Christmas in August

Today has been one of those crazy busy days.  This afternoon, my cousin and her four beautiful children came to visit us.  We had a fun afternoon of riding bikes, scooters, jeeps, playing the Wii, singing, eating, and just catching up.  We live so close but yet never seem to find the time to get together. 

Anyway, when they arrived, I opened the front door to find a package that had been delivered to our house.  It was addressed to A, E, and K and I was totally confused as to what it was.  I opened the package and found the following letter attached to three gifts that were wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper:


Dear A, E, and K:

My elves were cleaning out the sleigh last week, and we found some presents that weren't delivered under the seat.  I am so sorry you did not get all your presents last Christmas.


Since we monitor the "naughty" and "nice" list all year, I did have to check to make sure you are on the nice list.  All looks good.  Looks like you are helpful to others, and you are kind to each other.  You try to do what your Mom and Dad say without making a fuss, so I am releasing the presents to you.

I apologize again that they are so late.


Love,


Santa Claus

Thank you Santa Claus for making my day and for being so kind to my children!  They are all so excited that they got three gifts and they were just pumped up to open them and they LOVE what they got.It is so funny how Santa knows exactly what each of them would love to get as a gift!  E told me tonight that she just loves Santa and how kind he is to all of us.  So sweet and magical.  This Momma has a warm heart tonight.  God Bless and Thank You. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Triple Summer Fun

Arcadia Memories 2010

The Erickson 5 has spent the past 7 days up at Arcadia Lodge.  It is so nice to get "away" for a little vacation once in awhile and just relax.  We went with some of our favorite friends The Little Family!  We had the perfect set up with a four bedroom cabin and everyone had their own bed or at least their own space to sleep.
We did not have the best cabin weather for the week but it was sure fun and the kids and adults alike sure enjoyed our time away.

We played a whole lot of games, whether it be kick ball, cards, board games, Wii Games or just word games it was fun.  The women took on the men in quite a few card games and I do have to say that the women RULED the games.  (Sorry Jon and Steve)

We managed to get some good fishing in and I think KJ has turned into a pro.  He always managed to catch the most fish and he became a pro at casting out his line.  I do claim the award for the biggest sunny though!  The girls were really into fishing too.  It was so nice as they even got good at baiting the hook (with some assistance and Ella loved to take the fish off (again with some assistance).

We managed to go on some canoe rides, kayak rides, lots of boat rides, we squeezed in some tubing and water skiing and jumping on the water tramps, and diving dock.

We had great meals thanks to Salsa Lisa for her creative ideas, Jon for his magical grilling and Steve-o for his awesome Pad Thai!  I managed to help out too.  We were lucky that we did not even have to leave the resort all week.  That truly means vacation.  We even had some food to come home with.

It was truly a week to remember and it is so fun to get away with the kids and watch them enjoy the lake and each other.  All week I kept thinking that they were making good memories just as I did as a kid at the lake when I was young.

God was good to us all week too.  He even helped us to find our missing kick ball when we headed out fishing one day.  It was stuck in some trees in the water on a different part of the lake.  We all smiled that we were able to get it back.  So fun.

Below is some pics from the week. 

Kiddos on the evening boat cruise

Friends from last year..off to play kickball

My Sunny!

Dancing on the table!

Ella and Mom out for some tubing

Dad and his fishing pros!

K and the sand were one

Ms. E and her sunny catch

Thing One and Thing Two

A and her friend snuggling on the boat!

Salsa Lisa, Me, and Juan Smiling at the camera!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Some Hair Raising Fun!

Grateful

I feel compelled to write tonight about my gratefulness for all I have.  It has been a long hard week as I have been sick, so sick that I cannot remember feeling so icky EVER, Jon has been gone, and now KJ is not feeling so great either.  I think I am on the mend and I hope when I awake tomorrow that I feel even better than I did today!  Big Thanks to Jane for taking the kids more than once so I could get some rest and huge thanks for Grandma Mary for rescuing all of us last night when I could hardly get out of bed!  THANK YOU! I am truly grateful for all the help you offer me/us all the time.  I could not survive with out you guys. 

