The Kassel Family Project Life 365

Laura was very excited to put a quote on her new chalkboard for the first time!

Camp was successful for all the Kassels!  I drove to Finbrooke Girl Scout camp to pick up Laura today and she is already talking about next year.

She talked non-stop for about ninety minutes on the drive home.  She told me all about the activities, swimming, and camp traditions.  She told me that she was a little homesick, but she used my trick of counting the days backwards (5-4-3-2-1) instead of forwards (1-2-3-4-5) and that made it seem like she had less days left at camp.  I was having a hard time keeping up with everything she was saying until she just abruptly stopped talking.  I looked over to find this…

It was a refreshing nap because she proceeded to start over for Andy and Uncle Jeremy when we got home.  Love that she had such an amazing time!

Andy and John had a great time at Cub Scout Camp!  In fact, John is nearly done with all his requirements for his Webelos 1 rank.  He was a busy boy!  While unpacking them today, I took some pictures off my camera.  Here is John shooting a BB gun at the Pellet station.  He got to keep his targets and they are pretty impressive!

Here is John at Bouldering.  He almost finished the wall, which is impressive because only three boys have finished the wall this summer.

He also earned his archery award.

John was quite proud to have caught seven fish at the Fishing station.  This is the first of the seven.

Here is John at crafting.

The Kassel men are exhausted, but I can tell that they both really enjoyed themselves.  John is already talking about next year and Andy has told me just how proud he was of John these past few days.  John paid attention and worked hard at every station.  Way to go, John!

So, I learned a little something about myself these past few days while Andy and the kids have been gone…  While I like time to myself, I am perfectly happy with it just being a few hours. This house is too quiet.  The cleaning and projects definitely helped, but it is still too quiet.  I found myself turning on the television on whichever floor I was on just to have the noise.  It is funny how things change because I used to enjoy the times when Andy would be travelling and it would just be me.  I would always miss him and be happy to have him home, but it was nice having a few days “off.”  I can’t really say that I particularly enjoyed my time “off” this time.  I am very much looking forward to picking up my boys tonight and my girl on Friday and I am excited to see the kids’ reactions to their new chalkboards!  Speaking of the chalkboards, this is the finished product in Laura’s room…

…and this is the finished product in John’s room.

Now, it is time to leave to pick up my boys from Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation.  It will be a late night, but I am excited to have Andy and John home!

Wine + Accomplishing the List = Relaxation Tomorrow (after the CycleX Women’s Ride Wednesday, of course)

While Andy and the kids are away, I do projects!  First, I replaced the shelf in our combination Mud Room/Laundry Room with three, stackable shoe shelves.  Overall, it was a $40 investment at Lowe’s that will work much better for us.  No more shoes all over the floor!

Then, I painted chalkboards on the kids’ bedroom walls.  This is John’s room.  I think the kids are going to be so excited!  I have to go out tomorrow and buy chalk and erasers.  Andy will eventually add trim around the boards for a more “finished” look.

Finally, I took the shelf that was in our laundry room and put it in Laura’s room for more storage.  She needed more shelf space for books and various American Girl accessories.  I had to move some pictures around on the walls, but the overall addition of the shelf will really help!

On top of all that, I also cleaned the entire upstairs, including all three bathrooms.  It was a busy night, but completely worth it.  Now, it is time for some television and a glass of wine!