Nicknames

I'm not a fan of nicknames.  I probably get it from my mom who named my sister and I one syllable names to avoid nicknames all together.  In fact, all the nicknames I received were an extension of my name...babbling Brooke, bubble butt Brooke and Brookems.  On the other hand, maybe those are why I'm not particularly fond of nicknames.

Anyway, naming your children is a monumental event.  You spend months scouring name books, yelling potential names out loud and envisioning them carrying the name through life.  It's a huge responsibility.  So when you finally decide on one, you invest in it, embrace it....and don't want someone to come along and change it!

About a month or so into pre-school, I heard Camryn's teacher call her Cammie.  It sent chills up my spine!  I ignored it for awhile but couldn't stand the thought of it sticking.  So rather than risk being THAT mom and correcting her teacher, I put it on my three year old daughter.  I asked her if she liked being called Cammie and she responded no...big sigh of relief.  So naturally I gave her some suggestions on how to respectfully tell her teacher her name was Camryn.  Hearing Cammie upon every arrival at school, confirmed she didn't want to speak up for herself either.  Luckily, none of her friends or the other moms ever referred to her that way, so I let it go.

Well wouldn't you know, on her last day of pre-school when she was saying good-bye to her teachers, she finally spoke up.  Her teacher came at her with open arms and Camryn stopped her in her tracks and said:  "My mom doesn't like it when you call me Cammie!"  The teacher and I broke out in laughter and I was so proud and a little embarrassed.  Her teacher promised to only call her Camryn from now on and that earned a hug.

She had an amazing year at pre-school.  It helped build her independence and confidence.  And she certainly found her voice....even if it was on the last day!

Flashback Friday...the college years

I would never be foolish enough to document the experiences in words for my kids to stumble upon some day.  But here are some innocent pictures of those care-free college days...

4 years, 5 lifelong friends and countless amazing memories...oh yeah and a college degree!

Sports-a-thon

What kid doesn't remember field day? Best day of the school year, right. Well Dylan has been waiting for his for two years now because last year it got rained out and then rained out again on the rain date. Well this year started out the same. Sure enough it rained on field day...but today was the rain date and thankfully no rain!

Here are a few action shots of some of the stations:

Luckily, Sports-a-thon lived up to all the hype.

Just another day in paradise

In an effort to maximize the little amount of family time we have with John, I took on one of his chores. I never thought I would utter these words but...I now mow the lawn.
At first I did it so that rather than riding around on the lawn mower watching the kids play, he could actually play with them on his day off. But I have to admit I've grown to like it. It's not like when you clean the house and no one even notices because it immediately gets dirty again. It's instant gratification. You can physically see the difference. And I find something calming about methodically creating those diagonal lines.
Anyway, it's grass cutting season again and I'm back on the tractor. But today I kind of got it stuck in a ditch! One of the back wheels was off the ground and I couldn't reverse. So I kept creeping further and further into the woods and wasn't making any movement back towards the yard. After about 15 minutes, a 102 point turn and every ounce of my upper body strength, I managed to pull it out and finish the front lawn. All in time to get Dylan to baseball practice!! And damn, does that lawn look good if I do say so myself!

Explorers extraordinaire

Having dogs has made hiking a daily event. We've been taking the kids since they were days old strapped to our backs. They have become so accustomed to it, I think they look forward to it as much as the dogs.

They love to scale rocks, jump rivers and collect nature along the way. Usually they serve as trail guides leading the way and then duck behind a tree so they can pop out and scare us.

On Mothers Day they both found me a present!

And this afternoon, Camryn fell off the plank walk into the mud! Resourceful Dylan grabbed a skunk cabbage leaf to use as a cloth to wipe her off. But he pulled so hard that when it broke loose he fell backward into the mud too!!

But the muddy troopers kept on trucking. Nightly tick checks and brown murky bath water don't even deter these explorers. And the symphony of snores coming from the dogs as well as the kids validates why it is an essential part of our day!

Stay in bed

I guess I need to be more specific with my bedtime rules!

She did indeed stay in bed....she just brought all her toys with her!!

Oh to be 4 again!

Remember when you were little and your birthday lasted all month long. Now we hope to avoid them at all costs so no one notices we are getting older. Camryn had quite the birthday run this month. She celebrated twice at school with a birthday snack, close family came over for dinner and a Fancy Nancy necklace making party with her friends....all on top of her actual birthDAY!

Here's a look at the festivities:

Make your own parfait (that's fancy for ice cream sundae)

Rainbow cupcakes

Check out the inside

Rainbow fruit kabobs

Fancy Camryn

Making accessories

The finished product

And that concludes Cam's birthday until next year....and she is already planning!