Isaac breaks his arm

Things felt like they're slowing down.  I've been able to start exercising again for the first time in over a month!  I've had a few minutes the last few days to sit down at the piano and practice the songs I was working on before summer started.  I even re-installed Rosetta Stone on the computer and have been having fun saying things like, "Comment-allez vous?"  Things were looking nice and quiet around here. 

We were enjoying our sunny Sunday by spending time outside.  The 60" cage ball I'd purchased for day camp came with the wrong sized inner ball.  I'd called as soon as we discovered the problem and was told they'd overnight me the correct liner.  I swapped two classes around so we'd have time to get it and get it blown up.  Days went by and it never showed up.  We made do with the smaller ball, using it without a liner.  Once day camp was over, I called the company and there was no record of the original call but the operator told me that the liners always look small so just keep blowing it up.  I did, until it exploded!  He sent me a new inner ball by two day mail and I was hoping we'd have it for the play day during the reunion.  It didn't show up until Friday, too late for cub camp and the reunion. 

We'd definitely had the wrong one!  The replacement was twice as large as the one we started with.   Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for it to be delayed because after less than an hour of playing, we were heading off to the ER.  Dode blew it up and the kids were having fun pushing it around the yard and trying to get up on top of it.  Dode and I had come in a few minutes earlier, Dode to read on the couch and me to make cookies.  Suddenly, Isaac came running in the house shouting, "I broke my arm!"  He'd gone over the top of the ball and landed hard.  When he landed, he heard a snap and felt immediate pain in one spot of his left forearm.  We could see his arm bent and localized swelling and sent him out to the car.  I went out and started to drive away to take him to the emergency room but realized I'd have to take a photo so I ran inside to grab the camera.  It couldn't have taken 30 seconds but Isaac thought I was pretty mean.  But, if you can't take a photo for the blog, it didn't happen right?

doesn't his look scream, "Really mom?"

We went to the Arlington Hospital (a five minute drive) and they got us back pretty fast.  Door to door, we were gone from home less than two hours.  It was pretty quiet in the ER.  While we were there although they said they'd seen quite a few broken bones already that day.  It was our first nice and sunny day in a while and apparently, people were taking a bit too much advantage of it!  After taking X-Rays, they said he'd broken his radius and possibly injured his elbow.  He was placed in a temporary cast until he could get in to an orthopedic doctor.  Isaac was very stoic about his injury.  He was laying on the bed, grunting in pain and gently cradling his arm, with sweat pouring down his face.  Yet, when they asked him what his pain level was on a scale of 1-10, he said "4".  (Apparently he didn't feel like he was being burned alive, my standard for what a "10" amount of pain would feel like.)  He sure didn't appreciate all the manipulating they had to do with the X-Rays, especially when we had to go back for a 2nd time so they could look at his elbow.

We have six children ages 6-18 but this is only our 2nd broken bone.  Isaac broke his right arm when he was about four years old, falling off our backyard trapeze.  He fell about four feet and received a compression fracture.

Isaac with his temporary cast

Wednesday we had our appointment with the orthopedic doctor.  He looked at the X-rays and said that Isaac had broken and bent his radius and would need surgery to correct it.  Although the edges of the break are lined up nice and cleanly, it bows out which makes it so Isaac can't twist his arm below the elbow from side to side.  (That's what the ER doctor thought was from an elbow problem.)  Monday afternoon he will have the surgery.  The doctor is hoping to be able to insert a rod into the hollow space inside his bone which will straighten it out.  It would be left in while the bone heals and would be removed in 6-8 weeks.  If he is unable to get the rod in, he will put a plate and screws onto the bone which would be left there permanently. 

Isaac is really nervous about the procedure.  He's nervous about being put to sleep, (will he really not feel it?)  He's nervous about getting the IV put in in order to receive the anesthetic.  He doesn't like the sound of a piece of metal shoved into his bone.  He's also pretty unhappy that it doesn't take place until Monday because the clock on how long his cast has to be on doesn't start until after the procedure.  He's looking forward at two months without using the motorbike, two months without mountain biking, two months of no water play.

