Yesterday afternoon I was talking to my Dad in the living room and had Veronica with me.  She was playing on the floor while I talked.  I looked away for a few minutes and when I looked back she wasn't there.  She'd made her way all the way to the kitchen and was standing at the stairs trying to climb them.

Augustin joined her and she enjoyed playing with him.

I'm not sure if I'm ready for this, but I don't think I have too much choice in it, she is obviously ready to keep up with her brothers.

Every June our parish has a Father/Son camping trip and for several years now, Brad has talked about taking the boys, but for one reason or another it has never worked out.  This year everything fell into place and he was able to take Matthias and Augustin with him.  They were so excited.  Neither of them had been camping before and Brad and I haven't camped since well before we got married.  We borrowed some camping equipment from his father and some friends and they got ready to leave.

Brad took Friday off and after making sure they all had enough clothing, blankets, the tent, sleeping bags, etc they were off at 10am to meet up with a group of other fathers and sons to head north to Glen for the weekend. 

Papa said goodbye to them once they were buckled into their seats.  The car was packed!!!!

The scene going north....cloudy, rainy and foggy.  Basically the predicted weather for the weekend; no sun expected until some time on Sunday.  Not ideal for camping, but they figured they would make the best of it.
 

The first thing I did after they left was pull out the vacuum and clean the living room.  I had high hopes of getting the entire house cleaned, but that was a little ambitious for me.  After cleaning the living room and getting Samuel down for a nap Grant and Parker enjoyed the quiet afternoon and watched movies while I got a few small things done.  Grant and Parker then left for their own camping trip and I was left with Veronica and Samuel, which turned out to be a rather nice combination to have home; they both did remarkably well.  I then spent the weekend looking forward to hearing about all the fun they had on the trip, as I was hoping they were having as much fun as I envisioned it being.

I don't think the boys were disappointed at all.  They enjoyed hanging out with their friends, playing games, watching movies on the big screen one of the father's brought (along w/ projector) for night time movie viewing.  They had bon fires, ate s'mores, drank soda and ate junk food.  So even with the not so wonderful weather they had a great time and both boys want to go again next year.

A view of the tents and cars from a distance

One of the food tables and a small fire.  Notice all the canopies?  They were very popular and I think everyone was glad there were so many because it helped keep everyone and everything dry.  Under that mass of blue tarp in the background were 3 tents, set up close together and then covered to ensure dry sleeping.
  

The view of the tent Brad and the boys slept in (in the middle) and two close friends on either side; with the canopy our front.

A little quiet time with board games.  Augustin is in the front on the right in the blue shirt

Time for some water balloon fun
                

Staying dry and cooking food.  Brad "bought in" with several other guys for the "Dan Sevigny meal plan" where Dan purchased all the food, then several of the men got together Thursday night and prepped as much as possible and then all of it was brought up and they all cooked and ate together.  So Brad had to bring nothing for food for the weekend and they ate well....ribs, chicken, breakfast sausage, s'mores, juice boxes, soda, etc.  Tons and tons of food to feed the troops.
   

Doesn't really look like "roughing it" does it?  That is one pretty fancy grill!!!

A view from under the canopies.  I guess it rains almost every year, so I think they've got this whole canopy thing down to a science now.

Hanging out
       

Augustin hanging out in the car while Matthias rides someones bike

Packing up

Heading home

Of course there were some blue skies to be seen as they headed south on Sunday
    

They made a pit stop on the way home and the boys enjoyed climbing on some rocks
                   

It was a great weekend for all, lots of stories to tell and another weekend to look forward to next June.

Last night was the annual June, Court of Honor for Grant and Parker.  It was Parker's first Boy Scout Court of Honor so it was extra special for him.  Grant received 3 merit badges and Parker received his troop "neckerchief" and his first official scout rank.

Brad, Matthias and Augustin were camping, so I took Samuel and Veronica.

Isn't she sweet?  I love sleeping baby pictures and almost never get pictures of my own kids.  They always seem to wake up when I come in the room, or maybe they just don't sleep enough.  Until Veronica came along.  She LOVES to sleep and I'm not complaining.  She sleeps a good 10 hours at night and then another 4-7 hours during the day.

A few mornings ago, I had to wake her up and she didn't wake up when I came in the room, so I ran down two flights of stairs to get the camera and back up and she was still sleeping. She looks so sweet, which she really is.  It is hard to believe it's been 7 months already.  She is growing up quickly too.  She is able to truly crawl, but still prefers army crawling, she's starting to attempt to pull up on the furniture, climbs over short objects and is officially getting into everything the boys wish she wouldn't.  They've learned very quickly that they can no longer play games on the floor if she's awake.  She can destroy a game faster than they can move her out of the way.

She is also the happiest baby around, smiling all the time and she loves to "yell" when she seems someone she knows come into the room.  And of course she gets a reaction out of everyone which just encourages her.

Hope and Dahlia are doing very well. It's hard to believe it's only been 3 weeks since we got them. We've all adjusted very well to the daily routine of milking and caring for them.  They have quite the personalities that always keep us laughing.

