The kids have still been sleeping wonderful. I have definitely not been on edge as much as I would have it if not for the monitor. I am really glad I bought it. I guess they have gone to bed tired every night and they have all slept like babies. Everyone was up by 8:00 and ready to start their day. It was off to Aunt Carolyn’s for more fun for the girls and off to baseball for the boys. Yesterday Luke called me even before an hour had passed and told me Noah’s stomach was hurting. I was concerned he might have had too much juice or ate something that upset his stomach. I went immediately and picked him up. When he saw me drive up he came running. I asked him how he was and he just told me his stomach was hurting. I told him I had some errands to run and told him to let me know if it didn’t quit hurting. He told me it was better already. I suspected his stomach was fine and dandy, but one just never knows. When I went back and picked up Camden, Carter, and Joshua they immediately informed me that Noah could have definitely stayed. He is not that much into baseball, but I thought he would still enjoy it. There was cloud cover out yesterday and the weather shouldn’t have been an issue, but I really didn’t know why he would have wanted to leave. The other guys were having a ball.
When I dropped off the boys this morning I told Noah I wanted him to stay with Luke, but if he was really sick I would come get him. I suspected I would probably get a call. I told him I would be back in two hours, and to have some fun. The other guys got out of the car and told me they were going to tell Luke not to call me because Noah was not having any problems. An hour later I was impressed that Noah was still there. I even looked at my phone to make sure I hadn’t missed a call. Ten minutes later Camden called and told me that Noah was really sick. He said his stomach was hurting him bad and that I needed to come get him. I was concerned because the guys were adamant that nothing had been wrong yesterday. I immediately went to pick him up. Once again, he saw me drive up and came skipping to the car. When he was almost to the car he yelled, “Nana, where are we going to go today?” I said, “Noah, I thought your stomach was killing you. I was scared you were really sick.” His response was, “But Nana, I am all better now.” When we were getting in the car he stopped and looked at me and said, “Nana, do you know what I like best about Nana Camp?” I asked him what that might be and he said, “I get to spend time with you and Grampy. That is what I love to do.” Oh my! What Nana could keep composure after a statement like that? It made me really think that we should always be focusing on the here and now, and for now we are making memories these grandchildren will have forever.The girls had tons of fun with Aunt Carolyn. She has always been a special aunt to them. Teaching first grade gives her a distinct advantage on the fun things kids love doing. They have made so many things with her.
I ran into Mrs. Swinea a few days ago at school and she asked me if I would have time to bring the kids to her classroom before they went home. Mrs. Swinea is the high school science teacher where I teach and someone I have known for most of my married life. We have gone to church together and Mrs. Bebe kept the kids for me several times when they were tiny. Today I squeezed in time before the mind-blowing science with Amy to take them to her classroom. They loved every second they were there. Regis, the python was a hit, as well as the other animals. There were skulls everywhere in the classroom and Mrs. Swinea had written the animals names on paper and let the kids all find the match to the correct skull. It was an awesome learning experience for them, and they all had a great time. Abbie had her picture taken with every animal she could manage. She even let Mrs. Swinea wrap one of the other snakes around her neck just like the boys. She was nowhere ready to leave. She asked me twice to send her pictures immediately to her mom.
Amy’s class was so much fun. They all had a jar where they constantly demonstrated exactly what a tornado looked like. They made marshmallow towers and did several experiments. When I walked in the door to pick them up they were all talking non-stop about all the things they did.Yes rules had once again been broken so “Quiet Time” became clean up time. Afterwards it was time to focus on a little self-esteem. I gave everyone eight cards and gave directions for them to write a card for everyone but themselves. I told them to put the persons name at the top they were writing to and to sign their name at the bottom. I told them to think about something special, or good, or kind about each specific person and on that person’s card to write those things down they thought about. I told Camden, Carter, and Joshua to help out Abbie, Bailey, and Noah. I would be helping Macy. I was really blown away that the triplets wrote theirs all on their own and they did an unbelievable job. They are only six years old, and I didn’t expect they could do it all with no help. Abbie was concerned some of her words would not be spelled correctly. I told her that would be the best part, and for her to just write it like she thought it would be spelled. I thought Caley was going to need more than her one index card she had for each one. She wrote and wrote on each card. I think she could have filled up three cards on everyone. She would look up in the air like she was thinking about something and she would just laugh and laugh and keep writing. She did an excellent job.
We were rushed this afternoon because we were all going to the theater. Grampy came home from work just in time to go with us. We only had one vacant seat on an entire row. I was on one end and Grampy was on the other. By the end of the movie Abbie, Bailey, and Macy all had been taking turns sitting on my lap. I never had less than two sitting with me during the entire production. Grampy was busy getting popcorn refills. I just about fell asleep myself. The kids all seemed to enjoy it, but it was a little scary for the younger ones.
In the “Sponge and Bucket Race” Carter came in first place. He was so fast. Marah came in second, and Joshua was third. Macy will be given a blue ribbon also in her division. She soaked her sponge and squeezed it out in the bowl like she had been doing it for years.’’
The kids had to actually sit down in the pool to compete in the “Rubber Ducky Blow.” Marah came in first, Joshua was second, and Carter was third. Panera Bread had given me some awesome huge straws, and the kids blew that ducky across the pool quicker than Grampy and I had ever dreamed they would.
Carter was the only one that even won a ribbon for “Freeze-Up.” Getting an ice cube in your toes and tossing it out of the pool seemed to be a bit tough for anyone to handle. I don’t even think I could have done that. I think next time we might just try marbles in the pool. That might work a bit better.
In the “Water Balloon Toss,” Carter and Bailey came in first, Camden and Noah were second, and Marah and Macy were third. Just about the time we finished thunder could be heard in the distance. We had a lot more things planned, but the kids needed a bath before bedtime and before the cloud came up.
Devotional was special. Grampy and I told them that tomorrow they were would be going home and we told them how much we loved for them to come. Caley told us she had been thinking all day long about tomorrow being the last day and she said she didn’t want to go home. Everyone else echoed her sentiment, and it is really hard to believe that our week with them is almost over. We sang some songs and had prayer with all of them and tucked them all into bed for the night.
One more day and “Nana Camp” will be officially over. It makes me smile to know that for this one week Grampy and I have had a very special opportunity to make lasting memories.
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