The Tuesday 7?

I was going to write a pre-emptive Saturday 7 before we left for camping on Friday, but that obviously didn't happen. Getting ready to go camping is so.much.work. But more about that later.

1. School was rough again last week - enough so that we've started looking into alternative options. I'm just not sure my mental health can handle homeschooling. And I'm starting to worry about Lucy's socialization issues. School would be good for all of us in so many respects. Stay tuned for an update about that - but don't mention anything to the girls if you see them. We're not telling them anything until we're sure.

2. My van has been having such issues lately. We've had it in the shop twice, but despite shelling out big bucks for a variety of issues, the main problem keeps coming back. It shakes so violently while I'm driving that I'm afraid it's going to fall apart! And then it started stuttering - almost stalling - while switching gears. I don't know much about cars, but I've had enough vehicles die to know when the transmission is going out. 🤦 Hopefully I'm wrong, but I'm not feeling very optimistic. It's going to the shop on Wednesday. Blurg.

3. I can't think of anything else, so here's the long camping recap. It was actually one of the best camping experiences we've ever had - largely thanks to a borrowed pop-up camper that meant we didn't have to tent it! Woohoo! Getting off the ground, and having storage space and a somewhat solid roof over our heads was a huge improvement! We also had perfect camping weather: low 70s during the day, 50s at night. We were a little cold overnight, but decided it was better than being hot! Camping is also becoming more fun as my kids get older and more self sufficient. We go with Justin's extended family, and there are 3 other girls around my girls' age, so they had playmates to keep them entertained - and I'm much more comfortable with them walking to the playground or ice cream shop in pairs. It was so nice to kind of let them roam and do their own thing. Of course Levi requires a great deal of supervision still, but for the most part I trust him not to run in the road. And I love the big family atmosphere where everyone keeps an eye on everyone's kids. Levi went for walks with Jordan and Karla (and most importantly, their dog), wagon rides with cousins, fishing with uncles, etc.

4. We love this campground because of its awesome heated pool. So even though temps were somewhat cool, the kids still loved swimming. We spent lots of time at the pool. And now that my kids are older and more comfortable in pools (thanks to a summer spent at Niki's), I don't feel the need to be in the water with them. Yes!

5. All weekend, everyone commented on Levi's boundless energy and lack of sleep. He stayed up at the campfire every night until 10, then still protested sleep for almost two hours once we were in the camper. Despite hours of being outside, swimming, walking back and forth between the campsite and the pool, chasing after dogs, jumping in the bounce house, and playing on the playground, he never went to sleep before 11:00, and he was up before 9 every day but one. On Sunday, he did all of the above, plus we went to the sand dunes. He climbed up and down every dune by himself:

That night he didn't fall asleep until 11:45! And he was up at 8:20 the next morning. We drove 1.5 hours home and he didn't fall asleep in the car. This kid is impervious to the need for sleep!! 😭

Almost home.

6. Now it's back to reality. The aftermath of camping is almost as much work as prepping. I'm going to spend all day unpacking, doing laundry, and sweeping sand out of every nook and cranny of my house. I really need to do school, too, but I'm having a serious lack of motivation when I know traditional school may be on the horizon . . .

7. Some pictures from earlier last week, and then a bunch from camping that you've already seen if we're facebook friends:

Pretty girl!

Clutching their bears as they watch the storm roll in.

Science fun: turning radiant energy into thermal energy via a magnifying glass (I'm definitely learning more than the girls are in science this year. Lol.)

It worked! (Tiny black spot. Haha.)

It worked even better on black paper!