So, our summer has become a bit more complicated.  We had 8 doctor appointments this week not counting the ER visit!  One for Isaac with our doctor to check his ear again, the verdict? back to the E,N,T for more work on that!  One to the Orthopedic doctor.  Five dentist cleanings.  One dental filling (Jacob was quite unhappy to learn once they've drilled into his tooth that there was no problem after all!)  For some reason, I thought I'd have a lot of time this week to get things done, like my visiting teaching.  I hope they'll accept a card from me with good grace!

Dad & Elizabeth Day 2011

Saturday morning started pretty early for us with a 5:00 am phone call from the produce driver that he was on his way.  Once Dode finished helping me with the produce, he made breakfast and helped get Elizabeth out the door by 8:00 am for their special day together.  When Elizabeth is asked what her favorite things are, she always says, "nature" so Dode wanted to give her a good dose of it.  Elizabeth takes after her grandmas in that she has a "nervous stomach".  It doesn't have to be a bad experience to give her stomach troubles, anything exciting can set her off.  Since dad and her days are a big deal, she had to deal with the tummy aches that go with fun things.  Dode re-assured her that she'd be fine and she really enjoyed her day.

They started off at the Anacortes ferry to head out to San Juan Island.  Dode thought he'd planned enough time into the schedule but when he got there and found they'd need to park in the upper lot, and that he'd need to stand in a line behind 30 other people to pay for parking, he started getting nervous.  He saw a sign letting him know he could pay to park with his cell phone and they set off at a run for the ferry.  They just made the boat!

The ferry ride is about an hour to Friday Harbor.  Elizabeth and Dode spent a lot of time on the outside deck of the ferry, watching seagulls and other boats. 

on the ferry

At one time they went through a bank of fog and Elizabeth got very excited that she was touching a cloud.  She was a bit disappointed when Dode told her the plan was just to get on the island and have a picnic.  It didn't sound very exciting.  Once the ferry landed she figured they would eat their picnic and go home.  That changed when she learned they were not on the right island yet and would be renting a kayak at Friday Harbor and setting off to Turn Island to have the picnic.  Dode had looked at kayak tours but for a lot less, he could rent a kayak and they could explore on their own. 

The kind of kayak they rented.  You pedal with your feet to make the fins underneath do the paddling.

in the kayak at Friday Harbor

Dode had planned to eat lunch at Turn Island but they weren't making any speed records and ended up eating on the way there.  Elizabeth enjoyed throwing her crusts into the water for the seagulls to snatch up.  They saw several seals on their trip.

Elizabeth at Turn Island State Park

She spent her time looking for crabs under the rocks

They got back to Friday Harbor in time to pick up some ice cream cones before it was time to get back on the boat.  Once on the boat, they both took a snooze on the way back to Anacortes.

Since they were already in the area, they stopped off at an indoor go-cart track in Burlington that's going out of business and picked up a commercial snow cone machine.  Now we have a new thing to make our house even more fun for parties!  Dode said that he could feel his wallet getting lighter as the day went on.

snow cones anyone?

Is it time yet for the lazy days of summer?

So far, our summer has been BUSY!  The day after three of the kids were done with their classes at the alternative school they attend (but 8 days before the other three were done with traditional public school), we drove off for our vacation to Wyoming.  The next three weeks were spent exploring the northern part of that beautiful state.  We got home from vacation, spent a day unpacking and cleaning up and I had four days of purchasing, sorting, and doing computer work for day camp.  Then, it was time for day camp, followed by a day of cleaning, sorting, and putting away the left over supplies from day camp.  The Friday after day camp, Dode got off work and headed up to spend the last day/night at scout camp with Isaac.  Saturday, July 16th, it poured rain outside so there was no way to do yard work that badly needed to be done after being gone for almost a month and after the wettest winter on record around here.  Instead, I was able to sit on the couch and read and get a bit of my pep back.  When Dode got back from scout camp, he set up the newly remodeled slip and slide and installed the new sand filter for the pool.  The following Monday, my mom and step-dad came up to help us clean up the yard and get it ready for the reunion play day we'd be having at our place on Wednesday.  Lynn and Janice also helped us get ready for the party by mowing the lawn a few times.  Their help became even more critical when Isaac caught the lawn mower on fire and put it out of commission until Dode has time to fix it.  (Maybe now that we're done with vacation, day camp and the reunion he will have that time!)

