Church Retreat 2012



 The past couple of days have been busy ones for us!  We went to our first ever church retreat!  I'll be honest.  Wasn't really hugely thrilled about going.  Pete was gone this week on business, so it was just me and the kids for a few days, so I was already tired from that.  The idea of packing up and taking them alone, without Pete there, was a little daunting to say the least, but I'm thrilled that we ended up going, because it was great fun!!

When we first arrived to the retreat center, they had this AMAZING oak tree as you entered into campground.  I mean, seriously, one of the coolest trees I've ever seen!  The kids instantly wanted to play on it.  We waited until we were leaving today to do that, but here are a few pictures of them on it.  Livie loved the big swing that was hanging from it.

They also had a a couple rope swings.  Think Noah might have been having fun?! ;-)

Madie did too.  I mean, look at those branches in the background there.  They all swooped down like that and just surrounded the whole tree.  It was awesome!!!

Oh how I wish we had one of these in our yard at home.  It would take up our whole backyard and then some, but wow! was it amazing!

When we got to the main lodge, we found out that we were going to be staying there.  Those of us with kids were going to stay in the basement area, where they had the rooms, while the other adults stayed in a different cabin.  It was really nice for us, because the meeting place for our worship services was literally right off our rooms and the dining hall was above us, so we didn't have to corral the kids as often.  It worked out perfectly!  This was the big fireplace at the end of the dining hall.  The kids were soooo excited!

We got there around 5:30 and by 6 we were eating and getting ready for our first worship service.  The camp workers, along with our friend Brian, took all the kids to the gym they had there on the site, so we adults could enjoy the service, while the kids enjoyed the rock wall!  Now, as much as my kids claim to be scared of heights, I was pretty convinced none of them would actually tackle it.  But, Brian, who is quite the adventurer himself, was able to help Madie and Noah through their fears and they both managed to make it to the top!  Look at Madie go!!

Noah got up to the top TWICE!  Livie was too scared to try it, but was so proud of Madie and Noah for facing their fears!

After the kids came back, they were going to go on a hayride, but the evening was so beautiful, we decided to stop our worship service and discussion and hop on board with them!  It was a lot of fun!  First hay ride really for our kids and first for me in a long, long time.  I thinking Jr. High or early High School was the last time I got to do this.

After the hayride, the adults went back to finish the service and discussion, while Brian, Donna, and I took the kids outside to make smores on the campfire they built. 

This was the weekend of lots of "firsts" for my kids.  They loved cooking smores over the campfire!

Donna, James, Jackie, and I were up until 1am this morning, laughing and having a great time.  Our friend, Lisa, who went to bed early with her husband Brian and their kids, accidently left her camera out in the common room.  At 1am nothing sounds funnier than photobombing her, so we can't wait for her to go through her pictures from the weekend and find some "menacing, creepy" pictures from us. ;-)  Since I didn't sleep all that well last night, we were easily ready to go out for the morning hike they had scheduled at 7am.

Not a lot of people went from our group of 30, but we had a fun time nonetheless.  The temps were still cool and it was a great way to start our day.  I did run into a few sticky plants and now have 3 sweatshirts covered in those buggers, but it was worth it to get outside and enjoy the morning.

After the walk, we had breakfast before heading downstairs for a short inspirational worship time.  We sang more songs and then people went forward with poems or sayings or songs that meant a lot to them.  It was the first time the kids joined us for worship and it was really nice.

After that we started our first activity for the day.  We had 3 slots open to choose our events, but we ended up taking a long spot with our second activity, so we only did 2.  That was ok, because it worked out perfectly, as you'll see as you continue through this post.  The activity we chose was with all the other kids and their parents, THE GAUNTLET!  Sounds intimidating, but it was really fun!  It was an obstacle course and they had the best time!  I mean, look at those happy faces!!

Noah did the best job of all my kids today.  He loved it and kept going back to do more!

I think their favorite was swinging from the rope.  Of course, as they did it, they had to hum the "Indiana Jones" theme song. ;-)

They had to climb through tires.

And, cross lots of different ropes things.  They used me a lot to help them through the hardest parts.

They even had a short zip-line!  They loved it!!  It was a short visit there, thankfully, because the kids got really overheated.  I dumped water on all their heads on the way home just to cool them off and, when I say "all"  I don't just mean MY kids.  I mean ALL the kids! :-)  We parents all worked as a team this weekend to help our kids out.  It was great!  Doesn't hurt that we're all friends and our kids all love each other. :-)

After that we headed back for another service.  The kids were very hot and very tired, so I set up a fan and they played their DSs, while the other kids watched.  Gave them time to settle down and relax before lunch and our next BIG adventure!

This was one of my favorite parts.  We got to see all the slides from John's travels during Sabbatical.  He did so many amazing things and go to go to so many amazing places.  It was really awesome to see!

