On band camp, hot weather and Harry Potter

No matter what I try to do to slow our lives down...nothing ever seems to work! We are always BUSY.  But I suppose if we weren't busy, we would be bored...so I guess it is a catch 22.

Harmony, had freshman band camp this week. Since she didn't go last year, and never really learned all the fundamentals of marching, she decided to do it this year. Which means she and I were up and out of the house by 7:30, so we could pick up her friend and get her to camp on time. 8:00-12:30, they practiced marching, were given new music and made new friends with the kids just joining. It was followed up by marching in the parade at the Ventura County Fair.

It has been a hot week (by Camarillo standards) and so the boys and I have spent a lot of time indoors...at least until the sun started to go down anyway! Then out came the bikes, scooters, light sabers, swords and shields. The boys spent pretty much every evening watching the sun go down as they played. I love that even though they are "too old", that Ethan and Connor still get out and play with Ivan & Mason.

Speaking of setting suns, we had the most glorious PINK sunset the other night. I love living in such a beautiful place.

Sunset photos courtesy of Ivan :)

Friday (July 31st) is Harry Potter's birthday! So after dropping Harmony off at band camp, the boys and I headed to Simi Valley for a Harry Potter birthday party. There is a used book store called $5 or less and not only were they hosting, but each child was given a bag, that they could fill with free books.

We had a great time combing through the shelves, reading all the HP signs, searching for the Golden Snitch and coming away with tons of free & cheap books.

Harmony starts school on the 21st and the boys on the 27th. So the end of our summer is filled with one more band camp, orthodontist, optometrist and well child exams. As well as a couple of shots for Connor and getting Mason ready for kindergarten!

Whew. I think I could use a little bit of boring in my life!

Den chiefs & den leaders

Even though I said I was tired of writing about day camp, there are two other things I want to mention.

FIRST: Den chiefs. The boys were volunteered to help at day camp. They need service hours and so I decided that this would be the perfect time. I am very thoughtful that way.

Even though they were volunteered, they were AMAZING! They were literally climbed on, wrestled on, forced to entertain, lead and be patient with the boys. They were just so good. Ethan was my den chief so I got to put him to work.

Connor was put in a group with kids he didn't know and totally rocked it. I was only able to catch glimpses of him but it was fun to see.

Although he is not my child, a friends son was there with us also. He too was amazing and I was so proud of all of them.

SECOND: Den leaders. All volunteers. A lot of us were with our own children but not all. "Mr. Patrick" was basically Mason's bff the whole week. Making sure he was ok and having fun, wearing sunscreen and drinking water. I would catch him holding his hand, walking and talking with him.

I really appreciated that he had someone to be with all week. Ben was gone on a field exercise and so I know it meant a lot for Mason to have a man around.

So that is it. The final, final installment of the day camp saga.

Day camp days 3,4,5

I am already tired of blogging about day camp.

So lets do the last three days in one post. I will try to keep it somewhat short...

 BB Guns round 2 was a huge hit!

Ivan was a huge fan of the "mustache suckers"

He also made no bake cowboy cookies, but he got to do his absolute favorite...Bottle rockets!

You fill somewhat with water, pump and let it fly. It is fun to watch them fly but also to see the boys reactions.

The camp brought in a nice big climbing wall, and although I didn't think he would want to do it...he did! He got up about halfway and then decided to repel back down. He ran off crying and I couldn't figure out why. He had done a great job.

When I caught up with him, he said, "the harness kept cutting into my legs!". So yeah that could affect your climbing!

The second chance at Archery also went 100 times better than the first. We made sure he had the right kind of bow, and told him to just shoot how he felt comfortable. So he was much happier.

The last day, I honestly could have strangled some of the kids! LOL. I was done and ready to go. We played games, did an old time photo booth and then of course...the water slide.

It had been built up and built up, and so when the kids were given one turn only. There was some major disappointment. From all sides.

We only had a half day on Friday so we did the wrap up, cleaned up camp and were gone. I kept home and slept for a good couple of hours.

Day camp is over for another year. We shall see what happens next year!

Day camp---> day 2

A week at day camp generally goes like this:

Monday & Tuesday everyone is excited and happy to be there. They are having fun and aren't too tired yet.

Wednesday & Thursday everyone is worn out and grouchy.

Friday everyone is happy because we just play all day aaaaand we aren't coming back the next day.

After trying very hard at archery, Ivan was very discouraged because he just.couldn't.get.it. Then we realized that he was using a left handed bow. Two different people were giving him directions. He dropped the bow, covered his ears, screamed, "this is too confusing" and ran off.

It was not the best start to our day but...after that he was in a great mood! Thank heaven cause I was tired!

Archery:

 

Soap carving:

They made (and ate) edible fire, practiced their whittling skills, played games and had fun.

Pool perks

We love Camarillo, where we have now lived for 4 years!

Perfect weather, amazing friends, close to family...

Yep we love it here.

We also love our housing. Nice big backyard, really nice parks, awesome neighbors...and the biggest thing? The pool!

We live directly across from the pool. A nice big pool, a baby pool, steam room...

We hold playgroup there, BBQ's, birthday parties, scouts and family night!

Today we had a large turn out for playgroup, and these two loved soaking up the sun! Here is to hoping that they will sleep well tonight!

Gone camping...

Last year, Ben went to scout camp with Ethan. It was his first year.

 I was having some issues with my "baby" leaving me. So having Ben with him made it that much easier.

Yesterday, Ethan & Connor set out for Scout Camp. Ben did not. Ethan has a year of experience under his belt. Connor has none. He hasn't been away from me for longer than a night.

I am putting my trust in his leaders...who are very good guys. I am not worried at all...just amazed at how fast my boys have grown up. Amazed at how quiet it is without them. Amazed at how well Ivan & Mason play together when the "big boys" aren't around.

 

 

Their backpacks were packed. Lots of snacks. Money for the trading post. Extra socks & underwear that I snuck in to a side pocket.

The 3 oldest kids getting instruction on being good leaders & examples

They are going to have a great time...and I am going to smother them with hugs and kisses when I see them again.