Camping is dirty!

And OH MY WORD I CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN!  I absolutely loved every minute of this trip (despite some not so fun medical issues I am having.)

So we decided we wanted to go camping and we chose Cape Henlopen State Park because it is on the beach and has a disc golf course.  But oh my, there is so much more to do than that.  We rented bikes for the 4 days we were there.  Mine had a seat for Jamie on the back (I wish I had gotten pictures of this but I didn't).  There is a 3 mile bike trail loop that took us all over the park... to the beach (there were lots of different places to go to the beach, SO NEAT!), the nature center, Ft. Miles (a historical site for WWII)  and the fishing pier.  There were also lots of hiking trails too.  All in the dunes.  I have a hard time describing in words just how beautiful and peaceful this place is.  It was truly amazing and just an outstanding example of God's creation.

The Wilson and Gaeng families arrived to the site around 2:30 or 3.  We set up camp and chef Eric made us a superb campfire dinner of beans and franks. We also had a salad from the Wilson garden.  YUMMY!!!!!!

Here's our site, without our screen room up yet over the picnic table.  Big tent = Wilson Family  Little tent = Gaeng Family

After dinner we hiked/biked up to Fort Miles and the Great Dune Overlook.  Ah-mazing.  When I first saw the view all I could say over and over again was "Oh my word!"  It was stunning.

Timmy and Mattie reading about the history of the area.

The next day getting ready for a bike adventure.

check out that amazing breakfast Uncle Eric made over the fire!!!

And I have to say how absolutely perfect the weather was!  Cool enough at night for a blanket and warm and sunny during the day! What a blessing!  It did rain overnight once, but we managed to stay pretty dry.

These two are never far apart.  The gift of family is so precious.

After an afternoon of biking and exploring, beaching it and visiting with Melinda and Aunt Sherry we headed to Rehoboth just 10 minutes south!  Too fun!

Vi on her first boat ride with the BFF's in the background.  I SUPER love the boardwalk at Rehoboth!  It is cleaner, less expensive and much more of a family friendly crowd then OC.  We'll be skipping the OC boardwalk next month and coming back here instead.

If I had a nickel for every time this group has ridden a carousel I wouldn't be going back to work! ;)

Anabelle rode solo on this one, my Jamie got a little nervous!

It's not Disney, but it'll do for now! ;)

So while Jamie and Anabelle were rockin' the playground I had to use the potty.  When I came back after about 10 minutes a dear women came up to me and said, "I just wanted to tell you this because if it were me I would want someone to let me know... You have toilet paper hanging out of your shorts."  Wow, now when people ask what's your most embarrassing moment, I'll have something to share!  UGH!

ice cream to end the night!

The next day....

Daddy's turn at cooking!

The Wilson's had to leave on Wednesday afternoon so before they rolled out we took a walk up to the tower at fort Miles.  

View from the tower.  Those are the barracks from WWII.  So neat and so much better for the kids then learning it from a book!  HOORAY for home schooling!

After our cousins headed for home Jamie promptly fell asleep!

A view of our "home" for 4 days.

We woke him up and headed on another exploration adventure over to the fishing pier.  He was not in the mood at first and refused to look at the camera, but...

he warmed up pretty quickly and Daddy and son had their first fishing experience together.  

For me, these gifts God gives us, simply living, is what life is all about.

Views from the pier.

I gave it a try too!

playing in the bay

After the pier, we headed back to camp, packed some dinner and spent the evening at the beach.  It was unbelievably serene. 

There were many cool rocks and shells to be discovered.

I have to say one thing about having one child or children far apart in age is that we get to really indulge him, focus on him and love him up uninterrupted. It is a good feeling.

This precious little boy simply loves the beach.  We are doing our best this summer to bring him often.

It was nearly dark when we rode back on our bikes.  We got showered up and roasted hotdogs and sticks and of course made s'mores!

The next day we went to downtown Lewes for breakfast and then came back to bike around some more.  Timmy played disc golf and Jamie and I checked out the nature center.

We came back to our site (we had already packed before we left for the morning's adventures) and headed for Fenwick.  We hit up our favorite little water park and took a spin on the go carts.  Then we headed over to "our" beach for a bit before finally heading for home.  We had such a wonderful time.  Our little family loves the beach so much.  One day we hope to own a little something down there, but until then we will camp and enjoy our yearly vacation and short trips!

I am incredibly grateful to Jesus for the blessed life I live.

Summer O' Fun

Well I guess I should say "late spring" o' fun because its not actually summer yet, but I feel like we've done so much already.  Here's what's been happening...