weeding

edging

We're not above a little child labor put to good use!

The reunion started  Monday night with a pot luck at grandma and grandpa Dickson's.  Tuesday, we were there all day for activities like a Family Olympics and Family Talent Show.  Wednesday started off with a fun run on the Centennial Trail and finished with a play day at our house.  Thursday there was a morning hike followed by an evening slide show. 

                                   ready for the fun run

Aunt Viv had asked us back in the planning stages if we could have a play day at our house during the reunion.  We said, "You bet!"  We love our house and love sharing it with others. The weather report leading up to the event was looking really bad, temperatures in the low 60's and showers.  We were worried about having that many people over on a day no one would want to play outside.  Thankfully, Wednesday ended up being the best weather of the reunion and the kids and adults had a grand time.  We had about 140 people here.  The biggest problem with parties at our house is the size of the septic system.  We had to send people next door to Haggen to use the restroom.  Dode hadn't been able to take time off for the reunion but on Wednesday he only had to work 1 1/2 hours and got to spend the day with us. 

a full pool

Several kids cut their feet in the pool and it wasn't until the party was over that we found the cause, a staple that was poking up through the bottom.  Dode had to drain the pool to get to it!  We purchased a sand filter for the pool because the paper filters were not able to keep up with our bather load.  If we left the paper filter in when it was too dirty, water would start leaking around the fittings, draining the pool.  (And too long was sometimes 30 minutes).  It just wasn't working for us.  Our hope is that the sand filter can last all season without needing to be cleaned.

It'd been so cold here lately that we were worried the kids wouldn't want to swim in the pool so we got the hot tub going.  (It's usually only plugged in during the winter months.  I wish we'd gotten it going for day camp, it would have felt good after those cold gloomy days!)  It got a lot of use after the kids were done in the water.  That water had to be drained too, after so much kid use for hours, it was pretty cloudy!

a full yard

We were able to borrow the bouncy house from one of our friends who rents it out in exchange for Dode changing one of the headlights on their car.  Miriam has been asking for a bounce house for over a year and after having it here to play on, she is even more determined that we need one, NOW!

have we ever had this big of a line for the zip line?

another line!

the adult viewing area

Our newly revamped slip and slide.

Dode is the king of "re-use" and used the legs from our old trampoline for the stand.  Lynn welded everything together.  It's much easier to put up and take down now.  Aunt Viv and Janice were even brave enough to go down it!

view from the top of the slip and slide

We put up a little pool for the little kids.  Seth told his mom we also needed a medium sized pool for him.  Maybe we'll be able to do that next time! 

the clouds were overhead but enough sun and warmth was shining down to make the day great!

laundry baskets put to work again!

I'd noticed a group of teenagers wandering around looking bored.  I hauled out the laundry baskets, stacked some up, and walked away.  It didn't take them five minutes to start playing with them.  They spent the rest of the party building structures.

time to eat

Every time we have a party, we ask ourselves, "What can we add now?"  We're already ready for the next party with our next fun thing, snow cones.  Want to come?

Looking at the calendar, August appears to be a relatively quiet month.  (Ironic that the month feels quiet when this week there are doctor appointments on three separate days and an all day girls' camp on Friday!)  We've got fun stuff planned at least twice each week that will take us away from home and exploring our area.  I'd scheduled a five day trip with the kids to the Oregon Coast in the middle of the month but am seriously considering cancelling it.  I don't know if the kids are up to it.  They've been craving some "at home" time.  At the end of the August, we'll have another big party here, this time for the people who attend church with us. 

