Riddle Me This...

{K always says that}

Q: What happens when a hormonal momma takes a drive in an unairconditioned mini van for an approximate four hour trip on a ninety one degree day??

A: Count your lucky stars you don't know!

Sunday I took the bigs to Portage Lake Bible Camp in Onekama.  I haven't taken US31 north of Ludington in about nine years.  We always take M37 to Traverse City because we always want to get up there so we choose not to take the more scenic route.  I was happy to be "forced" to take direction Sunday.  It was a beautiful drive.  And hot.

We pulled in at three twenty nine and registration didn't start til three thirty.  HA!  I think a million kids were already there!  There was only one small snafu with the bunk situation.  Caleb and Andrew were switched around but it was all good because they ended up in the same cabin...just different rooms.  The boys got to stay in the new girl cabins this year because of the large number of boys at camp this year!  Poor girls...they have to walk to the White House {bath house} for bathroom breaks and showers.  The new cabins have bathrooms right in them.  Didn't they realize boys don't take showers? ☺ Skipping ahead, while the boys were in the Ga-Ga Pit and getting totally filthy, I heard a conversation  between JZ and her son about getting a shower-with soap-and he kept saying, "In the lake!"  I hope they all had a change of heart.  I was so concerned with their bedding getting filthy the very first day!

As I registered the boys and the meds, the boys took off with BV to find their spaces.  Once I made it close to them, I froze in my tracks.  One dad said, "They're in here" and I said I needed to stand still for a moment because i felt a slight breeze.  As I walked up to the other parents, that same dad, RB, said to me, "You are sweating, girl."  I only answered, "Hormones."  Enough said.

I helped Andrew set up his bunk.  It was played as him being the lucky soul to get a double bed but I knew better.  Everyone, including Andrew, brought a twin sheet.  Oh well.  We made do.  I must have repeated myself three dozen times when I reminded him, "Don't forget sunscreen.  Don't forget water.  If you are thirsty, it's already too late."  Once he even shook his head, then turned to me minutes later and asked, "What did you say?"  That's what I thought.

D&RB took the newbie parents in our group on a tour.  When we got back, our boys were all engulfed in Ga-Ga Ball.  The boys first played it in a clay pit during the church lock-in...which is ironic because they played it at AR's house...not at the church at all.  Sticky, stinky sweat, barely any breeze and tons of dirt all make for an interesting afternoon.  I can only imagine what's been happening this week!

After only two pictures I decided to leave because I was getting tired of picking my fave up off the ground.  I was melting!  I ran into Caleb only once.  He was taking off on his ripstik and the rest is history.  It was the longest walk ever to my car.  I knew I'd have an issue with the boys being gone for a whole week but I wasn't sure how exactly I'd respond.  I was doing okay before arriving until Caleb piped up in the van, "I started getting homesick by day four of Leadership Camp."  Uh-Oh!  For both of us.  When Andrew had just turned four and Caleb was almost six I left them with their dad for Jamaica.  We weren't gone a full week and I remember being sick about leaving them.  The only plus was that they were at least with their dad if anything happened to them.  Or me.  This time I dropped them off two hours from home.  I know there is a hospital not too awful far from them but I was still a mess coming home.  By myself.  My crazy mind starts to wander and it wasn't about me missing the boys.  It was about something horrible happening to them.  I know that everything happens for a reason and sometimes bad things happen to good people and you're left to wonder why.  I said a prayer and hoped for the best.  I was totally bothered by not seeing Caleb one more time to remind him about sunscreen and water. {I know, C.R.A.Z.Y.}  It didn't help that the news kept reporting a thunderstorm, possibly severe, with damaging winds.  Over and over again.  Then I kept thinking about a tree falling on their cabin and the rain getting the fans in the windows wet, causing an electrocution.  Commit me now!  I don't think I'm necessarily controlling, but I do tend to need control of some situations.  My babies are it for me!  I need to have control over them so they stay as safe as can be.  I grew immensely this week, and it wasn't the kind of growing you do while you sleep.  That's because I didn't sleep Sunday night or Monday night.  My girl SB checked in on me Tuesday night and I told her I finally got intermittent sleep the night before.  And I'm happy to report that I think I slept through the night last night.  Either I'm finally okay with them being gone or I was exhausted!!  I told her I kept checking my phones and none of them rang.  She reminded me no news is good news...{yeah, unless the camp lost my info}

I'm dealing. ☺  I'm just glad the next trip I take {in three more days} is to bring the boys home!  Sigh.  On the same subject, I imagine they are having the times of their lives right now!  I also did some PI work to find out they have to drink so much water at different times of the day.  I already know they are being well taken care of...it's just that lack of control thing.  I miss them so much!  Next year I'll be a total pro at this.  Cheers to next year!

In other news, last Monday we were hit with a crazy storm. {duh, right?}  I was in the tin can when it hit.  I was a little more than scared. to. death.  Our power had flickered on and off and when the water stopped in the washer then started again, I decided to run out and clean out the fridge in the camper so I wouldn't lose all the food.  Dumb.  That camper just started shaking and swaying and I heard something hit the top.  I wanted out of there sooo bad!  All I could think of was Kyle was asleep in his bed and what happened if he woke up and he couldn't find me? {control}  I darted out the door as soon as I heard some form of a break in the action.  I came out to find this...

 Three trees had snapped.  This front one, in my front yard, was the most devastating to me at the time.  However, i found out it was dead with a capital D so I moved on.  The other two, seen in the background, were worse than the picture shows.  The damage actually affected two other trees behind them, with parts of each tree still dangling or intertwined in the others.  Keith came home to access the damage and found a fourth uprooted right next to the pole barn.  Truthfully, there was nothing holding that tree up.  I pointed and looked up, thanking God.  My sister asked me later if I had been out to my pond.  I guess there are three or four more uprooted trees back there.  Good ol' firewood I guess.

Around three that afternoon, my seester called to let me know we lost power and Consumers said it would be back on. Thursday.  It was Monday.  She was heading across the lake that day on the ferry and I was nervous of that. {everything was fine}  We were lucky enough to borrow a generator to at least keep our food safe and to have an alarm clock to help get us to work on time.  Another sleepless night that first night, getting up randomly to check and make sure there was still gas in the tank.  Ugh!

With Kristin being gone, I wanted to save some of her food as well.  Of course, with the lack of power came the lack of easy entry into the house since they have an electronic keypad to get inside.  Enter: crawling through the window.  Two windows were locked and the keys I found were for the pole barn.  One last attempt proved successful and we were able to save the day.

 {don't let my husband see this...Kyle is enjoying himself a bit too much}

Is anyone dying yet of heat exhaustion?  Yowza!  We spent the day at the pool and I actually spent most of my time in the water!  We've had a pretty lazy week so far.  With the boys being gone, I'm kind of on a mini vacay...no running at lunch or after work.  I have all kinds of free time and have spent it doing mostly nothing. {unfortunately}  It appears that I have to stay overly busy or I get nothing at all done. What's the sense in that?