The Kassel Family Project Life 365

It was a busy day at the Kassel Household.  First, we rented a canoe at Finger Lakes State Park and paddled around the canoe trail.  The kids found it interesting and fun despite being hot.  We are hoping to take the kids floating down the Current River later on in the summer, so we wanted to show them what canoeing is like.  It was a great time that we all enjoyed.

Next, we spent the afternoon at Lake of the Woods swimming pool.  The water was cold, but we braved it anyway.  We only had about two hours and the time went by quickly.  We saw one of John’s classmates from Ridgeway Elementary and got to enjoy the water for a couple of hours.

After quick showers, we finished the day at Vacation Bible School.  It was a long, fun day of family time.  I think we will all sleep well tonight!

It is Vacation Bible School week at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.  Each night the kids work their way through the “Wilderness Escape” with their “tribes.”  Laura and John are really enjoying the time and having lots of fun visiting Moses’ Tent and the Israel Camp.  Each night they have a different rotation that includes lots of fun crafts, story time, and activities like churning butter, weaving, and rope making.  Andy is part of Laura’s tribe and I am a “Sand Artisan” in the Israel Camp.  Tonight, both Laura’s and John’s tribes visited me and they began work on their sand pendants.  Laura chose to have a distinct design.

John decided to just be “random” because that is how he likes it!

Vacation Bible School ends on Thursday and I predict more fun as the week goes on!

We had a special lunch for Andy for Father’s Day because Vacation Bible School starts this evening.  We had Jalapeno-Cheddar and Tiger Tail Brats and pasta salad.  John helped me make the pasta salad and he wanted the pasta salad to be perfect and yummy.  He used a real knife for the first time and he worked hard to carefully cut the tomatoes (and not himself!).  It was a nice lunch and a relaxing morning and afternoon.

Happy Father’s Day to my husband.  You are a great Dad and our kids are so lucky to have you.  They both look up to you and I love watching you with them.  They both love you so much.  Thanks for being a great Daddy!

We went to Jeremy’s house tonight for a birthday get together for him.  We ate some good food, had some good drinks, and played some Cards Against Humanity.  It was such a great evening with great friends!

It’s the beginning of a short vacation for Andy and I.  Andy had all of today off, but my vacation didn’t begin until noon.  I picked the kids up from Camp Mudd (sleepover was a huge success!), and we drove through McDonald’s for lunch.  After showers, the kids spent most of the day relaxing and recovering.  I got some quiet time on the back porch while Andy mowed the lawn.  A Chocolate Martini was definitely a nice beginning to my vacation…

Andy met a group of friends on the MKT trail for a moonlight bicycle ride.  I had originally intended to go, but I forgot to arrange a babysitter.  It turned out to be a very good thing that I stayed home because John had a complete exhaustion meltdown and he cried for about 30 minutes.  He finally fell asleep on the couch about 8:30 and there he stayed.  I hope to go next time because Andy had a great time.  Not to mention, he had some great views…

It was a good start to our vacation.

The first Camp Mudd sleepover has arrived!  As I expected, Laura is excited and John is apprehensive.  We have never had a night without at least one of the kids with us in the last eight years.  The house just felt strange when Andy and I got home after work.  We sat down for a glass of wine in a quiet, empty house and actually had a conversation without constant interruption.  Let “Empty Nest Night #1” begin…

We went to Family Night for songs and skits and found both kids playing tag.  They were having a great time!  I was amazed that John stopped long enough for me to snap this picture…

On the other hand, Laura stopped numerous times for me to take a picture.  That one likes to pose.

After skits and songs, we returned to the truck to get the sleeping bags and sleepover clothes.  Laura and John gave Andy a quick tour of Cedar Circle, so they could show him how well they climb trees.  Then, they both gave us quick (and I mean quick) hugs and were off!  I foresee no problems with John sleeping at camp tonight.

What did Andy and I do, you ask?  Well, we went out to dinner at CC’s City Broiler for Surf and Turf.  Upon arriving at the restaurant, I was annoyed to discover that the wait was 45 minutes.  However, it quickly occurred to me that we did not have to be home at a specific time to relieve a babysitter.  Andy and I shared a great bottle of wine, ate some fantastic food, and just enjoyed the whole experience.  We did very much enjoy our night, but we both missed the kids.  We are not quite ready for that empty nest.  Maybe after the teenage years…

The new Camp Mudd shirts have arrived!  I had to wash them yesterday so that the kids could wear them today.  I was informed that they also wanted to wear them Thursday.  I guess I will be doing a lot of extra laundry this week.