We had lunch next and the kids, as always, had a great time fellowshiping together, just like we adults did. :-)

After lunch it was time for our next event!!  We got the kids into their bathing suits, loaded up on the bus and headed down to the river.  We were going CANOEING!  Yay!

Everyone went on this adventure (well, I think 2 gals stayed back) and it was so much fun!  We took a 4 mile trek down the Fox River in sunshiney weather, with just a bit of a breeze.  Couldn't ask for anything better!

Do we look ready to go or what?!  Again, another first for our kids and they couldn't wait!  You'll see Pete is with us in this picture.  He got back from his business trip late on Fri night, so he came up around lunchtime on Sat, so he could join us for the canoeing adventure.  I was SOOO glad he did!  He had a great time and I appreciated the extra help!  Don't know if I could've handled a canoe with three kids by myself!

Madie and Noah both got a chance to row themselves.  I think even Livie got a chance to do it.  She's there behind the other two, collecting seaweed. :-)

Between all three kids, they ended up with quite a ball of seaweed at the end!

Just some of the happy canoe-ers!



Here are all the kids (with the exception of Jade, who left a little early) with Pastor John.  It was a really fun couple of days and I'm hoping this is the first of many retreats with our church family. :-)

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for my kiddos!!!  Gotta be honest, as ready as I was for them to get back to school, I felt today unprepared for it!  Yes, I had their bookbags packed.  We had their first-day-of-school outfits picked out (that's a vital part of the first day, of course!).  I even washed up all the fruit and got their lunchboxes ready for packing.  But, none of that preparation apparently would help me this morning.  First of all, I feel like the school wasn't ready for our kids to come back.  If the school's not, then how are we to be?  I had no lunch menu, that's why I was packing all the lunches.  They only have the 2011 menus posted on their website.  Not helpful.  I was supposed to meet with the nurse and Noah's teacher and take in all his supplies prior to today, but the teacher never got back with the nurse and I.  So, in addition to making sure they all got off to school with their supplies, I had to tug a large bag with all his supplies in it with us, so I could take it into the school and talk with the nurse there.  She and I had talked a couple weeks ago about everything, so I felt cool with where we stood, but I had no conversation with the teacher and that upset me.  I don't really want to add to the craziness of the first day by having to pull the teacher aside and talk to her about Noah's care.  Nurse Julie said she would talk to her for me, which is fine.  Just wish it had been done in a better way, ya know?   So, to make a VERY long story short, we barely made it out the door this morning on time and I'm really lucky I was able to manage getting the customery pictures taken of them, though I would've been late to school before missing out on those pictures!

Livie insisted on wearing a dress.  She really wanted to wear a dress with a puppy on it, because her friend Mimi likes her other doggy shirt, but she finally agreed to wear this.  Shopping with her can be fun, but if we disagree with what she wants to wear and what I want her to wear, it can be insane.  It took Livie and Madie an HOUR to decide what to get for their first day of school outfit.  Noah took 3 min.  Anyone out there with just boys, count your blessings!! ;-)  Livie is going into 1st grade and was so excited to get back there and see her friends!

Madie is really into sporty stuff now.  She likes comfort and this was right up her alley.  The bonus? Her shirt smells like chocolate chip cookies.  Yum!  Pete said, "Great.  Now all the boys will want to smell her shirt.  That's how it starts, you know!". haha   I think her dad is having a little trouble with his little girl growing up. ;-)  Madie's officially a middle-schooler now.  Even though our school is a K-8th school, she's upstairs now with a combination locker and will change rooms for all her classes.  Can't believe she's a 6th grader already!

Noah's upstairs now in 4th grade.  He's going to be responsible for taking his supplies with him wherever he goes.  As forgetful as he can be (Hmmm.. wonder who he takes after!), I'm sure that's going to take some getting used to.  But, he has his little case that he'll take with him to any rooms he may go to for PE, music, computer, etc...  He was kinda of excited about seeing his friends, but he's never really excited about going to school.  He thinks it's boring and would rather be home playing.

So, there you have it.  The 2012-2013 school year has begun!!  Hoping it's the best one yet!

Pete stayed home this morning, so he could walk with me and the kids and see them off.  He tries to do this every year.  I got to take this last picture of them before handing out the hugs and wishing them good luck.  Madie even let me hug her this year!  Didn't get to do that last year.  Of course, she didn't reciprocate.  Just stood there and took it, but hey, I'll take what I can get!







Good luck, kiddos!  Hope you have a great day!

