It is possible...

....that my boys have the best dad ever.

I may be a little bit biased, but he is pretty amazing.

This year we decided to do the birthday celebrating somewhat differently.  The mega kid party was three weeks before the actual birthday, which was a total win-win.  The kids all had some fun party time early in the month, and then the birthday boy still had his actual day to look forward to.  

It also meant that the real b-day was reserved for family only.

Best.decision.ever.

Enter dad.

He decided that this year he was going to surprise the 11 year old with a day of dirt-biking at Milford Lake, which apparently houses some of the state's longest trails.

It was a great idea.

Except...a few days before said birthday, there seemed to be a little problem with my dear husband's dirt-bike.  He hauled it to the shop.  He kindly mentioned that he reeaallllyyyy needed the bike for Saturday if at all possible.

A phone call to the shop on Friday at 5:00 told us that the mechanic had gone home for the day and the secretary had not a clue about the progress of the bike.

On birthday morning, we waited patiently for the phone to ring. Each hour that ticked by was  like a knife in the heart of my husband's well-laid out plans. 

Thankfully, the 11 year old did not question why this particular birthday Saturday morning did not feel one bit different than the other 51 Saturdays of the year. 

By noon, we were scrambling to make a back-up plan.  The corn maze and pumpkin patch became our destination of choice.....and then the shop called at 1:30.  The dirt-bike was ready.  We flew to pick it up, and then headed out for this....

The oldest wanted to the do the corn maze.  The youngest reluctantly tagged along.

 

The youngest begged to ride out to the pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin.  Under the guise of money-saving practicality, dad and the oldest stayed back and played pumpkin checkers. The little guy and I nearly froze to death on the hayrack.

 

Then, of course, we had to take in the rest of the festivities.  

Because it just isn't a pumpkin patch experience with lassoing a steer.

 

Or racing on the ropes course. 

 

And then....

Sunday came.  

Trust me, this kid did not care that it was no longer his birthday.

From the moment church let out to the moment the sun set, this was the sole mission.

 He said it was well worth the wait.

 

Hours and hours of trails and jumps.

Although, they did decide to forgo riding the trails that went straight up these cliffs. 

Yes, there were actually trails up those cliffs.  

No, my husband didn't attempt them.

Yes, I am shocked.

I had one seriously tired boy at the end of this day.

But he thinks he has the best dad ever, too.

This Kid

Eleven years.

We all say it, but I have no idea where the time has gone.

This kid was the first to....keep me up all night, make me feel protective love like I had never experienced before, make me pace the floors with worry, and call me mama.

This weekend he turned 11.

Gulp.

This morning I asked him to help me out with his birthday blog.  He groaned and reluctantly asked what I wanted him to do.  I told him all I needed from him was a list of the 11 most important things in his life right now. 

He didn't think that sounded too hard, and in 7 minutes time, this is what he handed me.

1. God
2. Family (Parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins)
3. Friends
4. Neighbors
5. Teachers
6. Sports
7. Motorcycling
8. Drums
9. Camping
10. Farming
11. KU

That pretty much sums up my birthday boy.

I keep staring at that list trying to think of something witty to say, but in reality, it kind of chokes me up. 

No additional words needed.

The Last Hoorah

For several weeks my hubby and I had been debating whether or not to head to the lake for one final weekend before calling it quits on the 2013 camping season. We had our eye on this weekend for a long time.  The calendar was empty and there is no school on Monday, which gives us a day to recoup.

Then along came a little issue called government shutdown.

I am not complaining...the shutdown has not caused an immediate loss of wages for us as it has for many.  This was just a little hiccup in some tentative weekend plans.  The campgrounds we go to are all government run....therefore, all closed.

But I will say, what is bad for the government run parks, is good for the state run parks. 

The place was PACKED.

Due to waiting until the last minute to plan and pack, we arrived in the dark on Friday night.  We seriously could have made a funniest home video moment trying to find a spot and finally backing the camper in with our 10 year old standing at the edge of the driveway guiding his father with his flashlight app on his iPod.

We finally succeeded.  I really wish I would have taken a picture of the event.

Here is a Saturday morning pic of our cozy camping community.

 

The weather was gorgeous...between the hours of 11:00 and 5:00.  Otherwise it was a bit chilly! Too cold to swim, too cold to jet ski, and too cold for early morning bike rides.

However, it was not too cold for this.

I have no idea what it is called.

But we played game after game, running around like fools to push the buttons before our lights disappeared.

My oldest son and I consistently held the two-on-two family championship title.

Not that we are competitive or anything.

My husband may have had a slight disadvantage on his team.

Like the little guy barely being able to reach the top lights.

But a championship is a championship.


We also did a lot of hiking.  We have been on these trails before, and I must say that they are much more enjoyable at 65 degrees than they are at 95 degrees.

The little guy spent most of his time in this position, trying to catch whatever happened to be moving on the ground nearby.

 

Which means we spent a lot of time in this position.  Waiting, waiting, waiting...

The ziploc bag went with him everywhere.  He was on a mission to catch a lizard.  Unfortunately, the bag came home empty, unless you count the buckets of tears he cried at the end of the hike because he didn't catch a lizard.

Thankfully, before the tears, there were some happy moments.

We shared the trails with lots of horses, which made for beautiful scenery.

However, it created a new definition for "watch your step" while hiking.

I am so thankful for these memories with my kids.

On Friday afternoon at 1:00, I was whining about going for the weekend.  I wasn't looking forward to the work that it takes, to being gone from home for the whole weekend, and to the giant to-do list I had yet to accomplish.

However, then I would have missed the laughs...the joy my kids experienced when grandma and grandpa brought the boat out for the afternoon....the game time.....the moments around the campfire....and the minute-by-minute time that I spent with my family. 

Desperate Times...

....call for desperate measures.

The 10 year old is turning 11 in a few weeks.

Due to some weekend conflicts, we are having his birthday party a bit early this year.

This means I need to be ready for 12 fifth graders to blast down the door on Friday afternoon. 

This house is so not ready.

When I shared with my two little cherubs that tonight we would be cleaning up for the party, the oldest quickly informed me that fifth graders do not care if the house is clean.  While he is most likely correct, my assumption is that most fifth grade parents would prefer that I do not lose their children in the clutter. 

And a clean toilet is always a good idea on any given day.

So....tonight I may have pulled out a version of bribery house cleaning.

I told the boys that on Saturday night, their dad and I would be having a movie night.  If they had their rooms cleaned up in 20 minutes, they would receive an invitation to that movie night.  If not, they would have to go to bed while we stayed up and watched a fun movie.

Voila...rooms cleaned in 20.

Next we moved to the living room.  I set the timer and told them that if the living room was picked up and vacuumed before the timer went off, we would also have pizza for movie night. 

We really must be very boring people, because they acted like this was the best thing ever.

After the living room, we moved to the dining room table, which was conveniently covered with folded laundry.  This time I asked them what they wanted to earn next for movie night.  Their choice: pop.

Pop?

These children are seriously deprived.

But, hey, I was good with pop.

We set the timer again, and in no time, the kitchen and dining room were lookin' good.

I must say, I am fairly proud of myself.

The house is pretty clean, and we planned a great family night in the process.

And...I don't have to cook.

It's a win-win for everyone.