Update on the lightning strike

Apparently the lightning struck a tree right by the tent, so that the people in the tent felt the surge. Other people felt the surge too. One of our friends was laying on a rubber mattress, but because he is tall, his feet hung off the end. The surge traveled from the ground up into his foot and leg. He said that his leg was numb.

Dave called me to tell me that they were heading home, that they had canceled the rest of the camp out. He also told me that they were only 3 tents away from the lightning strike. I am anxious to hear more when they get home this afternoon. Dave said that Henry has a lot to tell me.

It will be VERY good to have them home safe and sound.

Bottom line...they're all ok.

Thank God.

I got a phone call from Dave this morning. There was a big thunderstorm at their campsite last night. Lightning struck a tent about 20 yards from Dave and Henry's tent. The scout in the tent was found unresponsive, and his Dad couldn't feel his legs. (This was the same campsite where another scout was struck by lightning a couple of years ago. Looks like they need to change up their policy for severe weather.) There was one more person in the tent, and I am not sure what happened to him. But by the time the ambulance brought them to the hospital, they seemed to be ok. Everyone at their campsite was rounded up and brought into a shelter. When Dave called, Henry was still sleeping, as they obviously did not get a lot of sleep last night. Dave said he was very brave.

I'll update when I hear more news.

Taking pictures

There have been many times in my life where I haven't taken enough pictures. This would NOT be one of those times. :)

When I go through a period of time where I'm not taking pictures, I feel a lot of guilt that I'm not doing enough to capture memories, and sadness when I look through my albums and there are bare spots representing time periods that I've missed. I usually think, "Oh, I'll take some pictures later," and then I wind up not taking any for days or weeks at a time.

Since I've started this blog, I have been inspired to pick up my camera every day. I laugh at some of the things that I am taking pictures of, but I truly am so happy that I have these pictures. Everything is so fleeting, especially kids' childhoods. Along with all of the tiredness and frustrations that goes along with young children comes a lot of happy, sweet times. I just listened to Trace Adkins' song, "You're gonna miss this..." , and I know I will.

A side effect of all of the picture-taking I've been doing is that the older boys have become a bit camera shy. Although I have to say that they've been getting better as of late as they've been reading our blog and love reliving their adventures. My photographing has had the opposite effect on Caroline. When she sees me with a camera, she is CONSTANTLY asking me to take a picture or video of her. :) She's a bit of a ham.

So, tonight after dinner, we headed to the school park, and of course, I started snapping pictures. The results? Nothing too extraordinary, but I'll treasure them just the same.

He's packed and ready...

...for Webelo Camp! Henry had the hardest time sleeping last night because he knew that they were leaving for camp today, for 4 days and 3 nights with his Dad, some of his best friends, and the great outdoors. To top it all off, he is able to wear his brand spanking new Webelo's uniform, which was exciting in itself.

As they were getting ready to leave, he was saying goodbye to his brothers and sister, making sure that they knew that they would not see each other for 4 whole days! Caroline proceeded to make Henry a bunch a pictures that he could take along on his trip for when he missed her. :) Poor Seth has a sore throat and a fever, so he didn't give Henry a big send off. (Thank God Henry got sick with that bug first!) But Evan tried to get in the car with Henry and Dave, and was pretty upset when I took him out of the car. He's asked me several times this morning, "Where's Henny?" They will be missed!

Things I love about Sweet Caroline...

1. Her musical giggle...it makes me happy.
2. She is probably my best cuddler. :)
3. She holds her own with her brothers quite capably.
4. She sings herself to sleep. She'll either do that or has her stuffed animals talk to each other. I love to listen outside her door.
5. She makes a mean tater tot casserole. And she can now crack eggs when we make cookies!
6. She has a very curious, fast mind, and comes up with fabulous questions.
7. She's a fun playmate.
8. She looks out for her little brother.
9. She's the perfect mix of pretty princess and tomboy.
10. She's our little girl.

One of those days...

Today was one of those days.

Let's start by saying that Dave spent the entire afternoon yesterday changing the tires from our old van to our "new to us" van. Just before we bought the new one, we had replaced the tires on the old one. So, naturally, we wanted to keep the newer tires.

WELL, apparently you can't do that (my cousin, who is a mechanic, confirmed this). Because (I know I shouldn't start a sentence with "because", but it seems more dramatic if I do in this case.) after we had gotten everyone ready, packed the car, and were looking forward to a day at the lake, THE CAR WOULDN"T MOVE.

So guess what Dave did this afternoon? That's right...change 8 tires again, the same 8 tires he had changed not 24 hours ago. Ugh. He wasn't too happy. And the kids weren't too happy. (Me neither.) So we unloaded the car and spent the day at home.

After Dave finished changing the tires, we tried to rescue the day by taking the kids out to McDonald's and then to mini-golf. Only it didn't work out that way. Henry started feeling sick on the way there, so he and I hung out in the parking lot of McDonald's until he started to feel better. We cancelled mini-golf, and decided to rent a movie.

At least the movie was good. We highly recommend Madagascar 2. :)

(On a happier note, here's some pictures from our visit last year to the farm, the one with the butterflies and the silo.)

Comfortable, Evan?

Can I get some more pillows for you?

He has preferred, as of late, at least 5 pillows when watching his episode of Word World. It takes some effort on his part to set it up, but apparently it's well worth it.

Ahhh, the life of Reilly (I mean Evan).

The Farm

Today we met up with my dear friend, April, whom I've known since junior high! She has two boys, and I brought our oldest two boys. (I left a napping Evan and an under-the-weather and napping Caroline with my husband.)
What fun! We climbed a silo...

...gazed out over BEAUTIFUL farmland...

...went on a hike......and went in a butterfly house...
The butterflies were sooo tame. We were able to get so close to them without them flying away. The kids were fascinated, and I was able to practice close-up shots with my camera. :)
This is the picture that I took for Caroline, as her favorite color is pink, of course. We'll be going back to the butterfly house next week, as soon as she is feeling better. :)