A Baker's Dozen: Daily Life in a Large Family

Am I the Only One Who Finds This Amusing?

I know I'm not, because even my children were cracking up and pointing it out to me.

This garbage can was in a park in Des Moines, WA. 

Playing Around

Judah, age 11

We were playing Catch Phrase last night with some friends from church (and can I just say it seems something like a miracle to have children I have borne with my own body, old enough to play games? Have I really been a mother that long?). 

In Catch Phrase you look at the word, and describe it to your team members, trying to get them to guess the exact word.

So, on Judah's turn, he picks up the little disc with the words and says:

Judah: Um...lets see....someone once said, 'monkeys look like long haired these'

Everyone shouting: Primates? Mammals?

And suddenly it hits me. It can't be.

Adalia: Hippies?

Judah: Yes!

Oh my.  Now what eleven year old boy describes a hippy like that? And what twelve year old girl could have guessed the right answer? When he said monkeys he was actually saying Monkees. As in the band from the sixties. And Adalia guessed the answer. 

Oh brother. It looks like its time for a unit study on mammals.

Author's Note: for more details on our  camp, click over to Hilary's blog. She has photos and also link to the blogs from the other moms at the camp.

Funnel Cakes

Do you want to be the Coolest Mom Ever?

Adalia, age 12

Then the next time your husband has to work on a Saturday, surprise your children with some hot funnel cakes. These are  guaranteed to please.

Funnel Cakes

(from Rachel Ray, I typed in "funnel cake recipe" and came up with this)

1. Heat three cups of vegetable oil over medium high heat until it reaches 350-375 degrees.

2. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well, then add 2 1/2 cups milk 3 large eggs. Whisk until smooth.

3. Put batter in gallon sized bag. Remove excess air, and seal. Cut 1/4 inch wide hole in bag. Carefully squeeze 1 cup of  batter back and forth into oil making a free form lacy web. Cook until golden on bottom, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the cake over and cook until golden brown on  other side, about 1 more minute. Transfer funnel cake to paper towels to  drain.

4. Dust funnel cakes with powdered sugar and serve warm.

These were quick and easy, and got two thumbs up from everyone.

Solid Rock Family Camp

Oh man. Still tired from our big two day camp. So instead of rhapsodizing on the subject, I'll post some photos and a list of activities. If you have any specific questions, leave them in the comments, and I'll answer them tomorrow.

Suffice it to say, we had a blast at camp and plan to do it again next summer. This camp was for our daughter's Keepers of the Faith group.  Not sure what next year's camp will look like, but I guarantee we'll be doing it again.

Oh, trying to be just like a "real" camp, I had a registration table set up, and as each child arrived I asked for their name (never mind that I knew all of them, and they all knew me), checked off that they had arrived, handed them a bandana (different colors for each "dorm") and a sack breakfast (containing, two breakfast cookies, chocolate milk and a banana).

Our house sits on five hilly acres. We pitched tents on a cleared area on the lower part of our property. We divided the children up into five teams, and distributed the ages as evenly as possible (so each team had a big kid, a couple middle sized kids and a couple little kids). One adult slept in each tent. Some really lucky adults slept in the house.

 

Everett (5), Mordecai (5), Erik (6), Hallie (5)

 

The Snack Shack was  a huge hit with all of the kids. At each meal we set up a dish line and the children washed their own dishes. After turning in their lunch dishes, they were given three tickets- to spend at the Snack Shack! I didn't get any photos of the kids lined up, but I'm sure some of the other moms did.

The kids all tie dyed camp T-shirts.

We tried to keep the kids busy all the time. We had group games each day. A scavenger hunt, an obstacle course, crafts.

Each team came up with a name and made a poster. These are the Christian Commandos. We also had the Courageous Crusaders, the Blue Angels, the CIA (children in action) and Flower Power. The kids did an incredible job of working together. Unless you've been to our church camp out, you'd never believe how well a group of mixed age children can get along. Helping the little ones, encouraging each other. It's a blessing just to watch.

The first evening we had a camp fire after dinner. Each team led us in a worship song. One team was so ambitious, they made us song sheets! Then the children got to turn in their dinner dishwashing tickets for s'more making materials. Yum!

One activity that was a  huge hit with all the kids were the "create it" bags. Hilary and I filled a two gallon bag for each team with stuff. They were sent off to "invent" something and then come back and show the group. How do you like this burglar alarm? It has a googley eye which doubles as a video camera. It has a gun that shoots the burglars with "alseep darts", and swings a sword at them. The asleep darts keep the burglar sleeping two hours, giving you "plenty of time to call the police". The best part? It only costs five dollars!

Want to be the coolest mom ever?

Just plan a camp for your children a couple dozen of their closest friends :)

What Happens...

...when two moms plan a two day one night camp for  twenty-eight children?

Stay tuned for the details. Hopefully tomorrow morning.

And can I just say, my legs are really sore?