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Meet Amy
I have struggled with the answer when asked, "What do you do?" and it isn't work-related. Ultimately, we settled on that I find things and untangle things. But I also read (a lot), pretend to wake surf, and watch Hallmark films.
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I don’t think there is a day that we don’t say, “Holy cow, Ivy is just like me and Jade is just like Dad!”
Tonight at bedtime, I took my pen and tried to write on the bottom of Ivy’s little foot. She giggled and pulled it away from me. Jade asked me if I would write something on her foot. I got our whole address written and she hadn’t even squirmed. My turn was next. Scott was barely able to write the “A” of my name. I wrote Scott’s full name on the bottom of his foot.
Ivy is not very strong. Jade is a powerhouse. Scott, well, he’s a man. I’m not strong at all.
As a child, I was afraid to do backwards somersaults or jump on the trampoline. Finally, this year Ivy is able to actually get air when she jumps on the trampoline. Jade is not afraid of anything. She’ll climb a rope, 30 feet tall, and won’t ever worry about the ground way below. Scott is able to flip and twist on the trampoline and jump across the wake of the boat. Even now, I’ll try things (like a flip on the tramp or wake boarding) but I am filled with anxiety the WHOLE time.
Jade has Scott’s long legs and round bum. Ivy has my long legs and no bum.
I love that our girls are so different from one another and so like their parents. But it makes me feel very sad when Jade comes to me with a tear in her eye, wishing she was more like me. On the other hand, I love it when she laughs about being “Daddy’s Girl” while Ivy is “Mommy’s Girl”.
Wanna see how similar Ivy and I are?
Swing over to Mama Kat’s and see some other writer’s workshop prompts.
This last weekend, we went camping. We fancy ourselves as “campers” but realized it has been 3 years since our last camping trip with all four of us. Scott has taken Jade to the church’s Father-Kid Camp Out (yes, I know it is typically a Father-Son Camp Out, but I’m grateful they allowed daughters to join in the fun). The next year he took both girls. So we know they like camping.
Scott is extremely organized. Once we decided to go camping, he pulled out his “camping packing list” – because he is THAT organized. He updated it a bit to include some of the different stuff we would need for our first adventure of “boat in campsites”. (I confess, in the past we have been “car campers” which basically means, we’d pull up to a campsite and set up our tent, blow up mattress etc. I like being a “car camper”).
I thought I should share with you some of the items that we find very useful and are on our “required” list. Some of these items have been added to our list since our last trip.
- Baby wipes – Last time we went camping, they were a given because Ivy was 1. This time, we didn’t throw them in and really wished we had. Think about roasting marshmallows, sticky hands and faces are easily cleaned with baby wipes.
- Hand Sanitizer – a given if you don’t have near by running water. Plus it is much easier before snacks and meals to not make the trek to the bathroom or the water to wash up.
- Broom – In my ideal world we’d have a little hand vacuum that we could use. But, my memories as a child included my mom and grandma sweeping out the tents. So a broom is a must. (ESPECIALLY when camping where there is sand).
- Plenty of water – Loading up a cooler full of water bottles and filling the empty space with a bag of ice (from Costco, cause the bag is bigger and cheaper) will make it easy for you or the kids to stay hydrated.
- First Aid Kit – That may sound like a no brainer, but there are several items you want to include in that first aid kit. For example: tweezers to get out those burrs that break off in the kids’ skin, burn cream because the fire is HOT, anti-itch cream for after the mosquitoes reminded you to put bug spray on everyone.
- Toilet paper – because you never know if someone is going to get a nose bleed or have allergies attack. Bringing your own is easier than hiking to the bathroom every time someone needs a tissue.
- An ax or a shovel – or something to kill the rattle snake that is hanging out in your campsite. We didn’t kill ours, we just moved our campsite down to the beach where there wasn’t enough weed cover to hide the 6 foot long diamond back with a 2 1/2 inch rattle.
