Our Summer Adventures:Florida

It is day three of Thomas's Tonsil surgery, and he feels pretty crummy. He's asleep at the moment so, since we are pretty much stuck at home, I thought I'd get caught up on the blog.

After school let out in June, we spent a few weeks at home and then headed to Florida to visit Grammy and Papa. As always, we had a lot of fun with them and were pretty busy too. This is a great summer vacation for us becasue they have a big boat that we usually get to go on, there are beaches nearby and lots of fishing off the dock in the backyard. (the kind of fishing where you actually catch fish)

We flew out on "standby" so we didn't know if we would actually get a seat. We ended up getting the last 4 seats (Steve joined us later) so all three boys were together in the back, and I was way up front by myself praying they would behave.


After we took off a nice lady sitting in the row across from them switched with me and we all flew close together. I'm sure everyone around them was relieved I was close, especially after seeing those lolli-pops!

The first day in Florida, the boys were itching to go fishing with Papa. So, the following morning he got up early to get some bait and everyone headed to the dock. The boys did this two or three times while we were there, even off the back of the boat a few times. Thomas gave up pretty quick on this day because of the heat. Josh caught one and Charles tried. Yep, even I caught one!



Next we had a short ride on Charlotte's Web over to a marina where the boys got to play in the fountains while Papa pumped out the boat. This was a quick 1 hour trip, but the water was pretty rough which was so fun for the boys on the bow of the boat!


The best part about any boat trip?...your turn driving of course. At least Charles thinks so.


And the fountains were great too.


Our next activity was a Fourth Of July Cooking class that Grammy signed the boys up for. It was held at a cute little local shop/cafe and it turned out to be one of their favorite things this trip. They made red white and blue punch, sparkler fruit kabobs and firecracker quesadillas. Charles was in rare form for the first part of our trip. Lets just say we were butting heads a lot. So Grammy and I were a little worried how he would behave in class. Turns out he was great for the teacher (of course) and REALLY loved the food. Which meant we had a cup of coffee and browsed the shop while the kids cooked.


A few days later we packed up Charlottes Web for an overnight trip to Boca Grande. Boca Grande is about 2 hours away by boat (at least by our boat) and has a great beach. We were a little worried about the weather because they were predicting thunderstorms all day, but it actually turned out great. We did get downpoured on at the beach, but it passed quickly and was sorta fun.



This was our mode of transportation while on the island. Boca Grande is a tiny little place with just a few little shops, houses, a golf course and a great beach.

Here was our beach. Not bad!









An overnight trip in this boat is a lot like a trip in an RV. There is a full galley (kitchen) and two cabins. Plus the kitchen table turns into a bed and there is a couch too. We rented movies for the occasion and Charles was so excited to eat and sleep on the boat. After dinner at the marina we headed to the boat and did some fishing. Then we watched Iron Man and headed to bed.

Charles caught his first fish on this trip, and Thomas caught one too.



Steve had joined us in Florida in time to go to Boca with us. Here he is on the swim step in the back helping Charles get the fish off the hook.



Thomas really likes fishing, but he still won't get near it when he actually catches one. We keep telling him they don't count if he doesn't take it off the hook, but he isn't buying it.





The next day we headed home, and after acting up again, Charles was banished to "time-out" where he proceeded to konk out while Joshua caught up on some Harry Potter.



On the Fourth Of July, we swam in the morning and headed back out on the boat to see fireworks. The boys jumped in and swam a little bit, then we pulled out some glow stick. The fireworks were beautiful over the water.



The last thing we did before we left was celebrate Grammy's birthday. Dinner, presents, cake. The whole thing. That was fun since we rarely get to be with Grammy on her birthday.



It was a really busy and fun trip. We did a lot of swimming, movie watching and mini golf in between the boat rides. We will miss our Florida vacations if Grammy and Papa really do move back to Texas! One last thing...Grammy and Papa live a few houses down from the corner of San Mateo and St. Thomas which just so happens to be Thomas's name (he is Thomas Mateo Kall). It never dawned on us until this trip...so we had to take a picture of him by his sign. Too funny!

Removal of Tonsils, Take 2

I have been greatly neglecting the blog and have LOTS to post from our summer adventures, but first a quick update on Thomas. He had his tonsils out this morning. Since we did this with Charles in February, we weren't too worried. Here is how our day went:

7 am: rise and shine. No breakfast for Thomas
8 am: dropped off Charles with James (best buddy) and Joshua with Jeremy (another best buddy)
8:40 am: arrive at pediatric surgery center
8:50 am: mom fills out paperwork while boys play games


9:00 am: we go back fill out more papers while Thomas watches "Ratatouille" on a little DVD player (bad choice when you are really hungry). Then they give Thomas some "goofy juice".



10 am: They wheel him back to remove his tonsils. Steve and I go wait and read/play games on our electronic devices
10:30 am: Doctor tells us he is done and did great
10:45: we go see Thomas. He is upset and VERY groggy. Quite out of it.