• Jamie finished up his last session of gymnastics.  I've decided not to sign him up for the summer camp session because I don't really want to be tied to much this summer.  We like to get up and go whenever we like!
• Soccer- well this wasn't the best for little man.  He LOVED running while dribbling the ball, but thats about it.  We missed his last session because he just didn't want to go.  I'm really not about forcing my guy to do things like that he doesn't want to.  Even if he ends up really not liking preschool I will pull him out since it was never my intention to send him to school in the first place, but hopefully he'll love it!
• We spent last weekend on the eastern shore.  After the Wilson-Miller-Gaeng family picture event over at my parents' house we all headed to Ocean City.  We met up at the inlet and headed to Shenanigans for dinner (after stopping at Thrasher's of course!!!).  Jamie super dooperly wanted to ride the boardwalk tram/train thing so we took that down to Shenanigans.  I REALLY like that place.  The food is super good and it was a fun family environment.  Then we headed down the boardwalk.  So... the people inhabiting the boardwalk have gotten super scary and inappropriate on many levels.  I guess it didn't help that it was the beginning of Senior Week.  I spent my beach week after high school in quiet Rehoboth in a condo my mom had to check us into because they didn't allow high schoolers.  I spent the week reading, making meals and acting like I was 30 years old so I never experienced the crazy town that OC turns into during senior week.  Oh my word I just hope its not something Jamie wants to do because it is GROSS!  Anyhoo, I'm super glad he's only 3!  Despite the riffraff, we had a great time riding the same rides I rode when I was little, which are the same rides my mom rode when she was little.  We headed over to Salisbury to spend the night at Aunt Sherry's house.  The next morning Melinda had breakfast all ready for us over at "her" house.  So we walked over in our PJ's and chowed down.  We hung around enjoying each other's company until time for Haven's party.  It was super cool tie-dye party and everyone got to make a shirt.  Afterward we headed to Ledo's for pizza for dinner.  Jamie and Anabelle ran around the restaurant like crazy people most of the time which is the norm.  Then we stopped by the grocery store (at about 9pm which put my dearly scheduled mother right out of her comfort zone, but she loved it anyway).  We picked up all kinds of treats to eat on the beach the next day.  The next day we got to the Fenwick bathhouse around noon and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!  We all had a super great time!  After a perfect afternoon on the beach we washed up at the bathhouse and the went to our favorite pizza joint in Fenwick, followed by a quick stop at the Candy Kitchen. YUMMY!!!!  We headed for home and got back around 9pm.
• On Thursday Mom Mom spent the day with us and the Wilsons were here from the afternoon on as well.  We also had the carpet installed in Jamie's new room as well as the nursery.  Jamie LOVES his new room. It is pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.  I still have to organize and put all the stuff up on his walls, but it is a great room already!  Jamie and Anabelle played outside in the pool and slip and slide.  The kids checked out the garden and generally had a spectacular time.  We spent a lot of time playing in Jamie's new room too.  My mom joined us for a big yummy dinner and everyone headed home around 9:30.  Such a good time spent with family on both sides!!!!
• Yesterday Jamie and I went to Port Deposit to spend the day with Kate and Jill and the kids at Kate's parents' condo and pool.  It was SUPER fun!  I felt like I was on vacation for the day.  It was right on the water and so beautiful.  We have planned to go once a week for the rest of the summer.  When we got home we went right over to Pop Pop and GaGa's to meet up for the carnival.  We ate large amounts of carnival food, played lots of games and rode lots of rides.  It was a LONG day, 12 hours on the go to be exact!  But it was TOTALY worth it and lots of fun!

We've got a birthday party tomorrow and then we are off camping for the week!  We are all pretty excited about camping.  We hope to make it a family tradition.  I did not grow up camping, but I think it is a really valuable thing for children.  Can't wait!  After we get back Jamie will have Art Camp for the week.  I'm interested to see how he'll do away from me for two hours every morning for a week.  He's going with one of his good friends so hopefully that will help.  Then we have less then a week before we head to the beach again for 2 weeks!  I LOVE SUMMER!!!!

Blessed Beyond Measure

I am blessed beyond measure. I forget this on a daily basis. I constantly want and want for more. I think about what we could have if I went back to work full time, a big new house or maybe a condo at the beach, private school for Jamie the list goes on. But then I think about what I wouldn't have if I permanently went back to work full time. I wouldn't have the relationship that I do with my son and I don't think I would be fulfilling what God wants for my life. And even though I do not work we still have more "stuff" then most of the world. So why am I constantly comparing myself to other's and wishing I had what they have?

I regularly follow this blog. Right now Kat (the author) is in the Philippines visiting a child she sponsors through Compassion International. She has been blogging regularly since she has been there. She recently posted a video of how the poor live there. It is shocking to me. In fact I began to cry as I thought of my ridiculous pettiness. Here are some of my daily conversations I have with myself...
"Oh I just can't stand the fact that this house needs so much work."
"This house needs at lest $100,000 worth of work."
"I'm so tired of looking at these floors. They need to be redone."

Oh my word, at least I have floors! I could go on and on. Like I said before I could also go back to work and all of this would be done within a few months. But that is not the point of my life. I am not here to live in luxury, although certainly the children sponsored through Compassion would consider me quite wealthy and my lifestyle quite luxurious. And its not that I think God wants me to live in a shack or not have any material possessions. I know He loves me and want me to have "fun" in this life. But I do think He wants me to keep things in perspective.