No, we didn't fall off the edge of the earth. We have been quite busy this month, but in a very good way. :)
We spent July 3-7 at Family Camp. This was our third year (and for me, much more enjoyable than last year, when I was 9 months pregnant and praying we would make it through camp before baby arrived.) Our first year, we stayed in one of the rooms at the camp, which worked pretty well. Last year, we decided to take advantage of my father-in-law's offer to use his very nice, very new 5th-wheel camper. It was lovely! We had our own bathroom, our own kitchen, comfy furniture (including the 2 recliners where I spent much of my time last year, relaxing with my feet up), and we didn't have to worry about forgetting anything in the room. Plus, we didn't have to deal with coolers, etc. It just worked out really well. So, we opted for that option again this year, and again, it worked really well! The two big kids claimed the recliners for sleeping, Abby and Michael slept on the floor, and Randy and I got the queen--size bed. Everyone did really well with sleeping, which made Mommy VERY happy! I was also really pleased with how well Michael did in the nursery! In the morning, there is a Bible study, and then there is another service in the evening with a different speaker. There is a kids' program during both services for the older kids, and nursery care available for the littles. (Abby could have been in the preschool program if she was fully potty trained, but she had a LOT of fun playing.) When you drop the kids off in the nursery, they give you a number that corresponds to the number on your child's name tag. If there is a problem, they flash your number up on the big screen in the sanctuary. Our first year, when Abby was a little over a year, we got paged at some point during almost every service. Last year she did fine. This year, we got paged once for Michael. I thought that was pretty good! (Actually, when I got to the room, he had calmed down again, but once he saw me, it would have been a problem to just leave.) Another highlight is getting to spend time with some of our best friends, the Seavers. They were our next-door neighbors for 6 years, and Mike was also our pastor. They moved about 2 hours away the same summer that we moved out to the farm. We do get to see them sometimes when we visit my family (they live about 15 minutes apart), but it's not the same as having them next door. :) The only real issue this year was the heat. It was SO hot outside that we had to revise some of our outdoor planned activities in order to prevent the kids from roasting. Actually, the heat might have been somewhat bearable, but the humidity was also in the upper 90s, which made it hard to breathe. (Thankfully we had air conditioning, or it would have been a long, crabby, uncomfortable time!)
Anyway, we really did have a lovely time! The speakers were terrific, the kids had a blast, and we had so much fun visiting! We got home on the afternoon of the 7th and got things mostly unpacked and cleaned out. The next morning was church and Michael's birthday. Does it make me a bad mom that when I had been shopping earlier in the week, making sure we had everything we needed for camp, I completely forgot about getting him a cake? After church, we went out for lunch and picked up a cake mix. When we got home, we got the cake made, opened a couple presents with Grandpa (he really didn't have much to open since a lot of his presents were clothes and a pair of shoes, which we needed for camp, but I don't think he minded too much). Then we ate cake and ice cream and got people to bed early. :)
That night, Abby woke up with a fever and vomiting. By the next morning, her tummy was doing a little better, but she still had a fever. Michael also spiked a fever that afternoon, but no vomiting. The next day, both of them had a low-grade temp in the morning, but seemed fine by that afternoon. We were especially thankful that everyone seemed to be doing well, since we had been talking about taking a little vacation.
Tuesday, everyone seemed to be doing well, so we got everything repacked and ready. The next morning, we piled everyone in the car and headed west. We spent the first night in North Dakota, visiting some friends. The next day we visited the Little Bighorn battlefield, and spent the night in Montana. Then, it was off to Yellowstone, via the Beartooth Pass. We spent 3 nights in Yellowstone (Randy's 3rd trip there, and a first for the rest of us). Emma got to celebrate her 10th birthday in Yellowstone, which was pretty neat. Then we spent one night in Grand Teton National Park, before heading back up to Montana. We finally arrived back home late on Wednesday night, the 18th.
In order to avoid making this post WAY too long, I will just finish by saying that we had a tremendous time, and there will be more posts (and pictures) to follow!
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