Hope is a feisty thing with a very stubborn streak.  She knows what she wants and she attempts to do it.  She is definitely the herd leader and tries to be the leader at all times. She's figuring out that she isn't always in charge.  She love attention, especially if Dahlia is getting some and makes sure to push her way in to make sure she isn't being left out.  She also doesn't stand still very long, so it is hard to get a good picture of her.
 

Dahlia is very sweet and calm.  She is very good natured and loves everyone. I'm really interested to see how she does on the milk stand and if her calm disposition holds true for milking as well.  She is a little Houdini and will get out of just about anything she wants to get out of. She's been out roaming around more than Hope.  We've found her out several times now.  There is a chance she may be pregnant which would mean babies the end of August and another milker.  We are really hoping this is the case.
  

So 3 weeks in and we're still loving the goats.  We're getting around a quart a day which is great and everyone loves the milk.  We're hoping to make cheese and yogurt this weekend.

After what seemed likes weeks of rain, we are really enjoying some great weather.  Not too hot and humid yet, but beautiful and sunny and warm enough for the kids to enjoy being outside and getting in the pool and running through the sprinkler.  Matthias got a new pool and sprinkler for his birthday which has been enjoyed by everyone.

Here is a typical afternoon in the backyard.  School is done, most chores are done and it's time to just relax for awhile before getting cleaned up for dinner.

Parker playing frisbee with Grant and Matthias.  I honestly don't think Parker ever stops moving; I don't have too many shots of him that aren't action shots of some kind.

Augustin loves the pool.  He'll spend all afternoon in it splashing around.
          

Samuel loves to be on the outside of the pooling, filling water jugs and then dumping them out; preferably on the plants, but the patio seems to be his places of choice.  We have very nicely watered cement right now.
   

I'm not sure what was wrong with Matthias, but he wasn't very happy with someone or something

Grant and Parker hanging out.  Parker was telling Grant an amazing story by the looks of it
 

Matthias got a new "Guess Who" game for his birthday that all the kids enjoy playing.  They even brought it outside to enjoy in the sunshine.
  

This is late, but the days are just so crammed. Matthias turned 6 last week, June 9th to be specific.  I still can't believe it.  I feel like he could possibly be 4 years old, but not six, that's way too big.  He definitely is all big kid now, no baby left at all.  He really is now a big kid.

We had a quiet birthday celebration with both sets of grandparents and his Godmother coming for cake and ice cream.  He had grand visions of this cake; I think he has some how seen too many episodes of Cake Boss (he's never even seen one) or something because for months now he's been talking about this cake he wants.  It was 3 layers.  Layer 1...an "M" for Matthias.  Layer 2... a black widow spider (remember back to Parker's cake in January) and then finally, Layer 3...Angry Birds, his favorite thing to play on the iPad. 

And of course Papa was tasked with making this dream cake of his since Papa makes the best cakes.  Matthias was confident that Papa could make this cake for him; Papa on the other hand, wasn't so sure of his cake making skills.  I wasn't worried because Papa has yet to disappoint anyone.  So the big day came and cake making was in full swing, Papa had a plan all ready to go and knew what he was doing.  The end result was amazing...Matthias wasn't disappointed and the other kids (especially Grant) thought the cake was great.

It wasn't three layers as the grand vision had been, but it included everything Matthias had asked for and that was all that mattered; plus it was interactive which made it even "cooler".  It was a sheet cake with a green "M" made out of frosting (layer 1 accomplished) with an "Angry Bird" structure made our of candy bars on one end with black spiders (layer 2 accomplished) made out of chocolate doughnut holes and pipe cleaners with red "Angry Birds" that were then able to be launched into the structure (layer 3).

The cake was a hit and everyone got a chance to knock the structure down.  Matthias taking a shot

For dinner Matthias asked for nachos, a favorite of all the kids and very easy for me to make.

He got some really fun gifts.  Mamma and Papa got him some frisbees which he asked for. He is really good.  Along with the frisbees he got a "Disc Hoop" game Papa made him that everyone has had fun playing.
   
 

Parker really got into the birthday party spirit and came up with his own game idea and spent time making a "Pin the Angry Bird on the Slingshot" game. He made all the kids their own bird to pin on the poster he made.  They must have each played 4 or 5 times.  The game has been saved for more fun later on.

Grant had to kneel down to play
 

Matthias modelling his new pajamas and rain boots

It was a great day, Matthias had a wonderful time.

I was taking pictures off the camera tonight and came across some I hadn't taken.  This is a rarity around here as I tend to be the photographer and therefore am almost never surprised by what I find when going through the pictures.  I laughed when I saw these and just knew who had taken them....Brad.

Matthias instructing Veronica in the proper use of a sword

Veronica putting what Matthias taught her into practice.  She's obviously enjoying herself.
 

And then I get to the pictures from the next day and what do I find...more sword pictures

Brad laughed at my surprise.  She had a great time playing with the swords.  I guess I don't have to worry about whether or not she'll fit in around here.  I guess it's like the hair bow and match box cars from last week.  She'll be wearing dresses and sword fighting her brothers.