The Right Place at the Right Time

 On Saturday, we were headed home from the week at Boy's Camp when Daddy-o got a phone call from work. He tends to get a lot of calls from work, even though he has tried to help his employee understand the difference between an emergency and general business that can wait until Monday, but this time, it was an actual emergency. The chain on the gate at his outdoor lot had broken and a customer was stuck inside with the gate closed.

Daddy-o was able to give him a few instructions and between the employee and the customer, they were able to get the gate open, but the gate was now stuck open which meant we got to make a detour and 3 hours later, we were at the facility for Daddy-o to access the situation and decide what type of fix was needed. He ended up having to replace the whole chain, which took 4.5 hours in 101 degree heat and meant that we didn't get home until almost 10 p.m. 

This was following a long week of physical work and late nights and early mornings for both of us. We were exhausted and even the 4.5-hour drive home before we could take showers and collapse had felt daunting when we started the day. If only we had known how long it would really be. . .

Obviously, it would have been easiest if this hadn't happened at all. He has never had a chain break, and right now, as we're prepping for the busiest summer of our lives with a move, a house getting finished, and too many back-to-back camping trips, it feels like really bad timing. But as we were coming to grips with the serious detour our day was taking, we couldn't help recognizing how lucky we really were. This gate issue could have happened during the past week when Daddy-o would have had to try to figure out someone who could get out there to fix the gate quickly. It could have happened later that night, when we'd already made it home and a sleep-deprived Daddy-o would have tried to make the drive out there by himself, which could have been dangerous with how tired he was. Or it could have happened while we were traveling later this summer which would have been another massive challenge. When Daddy-o was working on the chain, he realized how many links had cracks in them, so it was inevitable that this was going to happen.

And, while Daddy-o was working on the gate, I went to the office. I couldn't do anything to help him, and I was barely staying awake, so I opted for waiting where there was air conditioning. It was about 4:45 and our employee leaves around 5, so I was really hoping for a nap when we could close up. Only, right after I got in there, one of the customers came in because his radiator had just burst. He was parked in front of the office and calling AAA to have it towed and had stepped inside to get out of the heat. We talked for a few minutes and then he noted that we were going to close soon. And as much as I wanted to take a nap, I knew there was no way I could ask him to wait out in the heat. So, I offered to keep the office open until his car was picked up, which ended up taking over an hour, but I got to hear Brian's stories about cruises and drag racing and workmen's comp issues and he got to stay out of the heat, which honestly might have killed him. And I once again felt lucky that if the gate had to break, it did it right then when I could be in the right place at the right time.

Now, we could really use some smooth sailing for a little while. Life is chaotic enough at the moment.

Boy's Camp for All of Us

Peanut and Daddy-o have been going to the camp for the Young Men at church for the past few years, but this year, I got to join them as the nature specialist for the hikes! The three of us spent the week camping near Lassen Volcanic NP, and while Daddy-o barely left the campground, Peanut and I went on adventures each day in the area around us.

There are beautiful hikes in the area and I was really glad that I got to go to McCloud Falls with the youngest group.

We hiked from the lower falls to the other 2 and had a fabulous day that ended with most of the kids jumping into the lowest pool.

The next day, I got to hike with Peanut's group and we climbed Lassen Peak. 

It was a little crazy with the snow (first time I've used crampons), but a fun adventure for the boys.

And even though the hike was pretty challenging, I was proud of all the boys. 

A couple of the leaders did a great job encouraging the ones who were struggling and got them all to the top.

This kid is such a great hiker these days. He did end up with a headache at the top, probably because of the altitude, but he did it.

One of the main things I was in charge of were the night hikes. We went to the lava tubes that were just outside our campground, learned a little about UV fluorescence, and enjoyed finding all the things in the area, like rocks, insect trails, scorpions, and moss. The kids had a lot of fun and two of the groups found so many scorpions!

My other job was doing some nature journaling with the youngest two groups. I wish we'd had time with the oldest group, too, but our hike took the whole day. But I loved how into it some of the kids got, and leaders, too. And I had a couple of the leaders tell me that they appreciated the reminder to not always just focus on getting to the destination, but to look around and slow down.