Hello/Goodbye

Today was a fun, yet bittersweet one.  The FUN part was welcoming back our Pastor!  John has been gone now since mid-April enjoying his extended Sabbatical Break.  He's travelled literally all over the world, from Israel to Ireland to California and Mexico and lots of places in between.  He's been able to time with his children, his wife, his family, and great friends as well as have time for reflection and growth in his spiritual walk with God.  I mean, just look at him in the picture above and you can see how relaxed and refreshed he looks!  It was sooooo great to see him again.  We've missed him a lot.  So, today was part celebration of him being back in our midst.  Next weekend is our first ever Church Retreat where he'll share a lot of his adventures during his Break.  Looking forward to that!!  The BITTERSWEET part of the morning was saying goodbye to the special man that filled in for John while he was gone, Pastor David.  Dave's wife is actually the pastor down in Streator at that First Pres church.  He's a professor and a really genuine, kind, funny guy.  The best part about him is he didn't just show up every Sunday and deliver the message.  He didn't just show up.  He got engaged.  He really invested in each and every one of us.  He fit in with us so well and took time to really get to know us and know how our lives were going on a weekly basis.    He definitely filled in the gap of John's absence.  Today we had a brunch after service for him and said some words of thanks.  Almost the entire congregation was there to send him off.  They presented him with a book from this summer and he got up and said some nice things about his time here.  It was a great morning at church today and we thank Dave for all that he did!

Open House

Today was our very last Open House for the Kindergarteners and First Graders. :-(  All K-1st graders are invited to come to school a few days before school starts.  They get to meet their teacher, see their classroom, and drop off their school supplies.  Now that little Livie is in 1st grade, we are finding ourselves doing this for the last time.  All our future special trips will be graduations!!  

I wish they had an evening for all the students to drop off their supplies, because they have so much of them!  Her backpack was so heavy and she had a bag of extra stuff that wouldn't even fit in there and Madie and Noah are no different.  Monday is going to be rough for those two!

We got to the class and got to meet her teacher - Mrs. Weihman.  She was recognized locally last year for excellence in teaching, so we're THRILLED that Livie has her this year!!! 

She had to drop off some of her supplies in the bins.

And, put the rest in her desk.  So glad she finally has a desk!  Last year they only had tables, so she had to set everything on top of it.

Even put her PE shoes in her bin.  She is SO ready for 1st grade and can't wait to start.  Her bestie, Mimi, isn't in her class this year, but she saw her as we were leaving and they run up to each other and gave each other hugs.  They've decided to play during every recess instead. :-) 

Camping



It was SUCH a beautiful day yesterday (as noted in my previous post) that we were trying to come up with something to do outside that afternoon.  Shockingly - yes, SHOCKINGLY - I made the suggestion that we go camping.  In a tent.  At a campground.  Of course, Pete and the kids jumped on this idea and as I began thinking about it more, I decided maybe that wasn't the best suggestion and tried steering them in the direction of just camping in the backyard (you know, so there could be bathrooms and respite, if need be).  We decided to drive over to the nearby campground, which is all of 5 min from our house and see what lots they had available.  The place was packed!  There weren't a ton of empty camping spots.  Certainly none by the river.  So, we drove out a little farther to another section of the campground.  It too had a lot of people already set up, but we eventually found a couple spots that were off on their own in a fairly private way.  We decided to rush home, grab our tent and set up there.  If the spot was taken when we got back, then it wasn't meant to be that night.

As you can see from the pictures, it wasn't taken when we got back, so we unloaded the chairs and the tent and got to work setting up.  Not 10 min after we got there did a truck FULL of kids drive by looking at our spot(s), before leaving and heading over to another lot.  The kids then jumped on their bikes and shouted "You took our space!".  Guess they weren't the only ones who had found this nice location and rushed home to get their supplies!  Thankfully we got it first, because we didn't end up with anyone beside us, so it was nice and private, with a little path behind us to hike on and it looked directly into the north-eastern sky.  Why was this important, you ask?  Well, because part of the reason I suggested we go camping is that last night was the meteor shower and we really wanted to see it.  Our tent faced right towards the section of sky that the meteors were going to fall.  Perfect!!

After we got Tater hooked up to the picnic bench, the kids began their favorite adventure - digging up stuff.  They found lots of "treasures" while we were there.  Pete and I set up the tent while they explored and dug.  I love our tent.  I don't know if I'm a huge fan of the tent-camping experience yet, but I love our tent.  It's nice and big and comfortable.  Because we loaded up just a couple items so quickly, I left everyone behind and ran back to the house, so I could pack a picnic supper for us and grab a few more essentials.  The drought has brought with it a fire ban, so sadly we didn't get to have the campfire.  That really would've made it complete, but maybe next year we'll attempt this again and get to roast hot dogs and smores like we wanted to.

I brought back a bunch of different things, so we could sit down and eat.  Filled up our water jug with ice water, which we used throughout the night.  Brought back their digging tools from Mammoth Caves and our camp soap (which was totally cool!), as well as pillows and all that stuff.