We got to spend some time with our really good friends. Heather and I sat and visited while the kids played in the water, hiked to the top of the mountain with Scott and Jason, and built sand castles or “fires” in the sand. We made sure they lived in their life jackets (Jade has a rash on her chin as proof she wore it faithfully). The kids got creeped out by really big beetles and stayed away from where we found the snake. There was one scary moment on the boat, but Scott jumped in quickly and made everything okay. (Can I add here how lucky I feel to have someone who always has his head on his shoulders? He is always the first to respond while everyone else is frozen in fear. Plus he is always the one to think everything through rationally and QUICKLY).
Despite all of the wonderful things about the trip, it was a less than ideal camp out. The winds were horrific. I’m hoping that it was just the day and that Yuba Lake is not ALWAYS a wind tunnel. There were huge gusts of wind. One of them actually picked up our friend’s tent and sent if flying. I’m also not in love with “boat in” camping. It isn’t fun having to load the boat with all of your camping stuff, take it to the camp site, leave it on the beach and return to parking lot and ramp to pick up the family and the rest of the supplies. Plus you have to worry about anchoring the boat (if you weren’t fast enough to reserve a site with a dock). Even the dock required everyone to walk through water up to at least the middle of their thigh just to get to the beach.
But all in all, the kids are way excited to go camping again. And they’ll have their chance in just a few short weeks. Same lake, different camp site. Praying for no wind.
If you are interested in learning more about Levan and Yuba Lake, be sure to check out Travel Gem.
***What are some important things for you to take when/if you go camping?
This past week, my nephew graduated from high school. Unfortunately I didn’t get to go so I don’t have any pictures of him being the really sweet graduate that he is. But, I am really proud of Dax and excited for his adventures he’s going to get to have at Oxford for the next 4 years.
Since I couldn’t celebrate his graduation, I decided to celebrate the teens that we are surrounded by.
With Jade and Ivy being involved in dance, they get to see some very dedicated teenagers. They are beautiful girls and beautiful dancers. I am so impressed by their level of dedication, many at such a young age.
This picture is one I got during the spring recital. I love the look of concentration on her face.
Check out other teens at I Heart Faces
***PS Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for “Three Loves” by Cassandra Barney.
Every year, or so it seems, Scott and I decide that we need to eat better, have less treats in the house and work out some. (I’m being honest here – “some” is A LOT more than we normally do). Scott will start going to the gym. I’ll start swimming. We’ll both start eating better and helping each other look better in our swimsuits.
Some of our favorite meals, when we are eating healthy, are fast and easy to make. We eat a lot of tilapia, turkey breasts and chicken breasts. When we’re being “healthy” we tend to eat less red meat and less pork. Mostly because it feels like both of those meats stay with you for so long. But my favorite meal, and one the girls love as well is easy and pretty. (Pretty matters when you are fixing dinner. Really it does. Ask my mom.) Here it is…
Doesn’t it look delicious and pretty? Let me tell you how easy it is…
2 lemons, for juice
1 cup grape tomatoes, slice in half
2 cups spinach, cut in pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 tilapia (I do 3, because the girls split one)
Cajun seasoning
First, saute the onions in the juice of 1 lemon. Once the onions are clear, place the tilapia on top of the onions. Sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning, then do the other side. Grill the fish until golden brown on both sides. Dump the tomatoes and the spinach over the fish. Add the juice of the second lemon and cover. Check it after 5 minutes, but you might need to leave it on as long as 10. Don’t go beyond the 10 or the color starts to brown. Then we serve it with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.
Click here to enter a giveaway that will help you enjoy this delicious and pretty meal.
Especially when it is boating season.
It is really hard to always round up other families to go with us boating. And we can’t just go the 4 of us – at least not very easily.
So, every once in a while, Scott will leave straight from work and head out to the lake with friends from work. Tonight was one of those nights.
(I did NOT take these pictures but I like them and they make my husband look like quite the stud).
I love “Boys Night Out” and I’m glad that Scott gets to do them. Every once in a while.
Hosted by Cecilyand Lisa
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