McNature: Day 2

"Someone is out of their bed."  At 5:30am, these words are never exciting words for a parent to hear - no matter if they are said at home or on vacation.  None the less, this would be how our second day started here in the great outdoors.  I tried to preoccupy the boys enough (undoubtedly promising them gifts and privileges every parent swears they will never do) so I could try to catch some sleep on the couch, with visions of our second day adventures dancing in my head.

The highlights:

• We rented a boat this morning and took the boys and Madeleine on their first boat ride around the lake.  They loved it!  Well, I am assuming Madeleine enjoyed it.  When I asked her if she liked it, she grunted at me.  However, the boys enjoyed it so much that they staged a mini-mutiny and offered to drive the boat back to the marina while "Papa" and Daddy were swimming in a cove.  After bribing them with chocolate, they let me back in the boat.  Best part of this event...no sunburn (take THAT global warming)!
• The boys got more fishing in today.  Fishing stories (alert):  "Papa" got three fish (one in record time) and Katie supposedly caught a fish so big that she couldn't reel it in to the shore.  Her line just sat there, almost like the lure was stuck to something, like - I don't know - a big log on the bottom of the lake (or something).  Needless to say, we cut the line (and "The Big One") free.
• The boys got to do some swimming (see: floating in a tube) today.  Everyone had a lot of fun splashing, playing with toy airplanes, not peeing in the pool, and chasing Mommy - but enough about me.
• Finally, the evening ended for the adults with some campfire conversation and popcorn over the fire.  Awesome day!

P.S.  When asked what his favorite part of today was, Jameson replied, "Riding in the boat, the airplane, the spaceship, and the helicopter!"  If he keeps answering like that when we get back to Bloomington, people are going to think we just gave our kids the coolest vacation ever!

McNature: Day 1

Five days - pure nature!  We are taking our first vacation as a family of five...to the great outdoors!  Dave and Patti kindly invited us to go camping with them.  Some highlights from day one:

• On the drive down to the camp site, one of our 3-year-old passengers (let's call him J. McGraw) decided he didn't want to take a nap during the drive.  Instead, he felt like counting objects that passed by our car.  Here is how it went (for 10+ minutes), "16, 17, 18, 19...17!  16, 17, 18, 19...17!"   
• His brother (let's call him J. McGraw), then proceeded to sing the ABC's (A-Z thankfully), but a mini-civil war broke out when the other J. McGraw decided to sing the same song.  A passionate declaration for ownership of the song then followed.  Luckily, all was calm when Mom explained that everyone can sing the ABC's.
• The boys were able to try fishing for the first time today, and Joseph (warning: fish story ahead) almost caught his first fish!  As he was reeling his line back in to land, I saw a fish bite at his rubber lure.  The fish then let go, but came back and grabbed it.  Joseph's pole then began to bend, and his eyes got very wide.  I dropped my pole in excitement and ran over to him, screaming something like, "You got a fish!  You got a fish!"  Joseph, probably now more terrified of me running at him like a lunatic, dropped his pole...and (say it with me) the fish got away.
• Besides fishing, we got all of our gear unpacked in our cabin, had a tasty dinner of brats and sweet corn, and did some evening fishing - and this time - it was I that had the fish (say it with me) that got away (a bass - I saw it, I swear). 
• I took some pictures to document the first day of the trip, too.  I will post them when I have a better wireless connection (it is too slow to try it here).

All in all, a wonderful start to what should be a great time together as a family - stay tuned for more updates, and, don't forget, please pray for us! 

July

July is quickly coming to an end!  Which is fine - if you are talking about ending this "surface of the sun" heat-wave - but isn't so great in the context of less family time for school days.  Here are some photos from the past month, from our Super Twins to first dentist visits...and a pretty girl!  Enjoy!

Madeleine!

Today is St. Mary Magdalene's feast day.  Mary Magdalene was one of Christ's disciples and was present when He died, and according to St. Mark's account, she was the first to see the risen Lord.

This feast day is an extra special day for our family because Madeleine (say Mad-uh-lynn) is a form of Magdalene, meaning "woman from Magdala" - a village on the sea of Galilee.  It is also a form of "magnificant" in Ireland.  To celebrate, here is a one-month slide show of our beautiful girl.  Enjoy!

Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us!   

Birf-day!

What do you give two three-year-olds for their birthdays?  Memories!  They may not appreciate it now, but Katie and I will definitely cherish the opportunity we had in spending the boys' special day together as a whole family.