Summer Sun

We have been spending alot of time with the crazies out in the sun lately. On Memorial Day, we attended the shortest parade of the year (seriously, it is only about 10-15 minutes long, tops!) We spent the rest of the day at a family picnic with my sisters, brother-in-law and soon-to-be-brother-in-law, nephew, and many cousins and their kids. I love spending time at the park, grilling out, and hanging out with family. I grew up as part of a large family and I enjoy opportunities to share that experience with the crazies. Pander played some baseball and frisbee with the other boys, Moo and Fia spent most of the day on slides and digging in the sand, while Noodle ran around doing everything and nothing all at once.

This Saturday we had a playdate with my high school friends, Jenny and Marta, and their kids. Three moms and 8 kids at the park, what a great morning! Then we had a "camping rehearsal" in our yard that evening. Jeff built our new tent so he and the crazies could sleep in it before we head out camping next week. As part of our caming practice, we hosted a fire for my sisters, their families and my dad. UBJ brought his guitar so we could sing a few campfire songs. The kids loved it, especially when he played Noodle's request "the one with boy and the girl chipmunks"- if you have seen the 3rd Chipmunk movie, you may understand he was asking for "Kumbaya". My sis Jeni brought marshmallows, always a big hit, and the filling to make apple pudgie pies in our new pudgie pie cookers. My other sis, Becky, and UBJ also had the inspired idea to grill shish kabobs. We all jumped on board and enjoyed the tasty goodness! At bedtime, Fia was pretty cold, so she decided to wear a sweatshirt and her slippers into her sleeping bag. She is a huge slipper fan, and one of her birthday requests is a new pair of slippers and a robe! After everyone settled into the tent, Fia was a bit scared and Moo said she couldn't sleep, so I went into the tent and told them a story. Moo requested that I sing a Jesus song, and I started to sing. She interrupted me and said "Not that one, Mama, the one about when I am afraid I will trust in you!" I guess all the crazies had a bit of fear sleeping outside for the first time, so I'm glad we did the practice camp out. Once everyone fell asleep, they stayed asleep. No one came in, no one cried. I call it a success, and I think our upcoming camping trip to Bemidji will go well.

Sunday we had the same group over to celebrate Jeff's 33rd birthday. His birthday isn't actually until 6/7, but we always celebrate on Family Sunday, and next week is the girls' dance recital, so we celebrated early. The kids had water wars thanks to the water launchers their cousin, the JJ Monster, brought over- with a little help from his mom. We made more kabobs and had a yummy chocolate cake. Happy birthday to the father of my little crazies, love you bunches hon!

At the end of the weekend I was reminded that too much fun in the sun can be a bad thing. While we have no sunburn or major injuries, we had a few people down with a fever and Noodle is a mess. He is very sun-sensitive and has an allergic reaction to almost all sunscreens we've tried on him. We were out of the very expensive, all natural sunscreen we used for him last year and tried a different brand, but no luck. He has had flame red cheeks and hives for the past 3 days. It reminds me a bit of the saying, "You play, you pay!" No worries, we have his special sunscreen on order and I plan to stick with it from now on! After all, it is pretty awful when he walks around sadly saying, "My face is a fire."