Soul-Full

I can't remember the first time we ever took Jesse camping, but he was just a little guy, maybe even a baby. When we lived in Iowa, we weren't exactly avid campers because, well, it's strange to sleep by a cornfield. Children of the Corn and all that. But in the past 10 years we've camped far too many times to count. So camping was the perfect way to spend our last weekend with our son before he goes to college.


Yes, he's texting while we camp. Don't judge us; you'll allow it, too, when you have a 17-year-old. We camped with about 15 other families for our annual Scouting Family Camp. I think he's texting his not-girlfriend (she's not allowed to date, so they're not-dating), wondering how long until she arrived.

This was a new find for us on this trip: Starbucks instant coffee. Um, yum! It was actually fantastic coffee! One of the downfalls of camping has now been eliminated for us. If we can figure out how to eliminate chiggars, life would be grand.

Duncan spent 98% of his time riding his bike and playing with his 15 or so buddies who were there. We really didn't see him except for meals and bed.

Laurel nearly finished her outdoor cooking and camping badges. She's getting ready to make pancakes here.

Camping is just plain good for the soul. I can't think of a better way to spend a few of the last days with our family before our first one flies away.

Linked up at Just for the Joy of It

Wordless Wednesday: Argiope

"They might bite if grabbed, but other than for defense they have no interest in biting humans."

That is reassuring, but man, those argiope spiders are big! We usually have one or two big ones that hang out for quite a long time in late summer. For me, they are a sign that fall is on its way. And just to confirm that, we are due to have our first day in two months that is under 90 degrees!

Linked to Wordless Wednesday, Five Minutes for Mom, and Outdoor Wednesday

My Students

Because this one…

who was homeschooled since second grade, is just days away from leaving the nest (wanna get weepy? read this), I am left with these two beautiful, amazing creations:

Duncan, our youngest, will be in 4th grade or thereabouts. At nine, he's taller than most of his 11-year-old friends. I am thinking he'll skip a grade eventually. But for now, he is all about Legos, video games (let's be honest), riding his bike, Cub Scouts, hiking, his grandparents, his family, and eating. He's an easy student, smart and mostly cooperative. I adore him.

And this beauty is my 8th-grade daughter. She takes my breath away, just as she has since the moment she was born. She is kind, generous, big-hearted, compassionate, and very funny. She is a wonderful friend to me and her many girlfriends, and I cherish each day with her. She's also well on her way to being a great cook. She is smart and a quick student, always precise in her work without being a perfectionist. I'm crazy about her.

This year, we're spending our days in Narnia. Because who wouldn't want to?

Linked up at the Not-Back-to-School-Hop at Heart of the Matter.

Once Upon a Time: A Letting Go

Once he was a boy who like to climb in log cabins and jump in haystacks.


Once he was a boy who liked to swing and run up slides at the playground.


Once he was a boy who played with Legos, hour after hour.



Once he was a boy who went barefoot in the sandbox in the spring, reveling in the feel of the cool sand and the end of winter, surrounded by little people who thought he was the greatest. And the bossiest.


Now he's my boy who is about to leave the nest, to head off to college 3 hours away. We had one last camping trip this past weekend, a familiar familial pattern of campfires, hikes, and marshmallows. We've done it dozens of times over the course of the past 17 years, but this one was extra sweet.

"What should I take with me?" he asks.
"Everything," I tell him. "Everything that you need every day."

What isn't packed in his suitcase will be packed in his heart, stored there as quiet memories of sand, swings, mountains. And us.

Linked up at Tuesdays Unwrapped on Chatting at the Sky

Back to School Reflections

I’ll soon be heading into my eleventh year of homeschooling. My firstborn is leaving for college, and, as usual, the dynamic of our homeschool will change. I like to take this time before we start again to prepare myself for a new year. After 10 weeks of enjoying lazy days, it’s time to shift gears from Summer Mom to Teacher Mom. Remembering basics like sharpen all the pencils and have coffee first is easy. But what makes the transition work the best is reflecting on the less tangible lessons I’ve learned over the years:

• My children reflect my moods. (Yes, I said reflect, not affect.) If I am distracted, grumpy, and/or irritable, they will be, too. I should be nice all the time. …

{I'm over at The Homeschool Classroom today. Visit me there for the rest of this post!}

Wordless Wednesday: Cake

Learning to decorate a cake has been high on my 12-year-old daughter's "to-do" list for a long time. She finally had the opportunity to participate in a cake decorating workshop this week. Her cake was gorgeous and way too delicious.

Linked up at Wordless Wednesday, Five Minutes for Mom, and Seven Clown Circus

On the Menu (with Hobo Meal recipe)

It's time. I have to start getting back out of lazy summer mode and back into the swing of things. We've had sporadic menus this summer, but now I'm getting serious. We're going camping at the end of this week, so we'll have our traditional hobo meals one night and hamburgers/veggie burgers another night. Other favorite camping essentials include beef jerky, Sunchips, powdered sugar donuts, and pudding snack paks. These are all coveted foods that don't normally make it into the shopping cart. Also, Dr. H. insists on frying Spam for breakfast.

