No One Will Ever Believe Us

Summer is flying by, but we are managing to fit in lots of fun things.  While Steve and the older boys were away at a scout camp, Charlie and I continued the tradition of Camp Mom; just the two of us having non-stop fun in our own neighborhood.

This year, we spent one of our Camp Mom days at Downtown Smalltown's summer festival, Rhubarb Days.  Lots of food, entertainment and fun! The highlight?  Having our photo taken with 1957 Gold-lamé  Elvis AND 1974 Las Vegas Elvis.

 

Of course, if you have a hard time believing we met The Elvi, you probably won't buy our Sasquatch story, either...

Weekend At Camp MOM-Part 1

It's that time of year again, when various combinations of kids at my house pack up for camping with scouts and friends.  This past weekend, Steve, Ben and Will headed up north to Boot Lake with a small group of Boy Scouts. 

At Boot Lake

It has been a tradition for a number of years to treat the ones left at home to a Camp MOM adventure.  Camp MOM varies from year to year depending on what sounds inspiring at the time and how the weather treats us.  This year I didn't have to put much planning into it, as Downtown Smalltown had a bit of a festival going on all weekend, with events perfectly suited to Charlie's interests.

On Friday, the library hosted a block party to kick off the summer reading program.  There was plenty of picnic food on hand, and a variety of fair style games and activities.  Here is just a smidge of the fun offerings in the park...

The DNR was on hand to help the kids make fish print t-shirts (for free! so nice!) ...

There were plenty of can't lose types of carnival games with cool prizes like Pop Rocks and Foot-Long Licorice Whips. Yeah baby!

 For a free will donation the kids could jump in the bouncy castle...

Charlie consulted with a just-for-fun fortune teller...

And we ended with what was quite possibly Charlie's favorite thing of the day...a huge! obstacle course! 

After filling 3 hours with fun activities, we headed home for a bite to eat, watched Despicable Me for the bazillionth time, and ate a metric ton of Twizzlers. 

Whew.  An excellent day at Camp MOM!

Weekend at Camp MOM-Part 2

Camp MOM got started bright and early on Saturday morning with a free will donation pancake breakfast.

The block party continued today with a variety of new activities, a craft fair, and a Rhubarb bake-off. 

There was also a petting zoo featuring 4H animals and their people...

The library had its book sale this morning as well.  Over 10,000 books to choose from.  I picked up The Lively Art of Writing, while Charlie managed to find a few Hardy Boys books we don't already own...

Our favorite local artist extraordinaire, Tiffany, helped the kids tie-dye library reading program t-shirts (Another freebie.  Thank you, Smalltown, for clothing my child this summer!)...

And what camp would be complete without a bit of archery?  Charlie couldn't live without this bow and arrow set that one of the vendors offered.  Here he takes aim at library director Nate.  Don't worry, not only can Nate take the abuse, he welcomes it.  Kids love him!

 By lunchtime we had had our fill of activities in the sun, so we headed back to Base Camp for a bite to eat and a Minecraft workshop.  Our evening movie was Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian which we enjoyed with pizza and ice cream.  And more licorice.

 Sunday, Day 3 of Camp Mom included sleeping in and home made buttermilk  pancakes for brunch.  Yes, we slept until brunch.  It was perfect timing though, as the guys got back from camping just as pancakes were ready for the griddle.

Another success at Camp MOM!

Saturday Afternoon

Camp MOM (and DAD)

We sent Ben off to Tomahawk Scout Reservation a few days ago (miss you Ben!) and in keeping with tradition, we've been having a bit of Camp MOM fun while he is away, and Dad got in on the activities this time as well.

Day 1-Saturday July 30

We started things off Saturday afternoon with letting Will and Charlie choose a movie to see.  Cars 2 was showing locally and Charlie was especially excited about that.

It was cute and clever and just right for little boys like Charlie.  Plenty of action!  Will and I enjoyed it as well.  And the Toy Story 3 short film at the start was worth the price of admission.  Love Toy Story!!  (Also: Kudos to Dad for staying awake for 3/4 of the movie!) 

In the evening Will and Charlie helped Steve BBQ and there was ice cream for dessert.

Day 2-Sunday July 31st

Sunday was warm and sunny and perfect for a family bike ride on the Gandy Dancer Trail. 

