Perfect Sledding Adventure

The snow was still on the ground, but the temperatures were not freezing, so Kevin, Camden, and Sophia had a blast.  I guess it was a little muddy...and they didn't bundle up because it was warmer and their skin got very cold because their clothes got wet.  So not perfect, but fun!

 

 Ginger ran and ran and ran.  Kevin said he was driving 16 mph and Ginger was keeping up.  It was incredible to watch...and she was worn out at the end of the day.

Navy Man

My dear friend Elizabeth and her two boys were in Chicago.  Her oldest, Salim, had been in basic training for the Navy and had graduated.  Since they were in the a days trip we had to go see them. It was St. Patrick's Day and we originally planned to go downtown, so Camden didn't come along.  We changed our plans at the last minute and I wish we had brought her.  She would have enjoyed the day.

Salim hadn't had his phone for 9 weeks, so a quick stop at a nearby Apple Store was in order to take care of a few items.

Kevin and Rimere (our godson) hung out quite a bit throughout the day.  Rimere is a little thing (probably about the size of Camden, but with muscles!) and is an incredible wrestler.  The family just moved from Pittsburgh to Elizabeth's hometown of Webster, NY.  Rimere is taking the wrestling team by storm!  It is a wrestling community and he is their new "favored son."

We got Salim a "good" haircut (no quick military buzz) and then headed to the Gurnee Mill mall for shopping and dinner.

We ate at the Rainforest Cafe.   Again, Camden would have loved it!

Rimere and Elizabeth had to catch the train back into the city so we had to get Salim back to base.  We stopped at the Navy Exchange for a few t-shirts and basic supplies for Salim.  He was completing an advanced program for the next month or so before a break, then deployment to his ship - in Japan.

China Inn

This is our sit-down Chinese restaurant in town.  We never go there anymore because the service is so slow.  But then we give them another try...and remember why we don't go there.  But...Camden loves their sushi.  Since Kevin was at work last night, she and I decided to give it a go.  We walk up and the sign says, "No sushi tonight."  We started to leave, but she couldn't think of anything else that sounded good, so we went in.

45 minutes later we had our 1 order of General Tso's chicken and 1 order of crab rangoon.  Unbelievable!  Several apologies for the lateness, but no attempt to "make it right."  Geesh! 

Camden and I had fun hanging out (see her silly eyes above) and discussing how Kevin would have been furious.  We laughed a lot and the food was actually good.  But...it will be a while before we venture there again.

Family Coding Night

Our school did a great program for families to be exposed to computer programing.  Camden and I did this together and wrote about 200+ lines of code. 

It is a national program aimed at introducing coding to elementary kids.  The goal is for each of us to do an hour of coding in this evening. It was simple, straightforward and really challenging.  Each level built upon the next until we learned several pieces of coding language to complete simple tasks.

The Maze section used Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies, two very popular kid-friendly apps, to teach us.  The Artist section was coding to various geometric shapes.  It got very difficult and we only completed through level 6 before we stopped.

We had fun working together, strategizing the answers, and giving a high-five when we were successful.

Friday Night

Friday night we had Sophia and Emma spend the night.  It was wonderful to have such nice weather.  They played outdoors on bikes and scooters for a long time, followed by the trampoline.

Ginger and Kevin both got in the action.

We were enjoying dinner of grilled chicken when Molly came over.  The four girls ventured outside for more play, then came in for "s'mores" made from fudge stripe cookies and marshmallows roasted on the stove.  The cookies are a much easier adaptation of graham crackers and chocolate...so yummy!

One More Day

She is a pro!

I think the bed head is particularly spectacular today...and her Colts shirt fits her (thanks Gramma Pat for adding the white undershirt)!

Meatloaf Muffins and Brownies

With Kevin working first shift, I have Camden ride her bus to a church that is the farthest north stop for a Southmont school.  It is just 3 minutes from my office, so I can easily run over there and pick her up.  She then spend about 45 minutes at my office in one of the conference rooms, eating Chex Mix and M&M's while reading or playing on my phone.  

This stop is also where her friend Sophia and her sister Emma get off everyday.  Yesterday was our first day trying this and, of course, the three of them came running over with a plan already hatched for the girls to come to our house.  Since I needed to go to work, they went home, but we picked them up afterward and they joined us.  They played outside for about 2 hours and then came in for meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans.  

We actually cooked the muffins on the grill!  It must have been a success because each girl had 3 of them!  After dinner, Camden was thrilled that I said we could make brownies.  These are her favorites and we haven't had them in FOREVER!

Each took on a role:  Camden read directions and added all the ingredients,  Sophia was the stir-er, and Emma was the official taste tester.    

Emma made me do a final stir because it was not perfect on her first taste.  My guess is she just wanted a second one!

Birthday Swim Party Fun

Camden's friends Owen and Levi celebrated their birthday on Saturday with a pool party at Crawfordsville High School.  Thankfully she had been on her antibiotics for almost 3 days, so we didn't hesitate to go.

Owen loves minions and wanted a donut hole cake. 

His younger brother, Levi, loves Angry birds and had a traditional cake.

Camden loves to swim and loved that the party was 3 hours long!  She swam hard and jumped off the low and high diving board the entire time.

 

Kevin told Camden that he loved to do the "can opener" when he was a kid, so she was obsessed with it! 

She was so excited to go off the high dive.  But, of course, was scared the first time she got up there.  I'll give her the benefit of the doubt because it is pretty high.

Again!

Another round of meds.  This time for strep throat. 

The school nurse called me Wednesday morning and said Camden had been in the office complaining of a sore throat.  It was red and possibly had some white blisters, but no fever.  She had her gargle with salt water, gave her some throat lozenges, and sent her back to class.  Since there was no fever, she didn't have to come home, but suggested I call her doctor to see what she advised.   The nurse at the doctor's office said a lot of sore throats are going around because of weather/spring allergies, but since she didn't have a fever we could hold off brining her in.

Camden was at Papaws after school and into the evening while we go to Bible study.  When we picked her up, I asked how she was feeling and if she wanted us to stop and get more throat lozenges.  She said they didn't help and she just wanted to get home.  Kevin and I looked at her throat and knew immediately she had strep.  I was a little disheartened that we downplayed it and I didn't get her into the doctor that day.

Thankfully, the doctor got her in first thing on Thursday morning.  She took one look and agreed it needed a strep culture.  She did the test right in the room and it was positive almost instantly. 

We got the bubble gum flavored stuff (yuck!) along with a spoon measuring option.   While we waited I remembered that when Camden was about 4 she liked giving herself the medicine with a syringe (which had been offered).  I asked them to include one along with the spoon. 

Success!  She is still not wild about the flavor, but handles taking it like a pro.  As of this morning - 3 down, 17 doses to go!

Spring Cut

Camden was long overdue for a good haircut.  She was truly looking shabby!  With her tender head, I was ready to chop it off and get a nice short cut.  But our hair dresser advised that longer hair is actually a better low maintenance option.  So a nice shape-up was the decision.

Much better!

It's a Traeger

Kevin got a new "toy" on Saturday.  I guess we all will benefit from great grillin' and yummy smoked meats. 

Camden is busy enjoying the box/fort.