My Kids Smell Like Camp Loll

Spring has come and pretty much gone. Summer is well on its way if not here already in Virginia. That means three things: it is very green and beautiful, the pollen count is VERY high, and all the bugs are back. I do mean all. It isn't like we didn't have bugs in California. We did. We even had a couple of baby tarantula sized spiders in and near the garage. It still does not compare to here. The bugs are everywhere, and some are prehistoric. I was cleaning last August/September and heard what I thought was a knock on the window. No, it was a bug colliding with the window. It happened to be so big that I could hear it bump into the window.

Now that the weather is beautiful and school is out, my kids are playing outside a lot. That is as it should be. A few days ago though, Ashley came in and was covered along her legs and arms with over a dozen bug bites. It was crazy. Ticks are very much a reality here as well.

So now, before playing much outside, I not only have to put sunscreen on my kids, I am spraying them down with bug spray. It is an enormous effort for some outdoor play, but it beats the alternative.

What's with the title of this post? Well, if you haven't been to Camp Loll, you will have to take my word for it that it is God's country. It is beautiful. It is one of my favorite places in all the world. You can click on the link above or on the link on the sidebar to the Camp Loll alumni Association to see some pictures for yourself. As much as I love Camp Loll, I do not love the mosquitoes at Camp Loll. They are mythical in size and ability to do damage. They border on capable of picking your pocket. When I worked there in 1993, and in several visits in years afterward, I came to accept bug spray as a common and necessary accoutrement. I HATE mosquitoes, and I am slightly allergic, so the combination is not pretty. They, on the other hand, seem to LOVE me. Go figure. Sooooooooo, as I am spraying down my kids with bug spray, I automatically think of Camp Loll every time. It is one of those olfactory memories I guess. My kids smell like Camp Loll even though only one of them has ever been there.

The Motivational Power of Chocolate

We are potty training Samantha, and it is not going well. It is a slow process. I mean SLOW. In the last few days, we have offered to give her a small piece of chocolate every time she goes to the bathroom in the potty. We only had one accident yesterday! See, chocolate can be a great motivator! Good thing Sami loves to brush her teeth several times a day.

Discovery Dash

Today was race day. Even though school is out and it is Memorial Day weekend, we started getting out of bed early to get up to Monticello High School for the Discovery Dash. We had absolutely perfect weather. (not trying to rub it in Dad and Muriel)

Pictured on the right are our two racers. While waiting for Ashley's race, we watched the dashers (3 and 4 year olds) It was totally fun to watch them go. Sami wanted to get out there and run so badly. She is not old enough, but watching those kids go made me wonder if I should have taken the age limit less seriously. Jon, who was adamant about not running, really wanted to race once we got there. There is always next year I guess.

Ashley did great in her race. She finished at the first pack of the second half of kids. Some of those kids have run for awhile. You could tell by watching them. This was Ashley's first thing like this, and we were really proud of her. She ran the entire half mile without stopping or walking and showed really good stamina and form. Most importantly, she had a great time doing it. She wants to work on her speed now so that she can be faster next time. She really wants a trophy.

Ashley as she was finishing her first lap around the track

Video of Ashley finishing her race

Ashley claimed to be tired after her race but had plenty of energy to run down a small hill and jump on the pad the High School has for the high jump. We figure if you factor in both of her races and the playing she did in between, she ran a full mile today.

Ashley with her ribbon for finishing her race

The kids that were 9-12 ran a full mile for their race. I was impressed watching them go. The kids that won trophies (top 3 girls and boys in each age division) finished their miles in under 5 and just over 5 minutes. I used to HATE running the mile in gym when I was in High School. I mean absolutely HATE. If there wasn't somebody chasing me, why on earth would I be running? Watching these kids was inspiring. I don't want my own kids to hate those things, and I am glad for opportunities like this that focus on having fun and showing the kids just what they CAN do.