2011 Day Camp

We've survived another year at cub scout day camp!  Although I don't currently have any cub scouts, my kids sure look forward to camp each time.  The girls get to go to "tags" where they have their own activities and get to participate in some of the program activities I plan for the cubs.  Jacob has been attending day camp since he was 8 years old.  First as a cub, then the last 7 years as a helper at headquarters and store keeper.  I didn't know if he'd be with us this year but at the last minute, he decided to come up three of the four days.  Isaac and Anastaya were gone at scout camp and girls camp. 

Our theme this year was the Wild West.  It was tough designing the program.  The majority of our cubs come from LDS units filled with boys who do pioneer activities each year at church.  I struggled with coming up with things that would be new and fun for them.  In the end, it actually was the most successful theme I've designed so far!  We are given a different theme each year and it is the responsibility of each camp to develop their own program (they are on a  five year rotation which means 2012 will be the 3rd time I've done a jungle theme.)

covered wagon snack carrier

We had a map where people could mark where they were from.  We had people from all the continents of the world (except Antarctica)

There is a daily riddle.  If they get the correct answer, they get a smarties candy from Yoda.

I got him at Value Village and the cubs loved him, he's not western but how can you look at him and not smile?  One of our riddles from this year....  How could a cowboy ride into town on Friday, stay two days, and ride out on Friday?

Recognition prize window

The boys were recognized for doing extra things with dots on their map name tags.  When they got enough dots, they were able to redeem them for a prize.  (By the time I realized I didn't have a themed recognition spot for this year, my brain was mush.  Thankfully, my mom was up for dinner that night and came up with a cute western window.  (She put a sign that said, "Take at your own risk, dead or alive" and I had so many boys ask me in seriousness what the risk was!))

Our store and part time storekeeper.

It was Elizabeth's first year helping with the store.  We sell 10 cent and 25 cent candy as well as pop and cookies.    The money we earn supplements the $23/per boy I receive from the BSA council.

 I work really hard to come up with fun classes but in reality, the boy's favorite classes are ALWAYS archery and bb guns.  Some of our theme program classes that were a real hit were...

"panning" for gold (spray painted aquarium gravel, sand, colander)  They all LOVED this!

building tee-pees
(putting those produce co-op laundry baskets to use)  and I got some new co-op converts from adults asking about my 250 baskets!

stomp rockets

(Space, the Final Frontier)

Greg cut out enough disks for all 151 cubs to make a "string thing" pioneer game

shoot the moon pioneer game

biscuits on a stick

slingshots

we used dog food for artillery and shot them at aluminum pie plates which made a satisfying loud noise

covered wagon derby cars

Dode built me the track

cow roping

Paul Bunyon Ball

These girls are "tag-a-longs" (children of adult volunteers)

We had a magician come for lunch time entertainment on Thursday.

Since it was pouring down rain, he took his show from group to group who were hiding under canopies and even made balloon animals for everyone who wanted one.  (That's a lot of balloon tying!)

 my costume for the year

A sheriff badge from Wall Drug in South Dakota (bought when we visited in 2010)

A western shirt from a 2nd hand store in Dubois, Wy

A theme apron holding my schedule, map, sharpie, etc.

An umbrella hat for the wet day

Even though I've planned and put on day camps for years, each camp is different because we have a different mix of boys, volunteers, and weather every time.  Our weather left a lot to be desired. It rained non stop for much of the last day. We got at least a little rain each day/night which left the grass we were walking in all day wet. Within five minutes of arriving at camp each morning, my feet would be soaked! As the day would wear on, I'd start to dream about getting into dry shoes once I got home. It was the first thing I did each day.  As a leader, I recognize that it's my job to keep morale up.  I bought the umbrella hat several years ago to wear in case of rain and this is the first year I've needed it.  I put on my umbrella hat and walked the camp, checking in with the groups and station leaders.  I earned a lot of smiles with that hat! 

