Family Camping & More!

Camping sure is a lot of work, thankfully it's also a lot of fun too! Lucky for us, Ben's parents are pro-campers so they take the lead (planning everything) and we try to help out as much as possible! We camped at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois and had a lovely shaded spot to call "home" for a couple of days. It was a complete bonus that the weather was almost fall-like even though it's nearly the end of July!

The first day, after setting up camp we hiked up Starved Rock. It was a nice hike, but there were lots of people and due to recent wind storms most of the other trails at Starved Rock were closed! :-(
The first night we roasted hot dogs, heated up baked beans, and had a delicious camp meal that we topped off with smores before bed.
In the morning, we got right to work on breakfast.

Noah was helpful with food prep all weekend long - especially if it involved fire!

We had coffee brewing, eggs cooking, sausage sizzling and cinnamon rolls waiting.

Yes! The sausage is done! We loaded our plates and chowed down. It was so good, especially in the crisp morning air.

Then we took off for a neighboring state park, Matthiessen State Park. There the trails were open and the crowds were very thin (at least first thing in the morning).

Both of these state parks are known for their canyons and waterfalls. The canyons were formed thousands of years ago when glaciers broke apart letting flooding waters carve them out.

We had a fantastic time exploring, finding out what was beyond the next bend, and climbing up and down the sandstone rocks.

The canyons were cool and damp.

The sandstone was easy for the boys to climb allowing them to feel like they were conquering great heights.

This was an extremely impressive waterfall - never mind the photo shoot that was taking place in front of it.

Plants were growing on and in each crevice they possibly could.

We also spent a lot of time at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam, built by the Army Corp of Engineers. We were all fascinated by the process! They had a small visitors center with a pretend tug boat in it that the boys played in a lot. They also had a viewing deck so we stood and watched barges come in and out of the lock.

Here the gates are opening to the let the barge into the lower part of the river.

We visited the lock at least three times while we were out camping. Saturday there were historic reenactors at the lock explaining how fur traders used to travel along the river, etc. One guy had several old games that we enjoyed playing. Wool rag balls and stick made for baseball, and large wooden rings with sticks made for a great ring toss game!  

In an effort to find new hiking trails we tried a different part of the Matthiessen Park but were sorely disappointed to find it was simply walking through the forest. The adults could appreciate the beauty but the boys were not impressed.

However, as we drove around the park to leave we came across a surprise! A model airplane runway, with guys flying planes. We were intrigued so we stopped and after Tim had one brief conversation the guy said that the boys could each take a turn flying!

And as a total vacation bonus, there was a field of sunflowers right next to the runway!

Such a cheerful flower.

Can you spot the airplane Levi's flying?

The guy said you can get a sore neck and back flying these planes - I think he's right!

Then it was Noah's turn.

After two successful flights and many thank you's we left the guy to fly his own airplane.

By this time Andy and Lia had joined us from Chicago so the boys were thrilled to have new people to play with and relentlessly pester. We put together pocket packet stew for supper. The guys were in charge of theories and methods for an even and steady fire.

And then, after a solid thirty minutes on the fire, dinner was served!

Sunday morning, we woke up and got right to making breakfast again! Although this time, Uncle Andy was there for entertainment. :-)

Then off we went to Matthiessen again!

The boys were even more adventurous than the day before and we were thrilled that once again the crowds were minimal.

They had the coolest concrete bridges

and stairways!

This place had a lot of stairs...we counted at least 280 steps going one way. We tried counting steps as a way of distracting the children but I think it was just as good a distraction for the adults too!
Back at camp it was time for a Fanta break while waiting for lunch.

This was one of the few times during the weekend that the boys actually kept themselves occupied without the help of an adult. Levi was snacking on chips and Noah was adding bits of wood to the fire.

Chicken, onions, peppers, tomatoes, black beans, corn, cheese and salsa over rice - yum! We ate a lot of food and it was all so very good!

We gathered to celebrate Sue's birthday and retirement. It was wonderful to get away and camp and while Andy and Lia's time with us was short it was wonderful to see them again. And thanks to Lia's amazing pie making skills, I now know I like blueberry pie!

Happy birthday Sue, happy retirement and thanks for working hard to take us all camping!

House Progress

Ben has been working his tail off lately with projects inside and outside the new house. He used farm equipment to dig trenches for water lines from the house to the well and from the well to the garden hydrant. And look at that water!!! Woo-hoo! 

The drywall crew worked for about two weeks mudding and taping and sanding our entire house.

They also sprayed the ceilings with a knockdown finish.

Their work is dusty,

but they were very neat about it. They always lined up their tools at the end of the day.

I thought the box of trowels was kinda cool.

