Friday, August 14, 2009

While the Kids Are Away, How We Play......

This week, Mikayla headed back to day camp at Harlow. Because Jackson and Christina (one of her BFF's) weren't able to be there in July, and because her BFF from Gilham, Kenady, had chosen this week, we decided it was worth it for her to go for an additional week.
In addition, Brayden is at Camp Tadmor - since Wednesday evening through tomorrow morning. Andrew, Traig, and Jack joined him for this brand new adventure of testing out Tadmor as a new "camping" experience on their own. I hope they come back with rave reviews. (Although, that will probably mean a desire on their part for even longer weeks at both venues.....we need to start saving now!)

With all of this in mind, Michele decided to put her two girls into Harlow for just today - so they would be able to participate in a little fun too - and even more significant - so Michele and I would have a WHOLE DAY to ourselves!

Oh.....how to spend it, how to spend it? Actually, as it is nearly 5pm and the girls will be joining us in about a half hour - I have to say, I think we did an excellent job with our choices for the day. After dropping off the girls, we took Sydney with us to the Shotgun Creek Recreation Area. The actual park was closed until 10, so we hiked along some of the vast array of trails in that area designated for off road vehicles. Syd was in heaven......
Following our hike, we made a detour to our Mohawk General Store. It would have been awkward to take pictures, but it delighted me that there were three older gentlemen out front, just shooting the breeze - giving us such a fondness for this cozy community. This was the store we grew up with, about a mile form our home, that we would frequent for missing ingredient items or candy treats. It was comforting to see that even though some of the interior layout has changed (as well as the owners) it still serves as a mascot for the Mohawk valley.

We then did some "Power Shopping". Between the 30% off everything already on sale or on clearance at Kohls - and the deals you can always get at Ross - we made a haul on back-to-school kids' clothing. It's days like today when I recognize one of the many reasons I feel so blessed to have John as my husband. When I showed him all of the clothing, he was not only supportive, but majorly impressed. Yeah, I love that man.

Finally, we have spent the last couple of hours, "resting" with good books in a quiet house. Currently, pre-season NFL football is on (with our very own Kellen Clemmens looking pretty good with the Jets) - and....life is good. We might even have some Dutch Babies for dinner just to top the whole day off. It's days like today that I will remember with great fondness once this summer is over.

2 comments:

j.nelson said...

nice.. sounds epic.. ha i just had a flash back of when you were explaining growing up there as if you were a tour guide..:) loved it. glad you had a great day! p.s. i miss my syd! (did she do the tunnel thing again?)

StephieAnne said...

We actually didn't go into the park this time - went further up the road. But, when I took her to the creek, of course she wasn't content to just lap at the water - she had to full on wade into it. =)