The next event for us was the parent/child relay. In this race, the parent ran the first lap and the child the second for a total of 1/2 mile. I tried to get a good picture of Trent, but he was so fast, that I didn't. I should have just taken video. He was in the first pack of dads right after the two that were out front. Good job Trent!

That is Trent with the short dark hair, white legs and sunglasses on the outside of the pack

Here is Ashley coming around the 3rd turn to finish the race. Good job Ashley!

We stuck around for the awards and raffle prizes. Wouldn't you know, Ashley won a family pass to go bowling in the raffle. Thanks Ashley! When it was time to go, my kids all wanted to have a race of their own, so I let them run on the track. I didn't think they would go all the way around it, but all three of them ran 1/4 mile. I guess that makes 1 1/4 total for Ashley today. Jon stopped and started a few times and often turned around to make sure Sami was still coming with him, but he ran 1/4 mile. We were proud. What do you think his immediate response was upon finishing the task? He asked for his trophy. Too funny.

Jon and Sami running on the far side of the track

Go Jon Go!

We ran into a couple of Trent's classmates from the JAG school. The kids were all in different age groups for the parent/child relays though, so none of them ran against each other. That could have been fun. A great day. Good job everybody.

Trent Graduated

This past Thursday (May 22), Trent graduated with his LLM in Military Law and a specialty in International and Operational Law from the Judge Advocate General's School of Law. That is the Army JAG School in everyday speak. He accomplished everything he wanted to. He received both his LLM and performed well enough to get his specialty as well. We are very proud of him of course.

The ceremony was somewhat low key considering, but Jon, Sami, and I elected to spend the entire ceremony in the overflow room with the Ayers and Kiel families as well as various individuals who brought their kids out of the auditorium from time to time. The entire ceremony was available on the screen in that room. If anyone reading this wonders why we opted for the overflow, they haven't met Samantha.

It was a very nice ceremony that put just enough emphasis on the accomplishment achieved by the 56th graduate course and reminded them and us what great people they are.

I should mention here that I have wanted Trent to blog about some of the events he has participated in lately for a while now, and hopefully in the next few weeks he will be able to. It will be much more interesting to read his account of things. However, even though he has graduated and is on leave for the next few weeks, he is still busy. He has to finish OER (Officer Evaluation Report) work and prepare his paper to submit it for potential publication. Let's face it. That trumps blogging. I mention this only so that you know that hopefully you will have Trent's accounts of Iron JAG and his dining in among other things to look forward to.

We learned a few things on Trent's graduation day.

First of all, the navy has uniforms I have never seen before, and some of them are kind of funny looking. No offense intended to our navy friends of course.

Seondly, Jon is a bit of a Jimmy Buffett fan. While rejecting song after song on my MP3 player on the way to graduation, Trent finally just requested I play some Jimmy Buffett (something he knew I had and knew would be simple and fun. Apparently I have too many depressing songs. I would disagree, but that is another post and a long one at that). After listening to Volcano the first time, we listened to it at least three more times in a row at Jon's request. When we left the school, the only thing Jon wanted to hear was Volcano by Jimmy Buffett. I have not yet determined if we should be concerned about Jon's future based on his early liking of Jimmy Buffett.

Finally, at least for now, we were reminded what great people serve in the military. They can be goofy and odd and all the things the rest of us are. They are from all over the United States (in this case the world as there are some international students as well). They come from many different backgrounds, have many different likes, philosophies, beliefs, and all the rest. Still, they are generally amazing people, and I am grateful to live in a country that produces these men and women and inspires them to serve.

One last picture. It is awful of Jon and I. He is being so cheesy, he almost looks fake, and I have my eyes closed, and am honestly not a particularly photogenic individual. Still, it is great of Trent and cute of Sami so why not right?

Heroes Spoiler Alert!

For any of you that might somehow be unaware, I LOVE Heroes. (The television show). It was a very sad day when the writer's strike came around and preemptively ended this second season just when it was tying everything together and being all kinds of amazing.