One tiring thing about being the program director is how long camp lasts (all year long).  As soon as one camp is over, I start brainstorming and looking for ideas for the next year.  Then comes developing the program, creating instructions for all 28 classes, buying things, training volunteers.  Finally, it's time for camp itself and I'm the first one there in the morning and the last one there at the end of the day.  Once camp is over and we haul everything home, I've still got to go through and inventory everything, throw away trash, clean dirty things, and put everything away.  Once all that is accomplished, I'm still not officially "done" with day camp until I meet with an official from Boy Scouts of America to "close out" our camp and review the expenses for the year.

It's hundreds of hours of service and I sometimes feel like I get more complaints from grumpy volunteers than thanks from happy parents.  Our local BSA council has never been good about saying "thank you" (they don't) and while that really irks me, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing how much fun the boys are having and from hearing from parents that their sons sure wish camp lasted five days instead of four.  After this many years, it's hard to imagine summer without day camp.

I'm the program director which means I come up with all the "program" for the boys (classes, recognition, opening and closing ceremonies, riddles, lunch time programs, etc.)  If you can see it at camp, I planned it.  I work with a camp director who is responsible for health and safety, making sure we're following the BSA policies for day camp, and dealing with discipline problems at camp.  I've been working with the same camp director for five years.  We've developed a great system but this was her last year.  You have to attend a three day overnight training put on by BSA in order to run a camp.  That training allows you to run a camp for the next five years. She went once and said never again.  (I've been three times, once as a participant and twice as an instructor.)  Next year, I will be working with a new person (my 5th).  Does it say something to have exhausted that many different people?

I tell the boys and the leaders that our #1 rule at Camp Mckinley is "Everyone has fun!"  I try my best to make it a great experience not just for the cubs but for the adults as well, including me.  I love day camp!

4th of July

We got home so early (relatively) on Sunday, that we all had time to relax and get some energy back.  We had enough get-up-and-go to participate in some of the 4th of July activities put on by the city of Arlington.  With day camp next week and the reunion the week after that (with one day at our house and me in charge of the family breakfast and getting hamburgers and hot dogs) Dode and I were sure tempted to use the day for projects, but we tried to be good parents and make it a fun day for the kids.

Marshmallow Battle
The city was hoping to get 1,000 participants in a marshmallow gun battle.  When the Isaacs found out about it, they were really excited to participate.  Dode took the boys to buy PVC pipes and fittings so they could participate.  The Arlington Hardware was closed so they had to turn around go to Lowe's in Smokey Point.  (Turning their 15 minute trip into a one hour trip.)  They got their guns made and a few minutes later decided they no longer wanted to participate, they'd rather stay home and watch a movie.  We didn't go for that!  Dode took them down for the sharpshooter contest and battle.  Isaac Colson ate most of his marshmallows before the event began, ending up with six mini marshmallows with which to join in the melee'.  Dode estimates they got about 200 people there.  When the event was over, the ground was covered in marshmallows.

Kiddie Parade
The girls wanted to participate in the Kiddie Parade, which takes place before the Grand Parade.  Originally, the plan was to have Miriam dress up in her patriotic outfit and give her some creative way of pushing Chocolate the Bear down the street.  It ended up being a bit more than that!  I have a lot of costumes from my years of Day Camp Program Director.  Anastaya went as Betsy Ross and earned 2nd place in the Patriotic Category which had about 20 entrants.  Elizabeth, Miriam, and William dressed up as pioneers and earned 1st place in the costume category of 5 entrants.  We used our Costco metal wagon and added a covered top.  We put BB Guns, rope, and a cast iron skillet on the sides.  I wouldn't have minded staying to watch the Grand Parade, but once the kids were finished, they just wanted to head home.  We had to be at the kiddie parade an hour before it started to line up and be judged.  It was about 78 degrees and everyone was melting.  We're not used to humid Washington anymore.  We've been in much hotter weather in Wyoming and handled it better.  We sent the boys to 7-11 to fill up our three huge 52 oz. re-useable Extreme Gulp cups with slurpees.  The kids then spent the next hour fighting over who was drinking too much of the one they were sharing.  In the end, there was left overs in all the containers!