I usually choke down one piece to make him happy, but no one else in the entire campground—and we'll be camping with about 20 other families—will touch it. Poor Dr. H.

Hobo Meals

Stew beef
Potatoes
Assorted veggies, like potatoes, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions.

Directions (assemble at home before camping): Bake (or partially bake) the potatoes, otherwise they may not cook in the campfire. Cut enough sheets of foil for each person. Spray with cooking spray. Add meat and then whatever bit-sized veggies each person wants. (One of the beauties of the hobo meal is that you can tailor-make each meal for each person.) Season generously. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to each one. Seal well and write the person's name in Sharpie on each packet. Store in your cooler. To cook, place on prepared coals over campfire. Takes probably 15-20 minutes, depending on how hot the fire is. You can also make these with chicken or ground beef, but we like the texture of stew beef the best.

This week we'll also be having:
Samosas: I grew up having these on Saturdays at the Farmers' Market in Ithaca, New York. Perfect vegetarian fare.
Tacos
Grilled Chicken with Cornell Sauce
Bacon and Tomato Pasta

We are all tired of summer food and looking forward to soups. I'm sure I said something exactly opposite about 4 months ago!

Do you have a favorite camping food? We'd love some new ideas.

Linked up on Menu Plan Monday and Tasty Tuesday

Ft. Loudoun in August

Our friend Chris is always trying to talk Dr. H. into joining him in reenacting. Today probably wasn't the best day to entice someone into the world of reenacting. It was easily 98 degrees at Ft. Loudoun for the 250th anniversary of the Surrender of Fort Loudoun to the Cherokees. And those guys were wearing wool, and a lot of it.

We sat in the shade and watched the battle and then walked around and talked with Chris and his kids, who are also in period dress. We watched a guy baking cornbread in an outdoor oven and a blacksmith making bullets. Duncan got advice on how to be a man from a nearly-naked Cherokee. We sweated a lot, but not nearly as much as those guys.

We got back into our air-conditioned van and went to an air-conditioned supermarket to buy groceries, which we are now cooking in our air-conditioned home on our indoor stove.

I'm glad Dr. H. is passionate about hiking and camping in the nice, cool woods in the summer, 'cause wool just makes me itch.

Heartstrings

I don't think I've ever used that word before, except when referring to the senior citizen group at our church, which is called "Heartstrings." But all week I've been feeling those proverbial heartstrings being tugged at—that sweet and sad mixture of memory and present-tense.

This past week our friends the Johnstons came to visit from Iowa. They were our best friends during our five years there when we were in graduate school. We attended the same church and were part of the most phenomenal small group ever there. It wasn't hard to leave Iowa—after all, we were coming to our dream job in our dream location— but it was hard to leave our small group friends, especially Kris and Del.

You don't have the chance too many times in your life to connect at such a level. Double soulmates, I think of them as, because the four of us connect so strongly, not just Kris and me. And the minute our younger boys spied each other, they were like magnets. Neither Duncan nor Will were born when we left Iowa, and they were only 18 months old when we saw them last. I'm pretty sure they were together all but two hours this whole week —and that was only because Duncan didn't want to go horseback riding. Our girls got along great, too, but the boys just really hit it off.

We made the most of every minute they were here. We did all kinds of fun touristy things that are so much more fun when you have someone who can not only appreciate them, but laugh at them. We drove around Cades Cove and saw two bears and a bunch of tourists taking pictures of them from 5 feet away, played in the river, picnicked and swam at the lake, went horseback riding in the mountains, shopped the outlets in Pigeon Forge, and went river tubing. The weather was absurdly hot, but we all survived. The kids played about 10 hours of the Wii and stayed up outrageously late every night. We ate great food and had great conversation.

I missed them before they even pulled away this morning. Our house feels empty, and we're all kind of moping. I have this same sense of sadness with other friends who visit and leave: why can't we all live near each other? How sweet life would be to be able to gather in all our soulmates in one place. Well, and it would have to be here in Tennessee, of course.

And so now I'm returning to my regularly scheduled life, which is so very good right where I am. We just need one good day of moping and reveling in the gift of good friends.

Linked up on Finer Things Fridays and Just for the Joy of It

Reading in July

Are you looking for some summer reads? Head on over to my SmallWorld Reads blog to check out my reviews. Here's what happened in July in my reading world:

Read and Reviewed
(click for review)
Mountains Beyond Mountains
My Name Is Asher Lev
Picture Bride
Elizabeth and Her German Garden


Favorite Book of the Month
Chaim Potok's My Name Is Asher Lev, without a doubt. But it was a great reading month, and all the books are highly recommended.


Currently Reading
The Help. Love it.


Tribute Reposted
Happy 50th to To Kill a Mockingbird


To Be Read in August
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman


Books Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson (mentioned at Books and Cooks)
My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira (Reviewed by at Bookworm's Dinner)


Movies-From-Books Watched
Ramona and Beezus, based on the series of Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. I loved, loved, loved this movie! Highly recommended.