Along with hiking, Peanut did a 26-mile mountain bike ride one day, a ropes course, and had a few hours at waterfront where they cliff jumped at Bernie Falls, went knee boarding, and did tug-of-war in kayaks. 

I think they all had a pretty great week trying new things.

Peanut brought a friend along this year, and C said that it was the best week of his life. He even got up at the testimony meeting and bore his testimony about getting to learn about God and make new friends. It was pretty cool to be a part of that.

And then there's Daddy-o, who spends the whole week cooking for these boys.

And the boys are very appreciative of it. I don't think they can ever really understand how much work goes into the food part of camp, but they do love it and are very loud in their gratitude. 

He even planned for the couple of birthdays that happened up at camp this year, which included our guest. The boys loved getting cake the first night. They pretty much loved every meal, with the tri tip and mashed potato night finishing off a great week. I don't know if Daddy-o wants to do it again--4 years in the kitchen, and the last 2 at a camp without an actual kitchen, might be his limit, but he's given it his all while he's done it.

The First Week of Summer

Rounding out the week, after the swim meet, Daddy-o and I went to the Livermore rodeo (which was fun, but certainly not a have-to-go-every-year event in my book.)

Sunday was church and friends coming over for a Mexican feast. Daddy-o, with the help of his buddy, made authentic carnitas enchiladas, along with Mexican rice, beans, and pico de gallo. Yum!

Then, Monday morning, Bug took off for scout camp and these two had to find ways to fill the days. Bean spent a couple afternoons offering "spa" services for Peanut, who completely relished in the attention and pampering. He loves having his hair played with, his nails painted, and being fed special snacks.

There were also a lot of afternoons at the pool. Morning swim practice wasn't enough when it was hitting 104 degrees--we had three days in a row of unbearable heat and were so grateful to be able to swim each day. I worked out a pretty sweet deal with one of my dog clients so her dogs get to stretch their legs and pee in the afternoons and we get to swim and relax in this beautiful backyard pool. It's win-win for everyone.

Thursday morning we had the chance to volunteer with a cat rescue. A woman from church runs the rescue out of her home and has over a dozen kittens right now. 

The kids LOVED getting to play with them and snuggle them.

We had a lot of animal time this week between all the dogs, and the kittens. We almost don't need pets of our own.

And then, of course, we had swim practice. Bean has been helping out with Peanut's practice this week, which she says is exhausting! But he appreciates having a friendly face in the water with him, and the coaches appreciate all these older swimmers who stick around to help out with this group.

Finally, I'll end with this. Because this is awesome. There is nothing comparable to watching one of your kids do something scary that you know is really difficult for them. Those blocks are high. And diving is hard. But this little Peanut has been practicing diving both at practice and every afternoon, over and over. He looks so fearless. (And he swears that the belly flops don't even hurt ;) )

Community Service Day 2019

Every spring, there is a service day in Livermore where hundreds of people come together to tackle projects all over the city. This year, our family signed up to help with one of the creek clean-ups. It ended up being encouraging, because there wasn't all that much trash for us to pick up. Way to go, Livermore! 

While we were down there, we got to visit the goats that are brought in every spring to clean things up. Our park day group spends a couple months along this same creek each spring, so the goats are old friends. 

And we also saw thousands of tadpoles. They weren't actually doing that well. The creek was starting to dry up in many places so the tadpoles were concentrated in the small pools that were left. I don't know how fast they can grow legs, but these guys need to hurry if they want to be able to survive the end of the water.

All in all, it was a fun day. We got out in our community and helped clean up an area that we love. We got to be with friends, have a city picnic with local bands playing. It's always nice when you can do some service and have fun while you are at it.

Another Year as a Camp Director

Another week of camp in the books. I may have moved across the country, but I didn't have to give up my church job. I was asked to work with the 8-11 year old girls again, as an Activity Day Leader. And, of course, that meant I wanted to do a day camp again.

