A-OK At The KOA.

We are taking our annual family vacation this summer in style. Oh yeah. We are going to the Grand Canyon for a week. And we will be camping the whole time. Does this worry you as much as it worries me? 'Cause I'm worried. At least I was. We took a nice one nighter trip to a KOA Kampground to try it out. Why? Because KOA is a cheap night's stay. There are also many of them around the GC. They have swimming pools. They have play grounds. Oh, they also have showers!

I'm in!

So on Friday we got all our gear packed up and into the mini wimpy van. Then we headed to a local KOA. Here's Mr. KOA Bear greeting us!

There was a really cool tree that would have made any photographer happy. The problem is, my kids don't understand the need for sitting down and looking nice so I can get a nice picture with the tree frame!
They just wanted to climb. And try to get to the bird nest. Luckily for the birds, it was way too high.

They also made some friends. And then climbed some more. Then tried to get the bird nest again...

But they wouldn't stand still and together for me to take a nice picture! "Where is your mother, and why aren't you listening to her?"

On the other side of the grass we have the tent. And the boy who wouldn't go up in the tree while I took pictures. And the man who put the tent up. In the wind. Ferocious wind.

Oh! KOA isn't in the mountains. No sir! It's next to the freeway. And a train track. Where trains go by in the middle of the night! And an alfalfa farm. Where Mr. Farmer likes to get up before the crack of dawn to bail his hay on Saturday morning.

It is also close to the highway. Don't worry, it's up there. With lots of cars! In the middle of the night.

And our tent was right next to the road. We thought it was a dead end. Apparently lots of people like to drive dead end roads in the middle of the night. Weird!

Did I mention the ferocious wind? It was windy and the kids really wanted to swim. And get this...I brought my suit so I could go in with them. If you know anything about me, you know I will get a swim suit and then NEVER wear it. Plus, I have this fear of water...

But I was ready. Until the wind started. But the kids wanted to go in. Look at their faces. Freezing!!! C'mon! Get in there. Don't get out!

I know it's cold. But if you just get in, you'll be fine!

They hung on for dear life. The freezing water nipping at all their extremities! And you see the little girl on the side? She was purple from shivering so hard. That's her ma and pa in the water. They were playing married games in the water. We were glad they stayed on the other side.

Sam couldn't hack it. He went shivering to dad, who also wasn't dumb enough to get in the water.

Ruthie made a friend after the married couple and their daughter left. She asked Ruthie what state she was from as her big brother came up to them. Ruthie said, "The United States of America". The brother laughed a "that is so cute" laugh. Then the girl said they were from Nevada. They played for quite a while and had fun!

When the kids were too cold to go on, we put them in the hot showers (Yay showers!) and into jammies. Then we went back to the tent for evening entertainment. The wind was so cold and, well, windy, that we stayed in for quite a while and tried to watch Scooby Doo on Daniel's phone. I know, we're weird.

When the wind died down just a bit, we bought ice cream for $2 a bowl. The kids split a bowl of Superman while my superman and I split a bowl of chocolate.

Wow!! They stayed put. And I got a cute picture. I just didn't get the other kid in it. Where are you, Isaac??

We left for the KOA by 4 on Friday and were home at 10 am on Saturday.

We've made a list of everything we'll need to make a week long camping adventure at KOAs more enjoyable. We are putting in our order for no wind. We are getting smaller air mattresses/cushions for the kids to sleep on. We are taking my laptop for night time down time. We are taking phone numbers of local Hotels.

Just in case.

A Picture A Day.

Monday...Biscuits with dinner. We discovered that our initials spell "Mr Sid". My kids think it's hilarious because of Sid on Ice Age.

Tuesday...Dinosaur Park.
Wednesday...Our adoption paperwork went into LDSFS. I told my kids I wanted a picture of them in front of the building. I thought it was so sweet that they all had a hand on the envelope!

Thursday...A new trick for chores. They each start with 5 pieces of licorice. If I had to remind them to clean or had to get after them for bugging, they lost 1/2 a piece to me. I ended up with enough halves to equal 4 1/2 pieces. Score!

Friday...We went Kamping. This is a bear in front of the laundry room.

Saturday...I'm calling this one "Classy Corner". We finally got a new TV and desk for our bedroom so Daniel can work one day a week at home and to watch TV in a much fancier way. I was a tad disappointed in the wires. The classiness of this corner just slays me!