One of the many lakes the Gandy Dancer passes

Built on a former railroad corridor, this 98-mile interstate trail is named for the work crews who laid the railroad tracks. The crews used tools made by the Gandy Tool Company of Chicago. The crews were known to work by keeping their voices and the movement of their feet and tools in harmony. This manner of work led the crews to become known as "Gandy Dancers."

Enjoying the dappled sunlight and light breezes.

 We brought along a picnic lunch which we enjoyed at a trail rest area in the small town of Centuria.  

We took advantage of the lovely air-conditioned cabin-esque building. Thank you Wisconsin DNR!!

The front of the place has huge picture windows so we enjoyed watching all the (zero) happenings of downtown Centuria while we ate. Quiet place, Centuria.

 For the evening we grilled a deeelicious all-veggie dinner and enjoyed an evening on the porch.  Before bed the boys loaded up on Bullwinkle and Pink Panther cartoons until their eyes glazed over.  

Yeah, that's what Camp MOM is all about.






Day 3-Monday August 1st


Sometimes Camp MOM gets rained out.  Like today.  The weather was just not co-operative and we had to cancel our plans to picnic with our friends.

Boo to you steady-rain-all-day-long!

So we curled up on the couch to watch Despicable Me.

Hilarious movie!  Just great! 




Then we broke out the board games.  Oh how I love the board games. yawn.

Then there may or may not have been more Bullwinkle.  

Boy, Camp MOM is really going downhill these days!




Day 4-Tuesday August 2nd


Ice Cream!  We went into Downtown Smalltown to a small cafe that makes their own ice cream.  We picked out our flavors (White Chocolate Raspberry, Caramel Fudge and Andes Mint), paid and headed out the door when all of a sudden Charlie lost his grip on his cone!

Oh Noes!

It's a classic!  Child drops ice cream cone on ground, tears well up, the outing is ruined!




Well, not quite.  The owner dished up another scoop for Charlie, on the house, and this time in a bowl with a cone on the side.  Whew! Disaster averted!

Then the kids just hammed it up for me until we could stand the heat no more...

and retreated to the comfort of air-conditioning and TV.  Hey, don't judge.  It's hot out.

Thus concludes another installment of Camp MOM.  Stay tuned for news from Camp Navajo, where they make you stay outside all day, and do stuff.  Even if it is hot.

Camp MOM Hovercraft

Last morning at Camp MOM and we decided to take it easy and make a simple hovercraft from our Supercharged Science subscription.  Ben easily put this together from an old CD, a balloon, a sports bottle cap and a paper cup.

Assembly.

Ready to launch.

A Little twist, and she hovers!

The simple hovercraft was a fun project intro to a more elaborate one we'll try as soon as we collect all the right fans and motors!

Camp MOM 2010

With William still away we decided to see what kind of Camp Mom fun we could get up to on a beautiful Saturday.  Of course only after a good long sleep-in!

We got home soooo late from Movies Under The Stars that everyone slept until a lazy 10:00 am or so.  We breakfasted on chocolate waffles with bananas and strawberries and came up with a lazy but fun plan for the day.

First there was the watching of a couple old Jimmy Neutron episodes while the waffles settled.  Then we headed into Downtown Smalltown to the antique mall and ice cream shop.  Hmmm...should I call this lunch then? 

Then, because we seldom do this, we strolled around town a bit ala city tourists and visited some of the shops including a new one which sells used books, CDs and albums.  I swear they stole the albums from my parents' private collection...Freddy Fender, Crystal Gayle, Dr. Hook.....Oh. my.  There were also a bunch of "German Beer Drinking Songs" selections. I was sorely tempted to buy a bunch but I resisted.  I'm sure they will be there next time we visit.  The CD selection was a bit better.  I picked up Zooropa for $2.95 as my tourist souvenir.

Once we had our fill of our own stomping ground, we decided to head to WI Interstate Park and Lake of the Dalles for a late afternoon swim.  Being a weekend we didn't have the place to ourselves like usual, but it was not so crowded that we couldn't claim our own swimming spot.  We had a fantastic time swimming and playing with Charlie.  