The kids had so much fun playing in the tent.  They got in trouble a few times for being too excited and messing around in there.  But for the most part they just really had fun jumping on their sleeping bags or playing cards.

I even brought our cornhole game, so we could play that a bit.  See how nice and spacious our site was?!

As it was getting darker, I took the kids on a brief walk around our camping area and Pete took Tater out to play frisbee.  He loved it out there and had a smile on his face during our entire adventure!  I definitely think Tater is a camping dog. :-)  Of course, he was so active and didn't sleep all that well last night, so he's been laying around all day here.  I even went into the pantry to get some food and he didn't budge!  I nearly had to make sure he wasn't dead! ;-)

So, about 8:30, when it was got dark, we got all the sleeping bags and stuff arranged for the night.  We stayed up and played cards, read books, played on my phone and Madie's DS, waiting for the meteor shower to begin.  They were up pretty late, but really had a great time watching for falling stars.

See how spacious our tent is?  It's an 8-person tent, but I think it's just perfect for a family of 5 + a dog!



It was a new experience for me to sleep outside and hear all the noises that come from being outside.  We had all the lanterns and flashlights off and I would hear movement outside and what sounded like a zombie feasting on something.  Pete assured me there are no zombies in Northern Illinois.  Or bears.  Or cougars.  But, there WERE raccoons!  I know this, because I had to, um, how to say this politely?  Heck, I'll just say it.  I had to pee at about 11:30.  The bathrooms were a LONG way away, so I decided to make this official and pee outside.  Gross, but I did it.  When I went outside of the tent, I noticed we left our trashcan outside and it had been knocked over.  Hmmm..  I told Pete I think raccoons might be getting into our stuff.  Sure enough, about 30 min later we heard those little scavengers outside.  Pete got up, with Tater, and I peeked out there and the trash had been pulled out everywhere.  So, Pete stuffed it all back inside and put it in the van.  Took care of that problem.  The rest of the night was uneventful, but I'll be honest.  I didn't get much sleep.  Got up about 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  And, the worst part, I couldn't even read, because my light would've gotten everyone up.  So, thankfully the sun came up about 5:30 and the kids with it, so I took them on the trek down to the bathroom (aka hole in the ground) and headed back to the site.  I had a great time, but was so tired and ready for a shower, so we loaded up and headed home about 8am for breakfast.  Before we left Madie left the "The LMNOP Family" sign in rocks.  Very cute!  It was really cold last night, in the 50s, so it was perfect camping weather and it was really special having time with my family without the distractions of home, but I think camping, for me, may not become more than a yearly event.  It's fun in small doses. :-)

Sneaking in Some Golf

Today our weather has been amazingly perfect!  Started off cool in the low 60s and is reaching a high of the mid-70s.  I mean, you really can't beat that!  Well, what do you do on a beautiful weekend morning?  If you're Pete, you go golfing!  And, now that Noah is his golfing buddy, I think it's great when they get a chance to go out.  You'll see from the pictures how the drought has affected our area.  The grass is dead everywhere.  It's almost weird to see people with watered lawns, because the green stands out so boldly from the rest of the areas.

I got a call shortly after they left to see when the girls and I were leaving for Ottawa - we had to go buy dance shoes/leotards today.  They had forgotten Noah's diabetes bag, so we stopped off at the golf course on the way to the dance school.  Noah looked a little surprised to see us show up!

Since they were the only ones at the driving range at that point, the girls wanted to try their hand at a couple swings.  Noah didn't like them infringing on his dad/son time, but quickly got over it and started showing Livie how to golf, but not until after Pete showed her the "right way". :-)

Madie was really excited to try her hand at it.  She really listened intently on what Pete was telling her to do and how to hold the club and all.

Noah showed me his swing.  Took a couple tries, but he hit it pretty well.  Better than me, anyway!

Madie hit hers well too and got it to go pretty far after a couple misses.  Other guys started showing up to try the driving range too, so I took the girls and left.  Golfers like quietness when they are swinging and the Trolingers don't do quiet, at least not when we're all together.  The girls and I left and bought the shoes we needed for this year in dance and bought 3 new leotards too, so they are totally set.  The only thing left on my checklist to pack is Madie's cheerleading stuff, but that doesn't get ordered until next month, so for August activities, we are READY!  Yay!

I thought I'd throw in this picture from last night's recital.  Not ours, but another local dance academy known as Adagio.  They had a great show and we knew lots of girls that performed!  It was just me, Madie, and Livie that went, because if I made Noah go to another recital (especially one that didn't even have his sisters in it), he'd probably kill himself.  He HATES ,with capital letters, going to recitals.  I think he feels he's had enough of them in his life already. ;-)  Anyway, we had a lot of fun watching our friends perform and it was fun to see another dance school's recital.  They focus more on modern dance/jazz than we do, so it gave us some variety.  Very fun!