Camping in October

I LOVE to camp. Matthew likes it. Perhaps it is because my family camped a lot when I was growing up. So we try to camp with our family at least once a year. Matthew likes to wait until early fall because his least favorite part of camping is the bugs. This year, I wondered if we had missed our last opportunity to camp. We had been watching the weather, and it seemed that every nice evening we had plans. FINALLY it worked out and we packed up tents and sleeping bags and food and water and headed to a quiet area of the farm next to the pasture. 

It was a Wednesday evening, and we didn't get to the campsite until 6 p.m. First priority was to get the tent set up and then make fire so we could cook supper. 

When we woke in the morning, Matthew got to work building the fire. There watching us on our little camping trip was a wayward cow that had reached through the fence and broke the barbed wire. So, Matthew drove her back into the pasture and spent a long time fixing fence while I made breakfast. 

This pretty much sums up our camping trip: We ate late, but nobody seemed to mind. We got to bed late, but nobody seemed to mind. We slept as well as you sleep on the ground, but nobody seemed to mind. Success. 

Ever since Jeffrey introduced us to pie irons, we do most of our campfire cooking with them. We had pepperoni pizzas for supper -- a family favorite.

Here is a perfectly toasted pizza pie!

Our "facilities" for the trip. This works great for kids who haven't mastered the squat technique yet. Enough said.

Matthew has two headlamps, and they were always being used. I think for Christmas, each of the kids might find their own in their stocking so we can all enjoy hands-free lighting!

Can you camp without S'mores? We usually make pies for dessert in our pie irons, but we only had pumpkin pie in our cupboard (this was a spontaneous trip) and I wasn't sure how that would go over.

So, Matthew whittled us some roasting sticks and we ate half a bag of roasted marshmallows!!!

Our sunrise. Too often our mornings are so busy that I forget that God puts on a show like this every morning! Awesome!

Bacon tastes SOOO good cooked over a fire. 

And eggs to go with the bacon!

When we went to bed, it was such a pleasant evening. By morning the wind had increased speed and was battering our tent. It stood, but the wind tested it. The girls did NOT like how loud it was inside the tent. You cannot imagine how thankful I am that we didn't find ourselves in a thunderstorm!

Presidential Facts 20

James Garfield

1881

Garfield was assassinated, but it wasn't the bullet that killed him. Doctors tried to dig it out with dirty fingers and tools. Garfield died of blood poisoning.

Presidential Facts 19

Rutherford B. Hayes

1877 to 1881

Hayes was the first president to have a telephone in the White House. It was installed by the inventor himself, Alexander Graham Bell.

Presidential Facts 18

Ulysses S. Grant

1869 to 1877

This president was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but a West Point clerk enrolled him as Ulysses Simpson Grant by mistake. Grant kept that new name. He was embarrassed to be a soldier with initials that spelled "HUG."

Presidential Facts 17

Andrew Johnson

1865 to 1869

Andrew Johnson was illiterate when he got married at age eighteen. His wife taught him how to read and write.

Presidential Facts 16

Abraham Lincoln

1861 to 1865

Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination. He was shot in Washington DC, watching the same play that was being performed in Chicago on the day he was nominated for president -- in Chicago.

Presidential Facts 15

James Buchanan

1857 to 1861

People sometimes thought Buchanan was strange because he would close one eye and leave the other open. Actually, he was farsighted in one eye and nearsighted in the other, so he did this to be able to see well.

Presidential Facts 14

Franklin Pierce

1853 to 1857

During his second year in college, Pierce had the lowest grades in his class. He changed his study habits and graduated third in his class, even though his classmates included Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Presidential Facts 13

Millard Fillmore

1850 to 1853

Fillmore is the only president with two double l's in his name.

Presidential Facts 12

Zachary Taylor

1849 to 1850

Taylor always refused to pay the extra postage if someone sent him a letter without enough stamps. That's why he didn't learn about his nomination for president until almost a week after it happened.

Presidential Facts 11

James K. Polk

1845 to 1849

President Polk established a tradition by hosting the first annual Thanksgiving dinner at the White House.

Presidential Facts 10

John Tyler

1841 to 1845

President Tyler was a busy man. He had fifteen children, eight with his first wife and (after she died) seven with his second.

Presidential Facts 9

William Henry Harrison

1841

Harrison had thought about becoming a doctor. It would have helped him when he developed pneumonia after his outdoor inauguration speech.

Presidential Facts 8

Martin Van Buren

1837 to 1841

Van Buren was the first president born in the United States, but he grew up speaking a foreign language because his parents were Dutch.

Presidential Facts 7

Andrew Jackson

1829 to 1837

For years Jackson carried two bullets in his body: one in his shoulder and one in his left lung. Both were lodged there as the result of duels.

Presidential Facts 6

John Quincy Adams

1825 to 1829

Adams owned a pet alligator, which he kept in the East Room of the White House.