After swimming until we were good and tired, we headed back home for a dinner in front of the TV, another something we simply never do. For dessert we had microwave s'mores.  We don't need no  stinkin' camp fire!!   With our meal we watched a horrible, horrible movie called Megashark VS. Giant Octopus, starring Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah "Debbie" Gibson.  

It was a real eye-roller.  Ben is old enough to get the humor in a painfully bad movie now, but Charlie, he really took it seriously and loved it.  Giant Octopus was his Fave.O.Rite.

Thus ended Saturday at Camp MOM.  Everyone went to bed tired and happy.

Movies Under The Stars

While William is away at scout camp, Ben and Charlie are enjoying their stay at Camp MOM.  For last night's entertainment, we went to "Movies Under the Stars" in Downtown Smalltown.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was playing and it was a hit with everyone.  The beautiful weather, mysterious absence of mosquitoes, and plenty of familiar faces made for a perfect evening.

More From Camp MOM

It was yucky hot today and going to the beach seemed like too much work, so we sought the air-conditioned comfort of the movie theater this afternoon. We went to see Wall*E, the newest Disney/Pixar movie. I love what Pixar has done for Disney. Offerings from this pairing never disappoint and Wall*E was no exception. The film was great, and just plain fun for kids, but the message about rampant consumerism and ecological awareness was none the less apparent. Ironically, though, I remember seeing shelves full of Wall*E merchandise long before the movie was even released! I guess they didn't really mean it. Oh, well, great movie any way.

It has cooled off somewhat this evening so we enjoyed a nice dinner on the porch, and plan to just relax for the rest of the evening. These two children of mine are so easy-going that the dynamic has been totally different around here the last few days. Quite tranquil. That Benjamin really likes to shake things up. The guys come home tomorrow afternoon and it will be interesting to see the noise/activity/energy level ramp up around here again.

For those following along, tonite's Johnny Depp movie is Secret Window. It's a "shocking psychological thriller" . Depp plays a famous mystery writer who is confronted by a psychotic stranger at his remote lake home. He claims Depp's character has stolen a short story from him. Ooooh, guess who won't be getting any sleep tonight? I'll review tomorrow.


And lest everyone think I have completely immersed myself in all things Johnny these past few days, I have also seen a few other movies without his name in the credits. The Other Boleyn Girl was pretty good. I liked the book better, and I have to say that I've seen prettier period movies than this one. I also watched Au Revoir Les Infants. This was a very touching and sad film set in a Catholic boarding school in France during WW2. The priests who run the school take in 3 Jewish boys and hide them from German patrols. The focus is on one of those boys and the friendship he develops with a French boy in his class. Heartbreaking, but very much worth seeing.

Well, time to get out a board game and let the kids win! Have a good night!

Camp MOM

Steve and Ben got all packed up and left yesterday for Tomahawk Scout Reservation "Up North". Four fun-filled days of archery, shooting, swimming, climbing, camp-fire-ing and all other such things boy. So, it's just me and my Sweet, Quiet William and Happy-Go-Lucky Charlie. I thought we'd get into a little fun around here ourselves while "the guys" are away. Last night we went out to eat for pizza and ice-cream sundaes. We don't usually go out to eat so this was a big deal! We absolutely stuffed ourselves! Will and Charlie ended the day by playing together before bedtime and then snuggling to sleep on mom and dad's bed. Will is really enjoying spending time with Charlie while Ben is away. Ben tends to be a little anti-Charlie lately and it really bothers Will. Finally they have a chance to hang out together without Mr. Bossy getting into their way!

This morning, after eating pizza leftovers for breakfast (standard at Camp MOM) we decided to take a train ride through the countryside.


This is such a fun little train ride. It is 90 minutes round trip and is so much nicer than other "tourist" train rides because you are actually traveling at a good speed throughout the trip as opposed to some where you just creep along. Might as well be walkin' in that case! This train gives you the feel of real train travel.


The volunteers on the train are knowledgeable about the surroundings and have lots of interesting stories to tell about the area.



Here's a video of the train crossing the bridge over the river. Not mine, just one I found on You tube.









Well, what will we get into next at Camp MOM? Tonight the boys will watch a couple Veggie Tales movies they picked out from the video store, and after they are in bed, I will indulge in a little Chocolat. Should be a good night!