Kindergarten or Bust!

Wasn't it just yesterday that we welcomed little Gabe into the world?  No....seriously.  Wasn't it?  Time has started to seemingly pass more quickly as I've gotten older....but with the addition of my children's lives into the mix, time now just seems to spontaneously evaporate......all of a sudden several years seem to have disappeared instantaneously!

This morning, our little five year old Gabriel donned his favorite neon-yellow baseball socks (which perfectly coordinated with his neon yellow and navy blue shorts ensemble that Grandpa and Grandma recently gifted him), slung his freshly chosen Black Lego Ninjago backpack over his shoulder, and strode excitedly and confidently onto the bus to kindergarten....and just one inch closer to independence.

We traveled the hop, skip and jump over to our friends' home - he will be catching the bus in the mornings from the Flukes' home, with the kids he spent this past summer with.  They were all looking so sharp this morning!  It was fun to share the waiting for the bus, and the excitement of the day with these kiddos.  Lauren will remain with the Flukes and be in their care until she too will take this kindergarten journey.  Gabe has made a friend there named Nolan - Nolan is also starting kindergarten this fall, but is in a different class.

After much waiting, the bus finally made its way down the street.  There was no hesitation, only joy, as Gabe made his way across the street and up the stairs to the bus.  He greeted the bus driver, and plopped down in a seat on the side of the bus closest to us - his little head barely visible above the window ledge.  He propped himself up for one final wave goodbye, as he smiled his Gabriel smile.  I didn't even have time to catch a photo before his little head was back below the ledge of the window.  And just like that...he was on his way!

I was not the blubbering mess I thought I'd be.  Gabe was ready.  Perhaps that helped me to be ready?  He's so intelligent, and just mentally and socially ready for this life milestone, and he was just brimming with excitement ... this morning, and the past several days leading up to this morning!  It was nearly impossible for the sentimentality to push through the sheer excitement!  Although....during those quiet moments....after he'd bounded onto the bus....and I was left to my thoughts as I started my car....I did shed a few small tears.  I think there were four to be exact:  one for my love for him that is just too extravagant for my heart to contain...one for how proud I already am of him....one for the eager anticipation of all that I know he will accomplish, and the boy and man he will become....and one for the bittersweet heartache of knowing that this indeed will be the first of many such milestone moments that I will experience and treasure on his life journey.

I gave the bus some time to make it to the school - perhaps a bit too much time, because by the time I got there, they were already in their room, with the door shut, beginning their day.  I couldn't bring myself to interrupt them for that one last shot I wanted of him sitting at his desk in the classroom.  I peeked in through the door, for just a couple of moments.....and there he was.  He sat so quietly...paying attention.  Perhaps he was taking my advice to heart?  I can be wordy at times (shocking, I know), but I tried to keep my motherly kindergarten advice short and sweet.  I told Gabe that the most important thing he could do was to be a good listener.  That's one of the most important things any of us can do throughout our lives.

Gabe...my prayer for you is that you will listen, and practice kindness and respect, and that these behaviors will enhance your school experience, and cultivate it into a magnificent learning and growing experience for you that will send you down  a successful life path, filled with knowledge and amazing experiences.  My prayer is for you to do all of these things to the best of your ability, and that you will use this knowledge-rich and abundant life in a way that will show others what it means to love God, and use the gifts He has given you to do his work in our world.

I watched the clock anxiously all day - not an easy task when you're slammed at work.....but finally 3:45 rolled around, and I headed home.  The bus was late....typical for first-day schedules....and those minutes drug on and on.  Finally, Shawn and I heard the rumble of the bus coming down the street, and the squall of its brakes as it slowed down to round our corner.  The bus stopped in front of our house, and the driver got out to show Gabe how to watch for cars, and where to stand and wait......and then............there was this.....

.....and my "mom heart" rejoiced.  You're going to be great, Gabe!!  <3

Our First Evans Family Camping Trip

This weekend, I discovered that there is no joy like that of a family camping trip.

Yes, the Evans family ventured to Clinton Lake in Lawrence, KS for a couple of nights this past weekend.  But, as any seasoned camper knows.....so much time, effort, and planning goes in to getting ready for those few evenings away, especially for a family with small children on their rookie camping outing!  As I spent the weeks leading up to our trip pouring over suggested packing lists, perusing possible campfire recipes, polling camp-savvy friends for their best advice....and then doing my best to figure out with Shawn which of those morsels applied to our family, and this trip, and how to simplify things so we could fit it all into one vehicle.....I wondered how the trip would go.  Would my children be bored at all?  Would it all actually be so overwhelming that I'd end up stressed, and thus the trip would perhaps not be very enjoyable for any of us?  (I mean ... wow.  Never before have I packed SO many items for a two-night excursion!)  How would the kids do sleeping in the great outdoors - would any of us actually get to sleep?!  Would I hear a whined request for some technological device (TV, smart phone, tablet or otherwise) approximately once every 7.2 minutes?  I wondered, but I did not worry about it.  I reflected on my limited amount of personal camping experiences over the years (fond memories!), and the beauty that is nature...and then my thoughts shifted to last week where I watched my children be perfectly content to play for an hour on simply an enormous pile of dirt.....and I figuratively placed my bet on the belief that this was going to be a fun weekend.  What I was not prepared for, was just how fun it was going to be.