I also love spoilers. Back when I lived on the West Coast, I would often check forums and blogs to see what people thought about shows I loved or what happened on them in advance of watching the show myself. I was terrible when it came to American Idol season 6. My brother teased that I would have a difficult time living on the East Coast where I would not have access to such information as nobody would see these shows before I had access to them. I have adapted for the most part but still enjoy the guilty pleasure of www.spoilerfix.com and my weekly reading of Ask Ausiello on Wednesdays.

WHAT COMES NEXT IS A MAJOR SPOILER. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE SPOILERS, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.



I was looking at spoilerfix.com and came across the following piece of information today:

05/21 - Sylar slices open the head of the person you may consider the show's biggest star! That happens within the first two episodes and we also learn exactly what he does once Sy-baby pops the lid on our heroic pals, so let's just say that there is plenty to look forward to early on in season three. Source: Kristin on E!Online

What?!?!? This could only mean 3 people as far as I am concerned, and to lose any of them seems too devastating to keep watching my show. Please say it is some dream sequence or something crazy like that or someone can time jump and save the situation, because any of you who watch this show and are still reading this post know that it suggests Hiro, Peter, or possibly Claire. Can I get a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

New Link

I am adding this link to my sidebar, but I wanted to feature it. I came across this blog in a strange and roundabout way. (It all started when my friend Katie decided to update her blog's appearance). Anyhow, it looks amazing. I LOVE pilfering recipes from other people and making my own collection of squirrelled away recipes of various yummy things. This blog is such a great source. Check it out if you are interested.

http://pickypalate.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Jon!

We celebrated Jon's 5th birthday today. It was a quiet day for the most part, but still a lot of fun. After Jon woke up, the first thing he wanted to do was open his presents (of course). We waited until 8:00 and then woke up Dad before opening gifts. You may wonder what is with the scissors. My mom has gifts with curling ribbon. Seriously, true gifts. You try not using scissors.

Among the haul was a stuffed giant pacific octopus much like Jon's friend at the national aquarium, the Planet Hero moon buggy. Jon is very into Planet Heroes right now. A couple more of said Planet Heroes, and a cool amphibian remote control car.

His sisters kindly let him open his own gifts for the most part and also kindly offered to help him play with all of them all morning.

Opening presents (I think this one was Dazzle Venus)

Remote Control Car. Jon kept trying to move things away from his sisters.

Trent figuring out the car. Yes, he is reading the instructions!

This year, Jon wanted a flying saucer cake. As usual, I diligently looked all over the internet for ideas to steal. I took a few and combined and modified them into the final product. I have never used rolled fondant before, and I did not leave myself the necessary time to experiment, so I went with frosting. Many thanks to my good friend Megan (who is amazing when it comes to all things crafty and cooking related) for a good recipe and smoothing technique. It worked well. It would have been far more impressive if I had the fondant thing down, but Jon was so pleased that it really didn't matter. It does look like a homemade mom cake, but I am still fairly happy. If you want to do something like this and want a more spectacular finish, I suggest the alien spaceship cake from Debbie Brown's 50 Easy Party Cakes.

Note: sparkly decorating gel does not stay stiff. Either use butter cream or put alien on right before lighting candles. I had to scrape first alien off and start again after he slowly oozed down the window.

Our friends the Krajewskis joined us for cake and fun later. Jon has confused Leonora and Sonja as his cousins lately. I am not sure why. They are great people, and we will miss them when they move at the end of this month. They also brought Jon some space themed legos. Very fun.

I have video of Trent helping Jon with his remote control car and then of Jon taking it himself. Until I can figure out the orientation, however, I won't post it. What I don't have video of, but was more funny was of Trent playing with the remote control car while Jon followed him around chanting, "that's my car." and occasionally tugging on Trent's shirt.

Trent and Jason thought about racing this car and the other remote control car of Jon's. Sadly, the other car turned out to need its battery recharged. Another day perhaps.

Jon is such a great kid, and we are grateful for him and the chance to celebrate him and the things that make him special.