Jeremy's crew installed our stained wood porch ceiling. It looks gooooooood. :-)

Just as soon as the drywall crew cleared out of the house Ben started painting!  Thank goodness we like the color.

Harold keeps coming in the house with us....he's going to have a hard time when finally don't let him in anymore.

There are many walls left to paint, along with a second coat too! Anyone up for a painting party?

Farming

Gardening is the same as farming right? Just on a smaller scale....that's how I think of it. We knew we wouldn't have as much time and energy for the garden this year with the new house being built and all. So we only planted potatoes, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, okra and cucumbers. I'm really missing not having pumpkins growing. So as gardening goes...things didn't turn out quite like I had planned. Half of the onions didn't come up, the ones that did grow were OK but kinda small (I think I pulled them too early) and then while they were drying out in the garage the kittens used them as a bathroom - nice. So the onions were nearly a complete bust. The potatoes on the other hand did well! We have lots of potatoes...lots and lots of them. :-)

 The green beans I planted weren't actually green beans. They turned out to be some sort of cross between snap peas and green beans. They don't taste good and they're chewy. So for now the only purpose for our green bean/peas is a kitten playground.

Speaking of kittens. Mama Chuckles has her hands paws full these days. Three of her own, plus the four MCC kittens makes for one big batch of little ones. 

 The chickens have learned how to hop the fence and have eaten quite a few cucumbers and tomatoes. It's maddening!

 In actual farming news, we're relieved to see rows of beans sprouting in the fields.

 And we're encouraged by the way the corn is growing.

After the depressing wheat harvest, it's a relief to see the fall crops growing.

Harvest Wrap-Up

We started harvesting wheat on June 18, we finally finished on July 12. Under normal conditions our wheat harvest takes about 10 days. However this year there was very little that was normal about wheat harvest. 

The wheat this year endured colder than usual temperatures this winter, a drought in the spring and then inches of rain in the middle of harvest. All that resulted in some of our fields looking this:

 Depending on when fields were sprayed for weeds and several other factors some fields looked normal, nice golden wheat waving in the breeze. But the last couple days of harvest my dad was combining just as many weeds as he was wheat.

   The boys and I took turns riding with Grandpa while he wrapped up the last few acres of harvest. There's a rhythm to harvest that simply didn't exist this year, or maybe it did back on June 18 or 19 and then it got all messed up with the weather.

 One farmer told Ben, "I don't want to hear the "w" word until September. This has been a summer from hell." I doubt he's the only farmer that feels that way.
I was relieved when Ben remembered to get me a bucket of wheat! I was completely forgetting that I needed more so I can keep grinding it to use when I bake bread. He climbed up in the truck for me to snatch a bucketful.

Ben spent a good chunk of his week planting double crop beans and forage sorghum. Planting brings new hope....and the possibility of new crop disasters. But we'll continue to hope and pray and watch the corn and beans grow. 

First Camp

Noah went to camp this week! Thursday afternoon my cousin Megan and her daughters came to pick up me and the boys for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Camp Mennoscah.

These kids were ready to go and tired of waiting on their moms notso we could leave!

Noah, as he's been his entire life, just went with the flow. We signed in, he got his name tag, I told the nurse too many details about his allergies and asthma (I was maybe just a little bit nervous about leaving him at camp...just a little?) and then once he knew which cabin he was in he was off!

 He had two friends in his cabin, Jake and Javin and then a handful of other classmates at camp too. His counselor Nat helped him find a spot for his stuff inside the cabin and then it was time to swim! He left to go swim with his friends while I unrolled his sleeping bag. Top bunk living isn't for me! But I think Noah liked it, except he said he hit his head on the rafters a few times. :-)

 Levi and I went to find him at the pool to say good-bye (plus Levi was desperate to see the pool, the river, and everything else in betwenn, oh my). I was surprised to see Noah hanging out on the side but he said the water was cold and he was working on getting in slowly. Cambry was already having fun swimming!

 Friday was a struggle with Levi. He didn't know what to do without Noah around. We finally managed to take some friends swimming with us. While we swam on Friday, I kept looking for Noah forgetting that he was at camp!
Saturday morning drove back to camp and found Noah all packed up and ready to go!

 It took us a while to leave because we had to spend time playing carpet ball, checking out the river and more.

 Jake and Noah were funny to watch...they would simultaneously turn their heads as the ball went by in front of them. Back and forth, back and forth. :-)

 Levi wanted to be in charge of everything and was having a hard time taking turns...life was hard without Noah and life was proving to be hard with Noah. It's hard to be a little brother!

 And then moments later, this:

 No problems, just playing. Ahhhhh.....

 Noah reported that he got two letters in one day and had to join a group of kids to sing a song. And he had to run around the tables for having his elbows on the table during a meal. :-) And when I asked him if he thought he would want to go again next year he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Yes!"