Weekend Update

Oh my. So much fun in so little time. I LIVE for weekends like this one.

On Saturday, a family hike. Our upcoming summer vacation has outdoorsy things like "kayak" and "hike" penciled in, and we decided it would be prudent to go on a trial run. Took the kids to a local nature reserve and spent a couple of hours hiking and saw where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers merge.

The Boy got to look for clams and dead fish.

Have to say it wasn't the cleanest riverwalk I've ever been on.

Some kind of...bird. Clearly I wasn't listening carefully at the Raptor Demonstration we went to right before our hike.

Enjoying a little sitz.

By the halfway point, The Boy was done. He tried to message for help.

We were pretty impressed. We got about half an hour in before the complaining started, so this bodes well for longer treks. One thing we realized was that if left to their own devices, Team Kid actually has a pretty good time, chatting about computer games and movies. It's only when they get into our hearing distance that they feel the need to start whining. Witness:

But the happiest part of my day was seeing this on the way home:

Recognize this? Zoom in on the plaque:

That there is the OFFICIAL Uncle Rico's van used in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. Oh I was laughing so hard, almost too hard to yell, "Slow down, I need to take a picture!!"

Then yesterday was the awesomeness that is church picnic. It was super heat wave central, but honestly, once you embrace the sweat, it's all good. We had all the best stuff:

Children's story by the lake.

Relaxing with Mama and loving up Jesus in the outdoors.

A for-REALS baptism (lake and algae and all).

Tree climbing.

Picnic potluck like only Mennonites do potluck. (My kale and beet salad was the bomb. Oh. Am I allowed to use that phrase if I'm a pacifist?)

And loving up half-nekkid babies.

Honestly, does it get any better?

And THEN, it was home to start the packing marathon. Because today was:

OFF TO BIBLE CAMP!!

(They weren't really as disgruntled as they look. This is more of a "Mooommm, stop taking pictures" type of look.)

It's the same camp that The Girl went to last year. We've been talking it up big to The Boy. I'm a teensy bit nervous for him - this is one of those newfangled camps that post pictures on Facebook and the one of him with his cabin today is not the most confidence boosting as he is standing a bit apart from everyone with that "get me outta here" look on his face that I know and dread.

However, they went as a team and a team they shall be, so I am hopeful. There were already plans to meet every day at free time and discussions about looking for each other during chapel. Let's all have faith that mama-prayers, a smiley sister, and a teddy tucked away into the blanket will be enough to have him back to his usual hijinks sooner rather than later.