Ashley = Speedracer?

Ashley and Trent are now officially entered in the Discovery Dash for Saturday, May 24. It is a race for kids to benefit the children's museum here in Charlottesville.

Ashley is running the race for her age group (1/2 mile) and the parent child relay with Trent. She has been out practicing a few times. Trent reports that she needs to roll from heel to toe when she runs instead of slapping her feet. Otherwise, all is well. It should just be a lot of fun.

Jon is currently not interested in running in his age group (1/4 mile), but if that changes in the next week, we might add another runner.

Good luck Ashley. More importantly, we hope it is fun.

Waiting for Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is coming soon to theaters in case you live in a cave somewhere and did not know. The product placement is everywhere of course. Ashley loves watching Raiders of the Lost Ark with her dad, who kindly censors the scary parts for her. This morning she saw a commercial for Indiana Jones lego play sets. She couldn't wait to tell her dad that if he would only go and get her one, he could help her put it together.

I went out this afternoon with a friend to get supplies for the function we are throwing this next week for the Coast Guard's Missions Law Course. When I returned I found that Ashley had talked her dad into watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. She was clad in her best make-shift Indiana Jones outfit complete with pink bunny jump rope whip and Dad's hat. I wonder how long until they are building that lego play set.

Recipes from Baby Shower

I just had a really fun and pretty successful baby shower for my friend and fellow Coast Guard wife, April Krajewski. I tried a couple of new recipes out, and they were pretty good, so I thought I would share. I also made my mother-in-law's awesome spinach salad. That salad, as usual, got many rave reviews. I am pretty sure most of you have that recipe. If interested though, let me know.

Chicken Salad
(I got this recipe from Beat This by Ann Hodgman) She says it is from Suzanne's restaurant in Washington D.C. Thought I would put that for full disclosure.

3 whole chicken breasts or 6 halves. (She says to poach them and then cut into bite sized pieces. I cooked mine in the oven, and they worked out great.)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips
2 large heads broccoli, cut into florets
12 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
3/4 cup sour cream (I used light, and it didn't seem to affect it poorly)
3/4 cup mayonnaise (again I used light)
41/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
41/2 Tablespoons raspberry vinegar (I had to look in three stores and then got the last bottle. I remember this being more readily available in California. Hmm.)
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

Combine the chicken with the red peppers in a large bowl.

In a vegetable steamer, steam the broccoli for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it just starts to get tender. Add it to the chicken and mix it in gently. Mix in the crumbled bacon.

Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, raspberry vinegar and dill. Pour the dressing over the chicken and vegetables and mix well. Chill the salad for at least 2 hours before serving. (I chilled it overnight)

I served it with ciabatta rolls for those who wanted to make a sandwich. It is good as is too. I thought it was a very yummy version of chicken salad. It makes a lot. I had plenty for 12 people and have leftovers.

Chocolate Cake with Fudge Sauce
(I got this from Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2007. Thanks again to my in-laws.)

1 package (3.4 ounces) cook and serve chocolate pudding/pie filling mix
2 cups milk
1 package (18 1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix (I used a chocolate fudge cake mix.)

SAUCE
1/2 cube butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli for what it is worth)
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a heavy saucepan, prepare pudding with milk according to package directions for pudding. Pour into a mixing bowl; add dry cake mix and beat until well blended.

2. Spread into a greased 13 x 9 x2 inch baking pan. (this was a bit of a trick actually) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched and edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool on wire rack (It was so easy to tell when this cake was done. Also, I made the cake the night before and the sauce while people were eating and working at first game. It worked great.)

3. For sauce, in a heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Stir in evaporated milk and sugar until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 8 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Serve warm sauce over cake. (I let sauce cool a bit before putting it over the cake. Warm sauce rather than hot was what I was aiming for. It also sat a few minutes or so on the cake before anyone ate it, and it was still great. In fact, you probably don't want it too warm. I also put a few fresh raspberries on top.)

These were yummy and fun.