He was crying a little bit and trying to sit up.



Thomas proceeds to eat two Popsicles and drink a can of Apple juice in the recovery room while he is in and out of sleep.

11 am: Thomas is more awake. Takes some pain medicine and I talk to the nurse about after care
11:30 am: we wheel him out to the car and head home. Thomas is still pretty drowsy and sleeps in the car
12:00 we arrive at home hoping Thomas will sleep all day. No luck. He is camped out in our bed, watching TV and EATING everything in sight.




So far he has had 5 glasses of juice and water, two bowls of ice cream, a bowl of jello, and a cup of pudding. It is 2:30 right now. I am trying to talk him into a pb&j sandwich, but he is holding me to the "all the ice cream he can eat" that we promised. I gave him a bell to ring when he needed something, and it is ringing non-stop for more refreshments! Steve is working from home, and the "service" bell is ringing so much, we can't stop laughing.

All is well, and I know when the steroids wear off in a day or so his appetite will be gone, so we are happy he feels good and is eating right now.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

ps. In the time it took me to post this, he has eaten a bowl of grapes, a cheese stick and another bowl of ice cream!

The Pines...Part 2

After a very emotional week, we went back to The Pines to pick up Joshua. You notice I didn't say Joshua and Thomas. That is because Thomas actually got sick on Wednesday and had to come home early. He was running a fever (103 degrees) and had a sore throat and headache. He hung out in the nurses office and was taken to a clinic. It turned out to be a pretty mild little virus, that he got at a bad time. We drove out to Big Sandy and brought him home that night. It only lasted a couple of days, but we were sad he had to miss the second half of camp.

So after a few days of rest, Steve, Charles, Thomas and I headed out again. We spent the night in a hotel in Longview which proved to be very exciting to Charles! Then on Saturday morning we headed to the camp for the 9am morning service at the Cathedral of the Pines.

The service started out with some songs and words from "Big Tuna" the camp director.
Then all the counselors had to tell their real names (the kids only knew their made up counselor names all week and spent hours trying to guess their names). They also told everyone what school they were attending in the fall


This is Ewok...a camp favorite who also happen to be one of Thomas's counselors. We aren't sure what his real name is. Nobody remembers...but he was really funny.




It was fun seeing all the campers with their cabins, in their new Pines shirts listening intently to these fine Catholic young men and women who were such good examples for them all weekHere you see that Thomas joined his cabin for this last little ceremony, and Joshua is listening intently to the counselors tell their names.

Here is Thomas with two of his three counselors as well as some cabin mates.


And Joshua with one of his Counselors (Bobo) who is staying at the Pines in the fall to help with religious retreats and nature education that the camp does all year round.


In spite of logging about 15 hours on the road and a sick camper, all in all, the camp was a great experience. Both boys want to go back next year, they made it home with all their stuff and had a great time. They played games, rode horses, swam a lot, rode canoes, tie dyed shirts, went down a huge slide into the lake, made smores, had a bonfire, watched skits, goofed off a LOT and made many good memories. All of this while learning more about their Catholic faith.

The staff was so great with Thomas when he was sick. They called us immediately, took him to the doctor, gave him medicine, treated him kindly and worried over him like he was their own. The camp director was completely aware of what was going on, and in addition to running the camp, he met us at our car at 10:00 when we got there on Wednesday. The nurse was also very calm and loving. This experience made me have great respect for the people running the Pines.

I am glad the boys had fun, and I'm glad they are home!

Here are some random pictures taken during the week by the Pines photographer.

The Pines

Joshua and Thomas went to camp today. This is the first time they have been to an overnight camp, and they were very excited. A little nervous too, but mostly excited.

It's funny the difference in moms and dads in these situations. We give our kids such different advice. For example, I told Joshua "don't forget bug spray. But if you do get bites and need benadryl, don't be afraid to ask." Steve told the boys "always get the hot meal unless it just looks really really gross. You will be hungry out there and cereal and sandwiches don't stick with you." I told Thomas, "keep up with your stuff, hang up your towel. You don't want to be stuck with a nasty wet towel the whole week." Steve said "when you get there, get the lay of the land. Try to figure out where you are right away so that if you ever get separated from the group you can find your way back." All this advice was being fired at them over breakfast this morning, poor kids! Its a wonder they weren't nervous wrecks.

No, that was me!

So nervous I forgot my camera. Thank goodness for my good friend, Nicole

We settled them in, made their beds and kissed them goodbye.
Here is Charles saying goodbye to Thomas on his bunk bed.
And Thomas taking my advice...putting on his sunscreen. So cute! (he didn't see me take this one)
And here is Joshua in his bunk...which is right next to his friend, John Ramsey.
I'm sure I will get through this week somehow. Me and my buddy Charles will hang out a lot and there will be some quiet in the house. I'm not sure how I will manage.

Meanwhile...the boys will be having a great time !!!!!