We kicked into high gear in the days leading up to our departure:  I made homemade cookies and potato salad...chopped some fruits and veggies and stored everything in disposable plastic containers, made multi-categorical packing lists, and spent a lot of time gathering items and packing.  Shawn took care of a lot of the supply purchasing, and thinking through the technical aspects of the trip.  The fact that the entire family spent so much time working together to plan for this little trip was the first thing that set it apart for me....and I loved every moment leading up to departure.

I took off work early on Thursday, August 7th, picked up the kids, and got the final items gathered.  Shawn started loading the Highlander while I finished up the last of the cooking and food prep (which never quite goes as quickly as I hope it will).  By the time we were ready to roll out, the vehicle had sat on the driveway longer than we'd planned....and the battery had gone dead!  Fortunately a quick charge to the battery was all that was needed, and we laughed as we finally departed, in a vehicle that had literally zero extra space.  :)

The drive to Clinton Lake is a relatively short one, and we were there in no-time.  We stayed at the Hickory Campsite, #131.  We unloaded, snapped a quick pic of the littles at the site, and then proceeded to unload, and set up our brand new tent!

Shortly thereafter, our friends the Schumachers arrived, and we all set up camp, and then spent the evening making a fire, having dinner, and just hanging out!  I have known Amy for over 20 years!  She was a youth sponsor when I was in youth group, and now we sing together on the worship team at church, and have kids that are close in age.  We've talked for a couple years now about camping together....and we finally made that happen!

Schumacher and Evans kiddos...gathered around the campfire!

We love this family, and had SUCH a relaxing evening.  There is something magical about being surrounded by nature, with not a thing to do but let your kids run around and play while you watch the fire and swap stories.  It was relaxing....fun....even magical.  

We awoke the next morning (yes, the kids did so well sleeping in the tent, and we actually did sleep!  Well, some of us more than others....Shawn and Anthony chatted by the campfire until almost 4 in the morning).....we ate breakfast (opting for the simple option of a pop tart from home), and then headed out on the day's adventures.

The kids played for a while with scooters...we played some Uno....and Grace even helped Gabe make his very own bow and arrow out of materials they gathered.... :)

We took a walk down to the shore of the lake.  Lauren enjoyed wading in the edge of the lake (until she fell and plopped her little behind right down in the water) but she quickly got over that and enjoyed the mud in her toes....

Meanwhile, Shawn helped Gabe with some fishing from the lakeshore!

Lo and I also shared a really beautiful moment as we walked along the shore that morning.  During one of the seconds that I had the camera on her, snapping photos, a Monarch butterfly flitted into the frame, and landed on a leaf.  It has been forever since I've seen a Monarch, and I was so excited!  It was breath-taking.  We followed it up the shore a bit more, and I snapped a few more photos...

The Schumachers have a canoe, and we brought it down with us to the lake that morning!  Amy and I took Lo for a ride - she was NOT happy about it at first, but by about 5 minutes into the ride, she said "Oh this is better!" and seemed to enjoy herself!  Gabe enjoyed the ride too, and we let him help paddle a bit at the end....

Next stop was the swimming beach!  I've swam in a few lakes in my lifetime, but Clinton Lake's swimming beach area may be the nicest yet!  The kids had a blast here!

We then finally headed back in for some lunch, and wrapped up the day with some badminton, a nature scavenger hunt, a bit of "Catchphrase" while dinner cooked in the campfire coals (or rather, "got torched in the campfire coals" as I let ours do) and then more campfire time.  There were also some sweet moments of Sam and Lo playing together.  They are just a few months apart in age, and they adore each other!  At one point in the day, they had dragged their little lawn chairs side by side under a shade tree....and I could have mistaken them for a sweet, old, married couple later in life....sitting side by side.  :)

We slept one more night in the tent - Gabe and Lo decided to use their air mattress as a pillow..... :)

The next morning was Saturday, and our final day at the lake.  It just so happened that Clinton Lake was hosting some fun and free events for kids on this Saturday, so we got to end our camping experience with a bang!  Shawn took Gabe to a fishing derby that morning.  Gabe did not catch any fish, but he won a VERY nice fishing pole, and scored a goodie bag with a t-shirt, a tackle box, and other prizes.  I packed everything up while they fished, and then when they returned, we broke camp, and loaded the Highlander.

Our final hoorah was getting to participate in an archery demonstration!  Gabe loves the idea of a bow and arrow, and he got to shoot a real bow, and was able to be instructed in the very beginnings of how to shoot.  He got to take three turns through the target practice, and he was on cloud nine!!  He would probably tell you that this was the highlight of the trip for him.  :)

Looking through these photos and journaling about the weekend brings the wonderful feelings RIGHT back.  I'm so thankful for technology that allows me to memorialize what will forever be in my heart and soul as one of the best weekends of my life!  I can't put it into words.....but there were so many things that made this trip amazing:  the kids were amazingly well behaved, we got to experience so many fun activities together as a family, we got to spend time with some great friends, we tried something new, we were surrounded by the beauty of nature....and the list could go on and on.  But what I'm most thankful for was the precious, relaxed time together.

I know we all can't wait until our next excursion.  Next time we will hopefully get to have our T-Bear with us too - we were sad to not have her there to share in the adventure.  Gabe has already asked if we can just put up the tent in the backyard this week.  I think his quote from the trip says it best:  "Mom.....now I know about camping....and I know I love it."

Thank you God for my wonderful family, and our wonderful time together!!!