Are you there? Because I'm here now!!!

Whew...it's been a busy month and a half. Let's see where did I leave off....

Oh yeah! Derek, the kids, and I went to Wildhorse Canyon, a Younglife camp in the middle of nowhere, in Eastern Oregon. Derek volunteered as part of the medical staff and the rest of us got to play. He had fun too, but he was mainly there to work.
The location of the camp was where the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers built a cult compound in the mid-80's and lived there until he was captured and deported. The Washington Family bought the land from the government and then donated it to Younglife. Younglife turned it into a camp for middle and high schoolers.
We all had a great time. The kids had fun going down the zipline and jumping on the big blob in the water. There were lots of activities for all of us to do. Before we left, we signed up to volunteer next year.

When we returned, we jumped right into football. This is Nick's second year playing tackle football for Pop Warner. He really enjoys it and has been playing very well lately. This year he is playing quarterback on offense and outside linebacker on defense. He made his first two touchdowns last Wednesday. One touchdown he ran for 53 yards. I can't tell you how proud I was of him. Nick is now in 4th grade and the other day I found myself looking at baby pictures of him wondering where my "little" boy went. He's getting so grown up.

Katelyn will be playing volleyball for the first time this year. She is very excited. She is a middle schooler this year (6th grade) and loves the whole social aspect of it. She also likes having a locker to decorate. I can't believe all of the accessories that they sell for lockers these days! We didn't have anything for our lockers when we were growing up. We also had to walk uphill both ways in the snow--oh sorry I forgot that was the story my mom told me. She is also learning how to play the clarinet in band. Katelyn just celebrated her 12th birthday and had friends over for a slumber party. There was no slumbering though--I never understood why they call it that anyway. We surprised her with her very own cell phone. We wrapped it up and had the boy, that she likes, call her. I think she liked the boy calling her more than the cell phone itself. We captured it all on video and have material to blackmail her with if the occassion ever arises.

Natalie is attending Montessori school this year. she attends five days a week from 8:30 to 11:00 am. She loves it so much--everytime I pick her up she's begging to stay longer. So far she has learned 6 states and their capitols and a ton of other things. It's been well worth the money we are spending. Natalie continues to keep us on our toes. She loves to go out and hang with the alpacas. If I can't find her, I just walk out to the pasture and there she is playing with the little babies. Speaking of babies (alpacas that is), we just had a new one born on Sept. 20 and are expecting another one any day. They are so cute!!!!

Derek has been staying busy with work and his college courses. He's getting classes out of the way so he can enter into a degree completion program at the Christian college here in town. He never can stand still for very long--always doing something!

As for myself--I've just been on the mend with the bulged disk in my back. About a week and a half ago I was in the shower shaving my legs and my back went out again. I hit the floor and stayed there until the pain meds kicked in and then Derek took me to the chiropractor. I felt much better the next day, but the recovery time has been a lot longer this time. I'm supposed to be taking it easy, but Ha that's a big joke with three kids, a husband, and 16 alpacas to take care of. Not to mention the other animals that we have. I'm trying hard, but sometimes it's just not feasible.

OK--so I think I've covered most of what we've been doing lately. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it sure feels like it.