Tonight I heard about a 12 year old boy that was killed this past week while he was playing with his friends.  I do not know the exact details other than what happened was kind of a unusual circumstance and very tragic.  My heart hurts for his parents and family.  When I hear stories like this, it truly makes me shutter as I cannot even imagine what the parents must go through.  It makes me hug my kids a little tighter, kisses them a little more, pray over them and thank God for them over and over again.  My prayers go out to this family as they grieve their loss. 

Today, my Dad sent this to me and again I am struck by this family who lost their son to the war and reminded how lucky I am to live in a "free" country and have healthy kids and a loving husband.  To all the families out there of fallen soldiers my prayers go out to you for the sacrifice your loved one has made for all of us to have our freedom.  God Bless You. 

I am not sure why this all came to may attention today but I believe is a reminder from God to love and hug my kids and be grateful for all the things I have in my life. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Catching Some Air!

A Birthday to Remember

This past weekend, while we were camping and then again once we got home, I celebrated my 35th Birthday.  What is not to love to wake up with your family all snuggled in a tent and have everyone shower you with birthday hugs and kisses.  We had planned a fun day out on the lake and aside from a hiccup with the Pontoon, we still managed to make it out on the lake and have a great day! 
My heart is so full right now and I feel so content.  Life is good, we are living in a new house that we all love, my kids are about to embark on their school journey, Jon just got a promotion as work and I am about to start getting my "boots" a little more dirty at work too.  God has been so good to me and I thank him every single day for all he has given me and blessed me with. 

KJ was sick and sleeping in the tent. 

Saturday, Jon took the kids to town and picked up a cake and some balloons for the big celebration.  Then they surprised me later with all of it. 
I had a ton of birthday wishes on Facebook, and lots of emails, voicemails, and texts from friends and family.  I am truly blessed with all of you in my life.

Thank you for making this a B-Day to remember.  Love ya.

Camping 2010

This past weekend, the Erickson 5 along with Grandma Mary, Grandpa Al, and Uncle Tony spent the weekend camping!  We all had such a great time even with a few clitches in the plan.

I love to camp.  I grew up spending a lot of time tent camping with my family.  I remember that back in those days, we would go tent camping with out air mattresses or even cushions to sleep on.  Now we have big air mattresses that we bring along and even the old "dogs" aka Grandpa, can learn to bring some simple things such as air mattresses to sleep on.

Riding Bikes to Smokey's House

Playing with Smokey's Toys

We also managed to bring up the kids bikes and Grandma Mary's and My bike so we could do some biking.  The kids loved to ride their bike around the camp ground and we even took a long journey one day to go see where Smokey the Bear lives.  He was out fighting a forest fire so we did not get to meet Smokey in person but it was still fun to see his house and play with some of his toys.  The kids also had fun tubing behind Grandpa Al's boat.  I am not sure who laughed the most, the kids or Grandpa.  One day we went to the big sand hill and the kids loved to run up and then down the hill into the water.  They spent a lot of time swinging from the rope swing to but we forgot the camera so we did not get any good photos of that.
Friday night we did end up getting hit by a pretty big rain storm and I think there was about 1.5" of rain that fell.  The kids sat in the van and watched a movie while it passed.  We managed to stay dry in our tents but we did have to run to town the next day to dry our towels that were out on the lines when the rain came.  The kids were big sports about the weather and the entire weekend.  There was no fussing and they LOVED sleeping in the tent.  Jon and I got them new sleeping bags for the trip and they thought those were so fun.  There is even a pouch in the bag for a small stuffed animal to sleep.

Tired out at night after being one with nature all day

It was a great weekend and one that we all vowed to do again next year.  It is great to see the kids enjoy the great outdoors.  Catching bugs, swimming, biking, and just enjoying nature.  It was all so refreshing.