Since our last camping adventure, Caleb has been all about scavenger hunts. He recently led us on a scavenger hunt through our backyard that had me secretly laughing.
“And this is the fence. It keeps dogs out of our yard.”
“This is what the bunnies eat.”
“You mean the clover?”
“Yep”
He went on to show us the magnolia tree, the 2 “A’s” on our swing set, the raspberries, the garden, bench in the shade meant for resting, and so on.
The other participant:
Job 11:7
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”
Psalm 139:13-18
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
We definitely recommend Maquoketa Caves for quick weekend trip with preschoolers! The hiking was excellent for someone of Caleb’s energy level and attention span. Even Sophia hiked quite a bit (with some shoulder rides thrown in). Instead of hiking a long time to one destination, there were many points of interest to explore along the way. Caleb’s favorite cave was Dancehall Cave, so we went through a total of 5 times.
Caleb also loved going on the nature hike/scavenger hunt the DNR put on. He learned all about stinging nettles (the bad plant) and jewel weed (the good plant), which counteracts the stinging of the nettles, as well as bloodroot, fairy nymph bugs, columbines, garlic mustard, and ferns. The favorites were nettles and jewel weed though. The day after the scavenger hunt, Caleb kept pretending his walking stick got stung by the nettles, and then he’d hunt down some jewel weed to help his walking stick feel better.
My favorite part about camping is being in nature all day and night—the cool night air, the discovery of beauty in rocks and weeds, and even the overcoming (or enduring) of the unpleasant aspects of nature (humidity, etc.).
Caleb’s favorite thing about camping was sleeping in the tent, and the hardest thing about camping was sleeping in the tent.
I think Sophia’s favorite part was the s’more.
The campground isn’t large, so if you plan on arriving on a Saturday in the summer, you may want to make reservations, but it’d also be an easy daytrip if you don’t want to commit to sleeping outdoors. Bring a flashlight and old clothes so you can get muddy!
Favorites:
I finally took the plunge and put in a small garden. I haven’t in the past due to a shady yard and the fear that my black thumb would make it an entirely unproductive and a waste of money. We lost a tree several years ago, solving the shade problem. The jury is still out on the black thumb.
April
May
early June
I planted veggies we actually eat, so I can see what I can/cannot grow and if it’s worth the time and effort. We’ve harvested spinach and leaf lettuce already. The peas are climbing their trellis. I’m excited to pick some cilantro for Pad Thai later this week. We also have sunflower, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, bean, tomato, and pepper plants growing.
Caleb and Sophia have loved helping to build and water the garden. And they’ve been eating spinach right out of the garden! Caleb thought going to the city’s “construction site” to pick up free compost was a great field trip, and he even helped haul the compost to the backyard. So far the garden’s been a success. We’ll see how the rest of the summer goes. We may be doing battle with the squirrels.
Someone’s proud of her stickers!
One for staying in bed until Mommy or Daddy get her up in the morning.
One each time she uses the potty.
She’s quite the decorated hero around these parts.
While we were painting this last week,
Caleb painted the sandbox.
Caleb and Sophia collaborated on this project as well.
And then we talked about pointillism.
Last week (or I guess several weeks ago now), I took the kids strawberry picking. My parents usually pick an insane amount of berries to enjoy throughout the year, so I joined them this year. My goal was to give the kids a fun, new experience and possibly freeze some strawberries.
Caleb was a great helper, picking strawberries, and insisting that he wanted to “can them for the winter” thanks to about a hundred readings of Blueberries for Sal. Sophia much preferred eating the strawberries. It’s too bad I didn’t have a camera to capture her berry-stained face.
We’ve had a whirlwind of activity around our house lately. One thing we marked off our to do list:
We’re thankful owners of a minivan! I’m not sure you can say proud yet as I still miss driving around in our sedan, but we’re definitely thankful for the deal we found (and Grandpa and Grandma watching the kids while we haggled).
While the interior has some wood trim reminiscent of this,
overall we’re very pleased with our purchase.
And we no longer have to think about fitting three car seats in the back of our sedan in November.
If you’d ever like a tour of the doors that slide or the seats in the trunk, Caleb would be more than happy to oblige!
Here’s what Caleb requested for his birthday:
Setting up the tent for our camp out (in the backyard):
Blowing out FOUR candles:
I made some mock spaghetti & meatball cupcakes to surprise Caleb. Don’t worry; he also got cupcakes with all the colors mixed together. I just didn’t take a picture of the final product.
Caleb decided to forgo croquet in favor of the sprinkler for the afternoon:
We also sent Caleb on a scavenger hunt to find his present. At the beginning, flashlight in hand.
Stop #1: He found a present inside of a cell phone box. “A phone!” and then shortly after, “When can I have a phone?” The present was actually a bell.
Stop #2: Time to put on tennis shoes.
Stop #3: To the swing set.
(He had a tagalong as well.)
Stop #4: X marks the spot.
What was the present? Caleb was very excited about getting a sprinkler for his birthday. We had to tell him to turn around a look a little bit more.
Enjoying his gift:
I don’t know where four years has gone, but I am so thankful Caleb is part of my life!