We haven't participated in any of the town kiddie parades since Jacob was about seven years old.  He was so excited to go and got so mad that no one waved back at him as he waved and smiled along the route.   We didn't want to deal with that disappointment again so we stopped attending.  Now that the girls were such a success, I fear we're back to participating.  (In fact, they want to make a float for the Grand Parade next year.  Janice said she'll help us, I bet it'll be amazing!)  It helps that they moved to kid's parade to directly before the grand parade.  That way, the crowds are much bigger (in the thousands) instead of less than 100 people watching the kids go by.  The reporter (there's only one) for the Arlington Times came up and interviewed the kids.  He didn't recognize us even though he ate dinner with us a little over a month ago.  When he got the names of the kids, I could tell he went, "Oh, this family AGAIN!"  He just can't escape us!  There was a brief mention in the paper about the kids winning in their categories.  Anastaya was thrilled that she's now been in a newspaper four times.

not the true parade participants

bringing the wagon over to us

one happy pioneer

Chocolate the Bear is watching out the back of the wagon.  Miriam loved riding here and really worked the crowd, waving and smiling out the front while Elizabeth pulled her down the street

waiting for the parade to start in my 4th of July duds

I think I need some sort of patriotic necklace. 

Maybe Boma can make me one for next year?

1st place in the costume category

Elizabeth is wearing the bonnet and apron Sheri and Janice made me back in 1997

for the sesquicentennial celebration of the pioneer's arrival in Salt Lake City.  We've gotten a lot of use out of that outfit over the years! (Anastaya in the background)

2nd place in Patriotic

(There's a red striped skirt under that blue apron)

pulling the wagon down main street

Elizabeth had been limping since skinning her knee two days before but she did just fine in the parade

People take watching the parade seriously

The street was lined with chairs 8 hours before the event!

Crowds of people to watch the parade

Anastaya was nervous about walking by them all and wanted to sit it out

I told  her she couldn't win 2nd place and then not march.

Fireworks
We went to enjoy the fireworks the town puts on in the evening.  If it was up to Dode and me, we'd just stay home and go to bed.  But, the kids love fireworks.  One of the worst parts of attending a fireworks show is waiting for it to be dark enough.  We set up our chairs in the park next to the play set and watched the kids play while we waited and waited.  Miriam doesn't like the fireworks loud.  When the show first started, she told me, "I can handle it."  Part way through she'd had enough and wanted to go to the car.  I distracted her by having her take photos of the fireworks and pretty soon she forgot about her fear.  She spent part of the show sliding backwards down the slide, while watching fireworks explode overhead.  I'd bought the kids prism glasses to wear while viewing the fireworks.  They turned all the white lights into rainbows.  They loved it and said, "Our mom always gets the best stuff!"  Dode and I fell into bed exhausted and both thought to ourselves, "It's so loud out there, I'll never get to sleep."  That was our last thought until morning when we woke up and realized we'd slept through everything!

Day Camp
Dode spent part of 4th making a pinewood derby style racetrack for day camp.  The boys will be making little covered wagons and racing them.  Our theme this year is Frontier Days so that covered wagon we built for the parade will be put to use at camp as well.  We bring snacks around to the camp twice a day and it will make a fun theme oriented snack carrier. 

(image is full size if you want to click on it)

The Isaacs got the fun job of bring all the day camp things down from the 2nd story of the garage.  There are supplies left over each year and I'm pretty certain they think I have way too much stored!  I spent several hours preparing my shopping list for this year.   The rest of the week will be spent shopping, sorting, shopping again for the things I forgot, more sorting.  Our home and driveway are being overtaken with day camp materials!