This congregation has never done something like that before, so I get to ease another group into the idea, but luckily the other two women I work with only pushed back a little ;), and it turned out the girls and their families were totally on board (I knew they would be, but I don't think everyone else believed me.) We had between 9-15 girls each day, plus my three kids, which was a bigger turn out than we've had to any of our other activities.

Because it was a new concept, and we only had three months to plan, we started smaller than what I did last year. Actually, it was a lot like the first year of the NC camp--4 half-days of camp. 4 afternoons gave us time for a few different field trips, lots of games, and a short spiritual message each day. The girls had a lot of fun, hopefully learned a few things and were inspired to be just a little kinder and to push themselves to do a little more.

 Monday was our service day.

We went to visit a retirement home where we sang a few songs (patriotic and camp songs),

made paper lanterns in red, white, and blue, and visited with the residents.

It was really beautiful watching these young kids talk with the men and women there. I think everyone involved enjoyed it.

Then, we came back to the church and made dog toys to give to a local rescue group.

These were fun, and easy enough to make that the girls could do most of it on their own.

Tuesday we took a trip to the library. We got a tour, including going behind the scenes to see how the "dragon" AKA book return works to check in and sort the books as people "feed" it. The girls did a scavenger hunt in the children's section,

and then we went back to the church to make origami bookmarks.

 These were a huge hit and no one was ready when we had to clean up.

Wednesday we had planned a fun water day for all the girls in the Livermore area (5 congregations).

We'd actually started this planning a few weeks ago

and the girls got to help with the preparations for the different games

and then we all worked to set up the whole thing that day.

We'd also talked about being a good friend that day and did a team building activity--The Human Knot. This was such a great moment of truth. It was a large group, and they had themselves pretty tangled, to the point that a few of them were asking if they could start over, maybe split into two groups to make it easier. But I encouraged them to try for a little longer, and after about 15 minutes, they got it! They were so proud of themselves, and I hope they will remember the experience of doing something hard, even when it seems like quitting might be better, and then feeling success. I love how games can reflect real life.

Then, we had all the fun water games and more friends coming to play.

Sponge Relay Race

(A bunch of my girls--they are all fun kids.)

Peanut jumping in and playing with the girls.

The race to see who can fill their bucket first,

one spongeful at a time.

We made boats from pool noodles, water bottles, and other small materials.

This could be a great longer activity, where someone discusses the physics of boats with them first and lets them try out some different designs.

We only had 20 minutes, but they had fun and most of them didn't even hesitate with their design choices, but dove right in.

Human Ring Toss--not as popular since it didn't involve water, but still fun.

This little Peanut liked the game, even though he flinched every time a hula hoop came his way. The girls were all so great at including him all week.

Cup Relay

This was one of the favorites.

(They got a little silly with it.)

Some of them really tried to move the water.

I think some were just trying to get wet. :)

And Sponge Tic-Tac-Toe. Once again, the most fun part seemed to be ringing the sponges out over their heads.

And then, it was Thursday, our last day, and the pool party.

This has become a tradition for every camp I've organized. The pool changes each year, and the girls, but its always a favorite day.

I love it, too, because it requires minimal planning and setting up, and by the end of the week, that's what I'm ready for.

I'm so glad my boys like hanging out with all the girls. They always enjoy this week, and the girls are great about it.

I'm also grateful for the people at church with pools who are so generous with sharing their homes. They make things like this possible on a small budget.

The kids spent most of the time involved in some sort of war game. One of the other leaders commented that you could tell there was a boy in the mix, but I'm pretty sure the girls had just as much to do with the organizing of the game.

Only structured part we played was making ice cream in a bag.

And that was a total fail this time. When we did it a couple years ago, it turned out great, but I think the ingredients weren't cold enough when we started this time and just couldn't freeze. The girls still liked it because it was sweet ("It's like melted ice cream!")

And that was year number 4 of Activity Days camp! I've received a lot of positive feedback from parents, girls, other leaders, and even people who just heard about it. I'm excited that this congregation seems really enthusiastic about this and hope that we can encourage the other groups in our area to start their own. It's such a great experience for these girls and so much fun. And I loved getting to know them all a little better.