Dear Kiddos,
As soon as school got out, we packed our cars and went camping at South Llano River state park. We went with another family and that made camping that much more fun. The weather was nice the first day, clear skies, and a brilliant night sky, but the second day was muggy, overcast and just hot.
After we set up our camp site, we cooked up some hot dogs and s'mores for dinner.
There was a burn ban, but charcoal was ok, so we made do with radiant heat.
After dinner, we decided to check out the river. My only rule was to stay in water that is shallower than knee deep. Nathan, you were very into skipping rocks. After a few dozen attempts, you started to get pretty good at it.
We even got a chance to snap a picture.
Ya'll found some pretty cool rocks that you wanted to keep.
And we also found a lot of little clams as well.
But in the end, the knee deep rule was conquered by gravity.
That night, we stayed up to play some games, watch the stars, and saw an armadillo wandering through the camp site. The next morning we got up and went on a short hike before it got too hot.
Then we went back to the river and spent a good few hours playing before it was lunch time. After lunch, we went back to the river for a bit and then came back to the campsite. We should've stayed at the river becasue the water was cool and the campsite was not. Hailey ended up getting tired and grumpy, so dad turned on the AC in the car and brought you into the car for a nap. I went into town to get some cold watermelon. That was a good move on both our parts.
We made more s'mores that second evening, but tried to head to bed earlier because everyone was a bit more tired from a long day in the sun.
Hailey started martial arts at the same dojo that Nathan and Hannah practice at. Hailey, the first time you stepped into the dojo with your uniform on, you were so proud and just ran around like crazy. All these years of watching your big brother and sister do their thing prepared you well, because you were able to blend right in with the rest of the class. You've been looking forward to playing battle ball, but since the class has been on the small side, you have been disappointed each time you guys play a different game at the end of class.
On the days you have martial arts, you are exhausted.
Finally, one day, you guys got to play a game like battle ball...you got to hit cones, instead of people. Hailey, you approved.
You guys have a 2,000 half push up challenge this month. Hannah, you are convinced that you will do 500 half push ups each day and finish the challenge in 4 days. Tonight you did 30 and decided to call it quits...let's see how you end up doing with this challenge.
That first week after we came back from camping, we had a 2 day virtual chinese camp. I didn't realize that it was the dragon boat festival, so we had to make a few batches of chinese rice dumplings (similar to tamales).
Hannah, you were my side kick and we knocked out 35 of these dumplings in 2 afternoons. One day we made sweet red bean, and the next day, savory mushroom and pork belly.
One of the highlights of chinese camp was making traditional chinese toys. In the picture below, you guys are making a rubber band shooter out of chopsticks and rubberbands.
Last Friday Hailey, you and I went to visit daddy at work. I took you down to the game room and we spent a good part of our afternoon playing all the things.
And we are currently dog-sitting for our neighbors. This is Polo, a 6 month old puppy. He's super cute, playful and you kids are going to do most of the caretaking of him. We have a schedule and you guys get to earn some extra spending money. I'm figuring out that Hannah will probably be the more responsible pet owner, but we will see how long this interest lasts.
The cardiologist called again earlier last week and said that other doctors agree that surgery is the best next step. We are awaiting a call to set up a consultation with the surgeon and a team of cardiologists to make sure we want to move forward and so that we know what to expect. I'm not quite sure what the timeline is, but I guess we will find out at the consultation. Hailey's surgery is kind of low on the priority list, so I think that will also factor into when it will happen.
In June, you big kids are going to church camp while I am teaching at the pre-school. Hailey you are in my class and so far it's been ok. The first day was rough, and I almost sent you to another teacher, but you quickly learned how our roles are different in class vs. home and you've been able to adjust and fall back into the school routine quickly.
Hannah you started the Xcel team gymnastics program and when I ask you about practice it's been "fantastic" every time.
Until next time,
Love,
Mommy