Presidential Facts 5

James Monroe

1817 to 1825

In 1821 Monroe received every electoral vote except one. That delegate didn't want to spoil George Washington's record as the only president elected unanimously.

Sweet Emily

Watching the Action

Barry Apple Festival

Lissa was in the parade at the Barry Apple Festival. Her float was SO cool and won first place for the floats! I know many, many hours went into making the work of art. It was a cold afternoon, so we were all bundled up and frozen before the two-hour long parade ended. Here are a few photos!

Emily left her candy bag in the van, so she had to improvise and used her hat to collect her parade candy in. Then, it went back on her head to keep her ears warm. She reminded me of the cat in the hat!!

Presidential Facts 4

James Madison

1809 to 1817

Madison thought his voice was too annoying for him to be able to become a minister, so he went into politics instead.

Dreaming of Horses

Emily and Megan are all about horses right now. I think we have checked out every non-fiction horse book from our local library, and have our own collection of fiction horse books. The girls role play that they are jockeys, or the horses themselves, stamping their "hooves" and snorting just before they sprint around the house. (I have dared Matthew to start a race like this, and even added money to the challenge. He has yet to take me up on it.) They each have a stick horse and can been seen most days galloping on their horses in their boots and hats. Emily's latest love is drawing the large animals. She has so many drawings that we had to designate a folder to her growing portfolio of the animals. Here is one of her first drawings.

Homemade Applesauce

A special thank you to Rowen and Annetta for sharing their abundant apple crop with us several times this year. We have enjoyed visiting with you, and have been enjoying all the fresh apples, applesauce and apple desserts. We have all appreciated your kindness!

Presidential Facts 3

Thomas Jefferson

1801 to 1809

Jefferson wrote his own epitaph, listing many of his accomplishments but not his being president.

Presidential Facts 2

John Adams
1797 to 1801

Adams was the first president to live in the White House. When he moved in, the residence didn't include a bathroom, only an outhouse in the backyard.

Presidential Facts 1

Want to get to know our presidents better? These cool presidential facts are taken from a super cool book titled, "See How They Run -- Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House." It is written by Susan E. Goodman and Elwood H. Smith. We are reading it for school, and it is an amazing resource to explain our presidential election process. Each day, I will share a new presidential fact.

George Washington

1789 - 1797

Washington believed that shaking hands was beneath a president's dignity, so he bowed to his visitors instead.

Captured Moment

WIU Homecoming, part 2

After the parade, we hung out with Rhonda and Ben and their four wonderful children. They wanted to go see the football stadium so we walked over, went down the steps and played on the field and bleachers and track. It was so much fun! I can't believe the kids were all rolling down the HUGE hill! We didn't stick around for the football game, and instead ate a late lunch at Jackson Street Pub. Mmmmm, pony shoes! I hadn't had one in years!!

So glad to see Rhonda and her family. It was a super fun homecoming!

I had to post this photo of Rhonda's family because I LOVE the look on Nolan's face!!!

Yes, here is Emily running around the WIU track in her SOCKS!! 

WIU Homecoming 2012, part 1

Well, homecoming always falls at a busy time of year for us, but since we are not far from Macomb, we usually try to participate in a few events. It was a very chilly, breezy morning so we bundled up and took our place on the sidelines as Matthew ran the 5k, finishing 4th overall. The Alumni House served hot chocolate and doughnuts as we waited for the race results. 

Matthew left after the race to get home to work and the kids and I stuck around for the parade. We met up with one of my dear college friends, Rhonda, and her family. It was so much fun!! So, here is the first part of WIU homecoming.

Matthew and Eli shortly after finishing the race.

Our friend, Brian, finishing strong!!

It finally warmed up for the parade!!!

Me and Rhonda!! 

Eating Yogurt

I had no idea that yogurt is a finger food!!

Off to Work

Matthew decided to finish a bean field on Sunday. It is a rare occasion that he jumps up after Sunday lunch and goes to work, but he knew the field would only take him a few hours so he decided to get it done. It happened to be a perfect opportunity (since he would not be working more than a few hours and since he was close to the house) for Eli to put in some time in the truck and combine (a.k.a. naptime!!!). 

The only problem now is that Eli has had a taste of combine and every morning since Sunday he has screamed when Matthew has left for work. Matthew picks Eli up to hug him good-bye, and Eli wraps his little arm around Matthew's neck, turns and looks at me and uses his free hand to wave good-bye to me. And then the screaming begins as I have to pull him away from his daddy. You can only imagine how much time we have spent the last week sitting on equipment in the sheds. This boy cannot get enough of tractors and four-wheelers. 

Proud Dad!!  

I guess if you wear a shirt that says, "Come Follow Me" then you attract a following!!
We were walking down to pick up the truck. I love it that the girls run around in their Sunday dresses and flip flops. I also love that Megan throws on a hat to be like her dad. : )

Megan rode back in the truck with Matthew.