Sunday...The kids were out riding bikes when a downpour came. They said they wanted to just take a shower in it. I was so glad they decided to do it while dressed.

Salt and Soda.

Have you ever walked down into your basement and smelled water? You know, the musty, there must be water down here somewhere starting to sprout mold and stuff, smell? No? Good for you. If you have, then you will feel my pain. I went down stairs yesterday and could smell something musty. But I smell it often because there is a small nursery down there where my beloved is growing things to plant in the garden. So I go into the food storage area to get some stuff for dinner.

You see this little vent? There is a sprinkler on the other side of it to water all the pretty flowers we planted. Okay, okay, we didn't plant them. Daniel did. But I supervised. From the window. Because it was hot outside. And the A/C was on. I can't let it be on and not enjoy it.
Here is a small box of baking soda which looked a little strange. Like it had been in the freezer and was just taken out to thaw. It wasn't. It's just been down in my food storage room.

And then I see this. The salt. Same weird look about it. And of course when I pick it up, all the salt falls to the floor...

See? Now I get a nice foot salting when I walk in there. I consider it my cheap version of a seasalt foot scrub.

The water from the sprinkler had come in through the vent and down the wall and messed with the salt and the soda on its way to the floor where it soaked the cardboard thingy my cans were in. Nothing else was touched. It's just weird.

Very weird. My cake mixes are dry. No cans are rusted. The water just needed a little salt and soda. Hey! What a great idea. A little salt and soda sound really good right now. Chips and diet pepper anyone?

Some Handiwork.

I own a sewing machine. I don't claim to be a great sewer... as in someone who sews... as opposed to a place where rats are known to swim. I love to sew blankets for my kiddos when they are finally in my arms. I can sew a straight line. Nothing fancy. I tried to sew a skirt once. It was tossed quicker than you could say, "What is that thing?!"

Recently I bought my boys each a pair of comfy pants at DI. I also bought them each a pair of church pants. How do you put holes in a pair of pants you only wear 3 hours once a week?? Only Sam could know the answer to that. The problem with all these bottoms was the waists were ginormous! And there were no pull thingys in the church pants. Usually that's how I buy them. I have no excuse. But I was in a hurry.

My tale brings me to these pictures....

Isaac's comfy pants. See that loop at the top? I sewed that loop to help them stay on his skinny fanny. I also did it to Sam's. He's wearing his to bed...and they won't slip off while he's sleepng!

These are Sam's church pants. I was more careful in how I sewed these. I tucked in the sides. Have you noticed the red thread? No? Well then, nevermind.
And Isaac's church pants. And, yes, I put an "S" and an "I" on the waist bands. They are different sizes, but not different enough that I can tell!

I don't have before pictures because I just thought about blogging this.

And after I sewed them I remembered that there is a sewing thingy for Enrichment tomorrow night. Oh well. We're getting ready to go camping and I can't go anyway. (Sorry Jen.)

I feel so sewy! I wanted to sew more and even went through the kids' closets and drawers. Then my closet and drawers.

Nothin'!

So I humbly put my machine back in the basement where it usually sits.

Soon I hope to be sewing a new blankie for baby #4! Yay!!

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy that my boys' pants won't fall to their ankles anymore!

I'm pretty proud of myself.

A Little Addition.

Not that kind of little addition. Not yet, at least. I put another little thingy bopper on the side of my blog that will link you to It's About Love. It's the new site for birth moms, adoptive families and others to get information on LDS Family Services' services. If you are interested in adoption, go there. If you are interested in placing your baby for adoption, go there. If you'd like some information on what our family is doing to grow, go there. Thanks for reading and have a great evening!

Give Away!

I really wanted to post something fun today.

And lo and behold, Jen, takes care of it for me! Go HERE! to see her cute give away!

Seriously!

You won't be disappointed!

Go HERE now!

Thank you!

Make A Meal Monday.

And this is all that was left...

It was Beef Taco Skillet.

And it was yummy.

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb ground beef

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook beef in 10" skillet until well browned, stirring to break up meat. Pour off fat.

Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir. Top with cheese.

I got this from a little insert inside my Taste Of Home magazine last month. I needed something fun for dinner and this was it. It was awesome because it was dinner time and I had all the ingredients. My kids LOVED it! It says it makes 4 servings and they weren't kidding. I will need to add a little more of everything so everyone gets enough next time.

Enjoy!