I or Grandpa spilled the beans.

Thursday night we all went to dinner at our old stomping ground... Stewart Anderson's. Back in the day, Stewart Anderson's is where The Johnson's used to go when we wanted a fancy night on the town. I remember all 6 of us sitting in those big boothes with the even bigger walls seperating us from the other guests. It was like dining in a cubicle. We would all get to laughing so loud. I remember others staring. It wasn't much different this time either.

Friday morning Nicky came over to spend the day with Grandma and visit with us. We all met Grandpa at the usual breakfast place in Huntington Harbor. Nicky was so funny playing with Grandpa's phone trying to find the animal noises. Later he made me nervous because he would go right up to the edge of the docks to look down on the water. He showed no fear and it made my legs turn to noodles. Friday night Carmine stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa while Cameryne, Deja, Julie, and I went to see Alice In Wonderland and eat a fabulous Pinkberry. Aaaaahhh... I know how over-priced they are Brad, but I just don't care. It's THAT GOOD.

Saturday Julie and Christian came over. I can't believe how much that boy has grown! And to hear him talk is a riot! By this time Carmine was nearly 100% recovered from his ear infection while my sinus infection was in full force. I felt like crud. To make matters worse I wasn't getting much sleep because Carmine was still on Texas time. He was waking up at 5am. I wanted nothing but a bottle of Nyquil, my earplugs, and a bed in a dark room. However I quickly perked up when Grandpa brought home In-N-Out for dinner. Carmine ate his first french fry that night. Saturday night Julie, Carmine, and I drove our butts out to Ontario to pick Samantha up at the airport. This would be the only time I was able to see her. Even though the the visit last a few short hours, and I was incredibly sick, I would do it again. We got home at midnight.

Carmine woke up at 4am Sunday morning. Yes, I said 4am. I can't remember the last time I felt this tired. Thank God Grandpa came to my rescue and swooped up Carmine. I slept in until 8! When I emerged from my cave, Grandma and Grandpa had a feast cooking. Bacon, 2 kinds of sausage, muffins, bagels, pancakes, potatoes, and eggs. After a lot of eating a quick good-bye to everyone we were off to the airport. And let me add, from now on, non-stop is the only way to go. Especially when traveling with an infant. And especially when you are sick and traveling with an infant.

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2010 Pinewood Derby

Go Team Volini!

Brad felt the pressure this year to prove that last year was not a fluke. We were thrilled in 2009 when the boys took 3rd and 4th overall. Yes, quite thrilled. But even more shocked. You simply have no idea how your car is going to perform until you see it (hopefully) fly down the lane during it's first race. In fact, your car even making it to the finish line is in question. And if it does make it to the finish line with any speed, your golden. Being that last year was Brad's first ever pinewood derby he's ever attended, the first pine car he's ever constructed... I think my husband is pretty awesome. Needless to say, we reminisced in the after-glow for days. Well, actually more than days. We really enjoyed it and we really looked forward to this year's competition.

Team Volini basically constructed this years cars in the same fashion we did last years. Only Brad found a few more pointers on the internet that he wanted to try out. After the drill press, band saw, sanders, dremmels, funky oatmeal paste, graphite, glue, paint, tape, pipe cleaners, toothpaste, and weight ... Team Volini had completed their cars. #16 & #21. Blue Thunder and Bumble Bee. We took them to weigh them in on Friday night and found that they were slightly over the official weight of no more than 5 oz. So Brad had to remove some of the weight on both cars, which explains the blotchy paint job. But hey, it's not about looks is it? ... ...

This years competion was fantastic. In fact 2 other boys from Dominic's den placed 1st and 2nd in his rank. Den 4 dominated the Bears. It was a lot fun.

We would like to thank Uncle James, Lizzy & Walter for coming to support Team Volini this year. It was nice to hear the extra cheers for the boys. And Uncle James can really cheer.

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Pack 233 Family Campout

Last weekend it was time for the Fall BSOA family campout. The weather was pretty cold at night, but perfect during the day. They boys have such a blast. They hiked all day and ran around and played in the dirt. Kool Aid was available all day so it seemed like every boy had stained red lips all weekend.

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