My Last 4-H Camp...

I haven't been the Shawnee County 4-H Agent for a few months now. But until a new Agent is on board I'm continuing to cover the things that MUST happen. On of those MUST HAPPEN events is Camp. I love camp and I missed it last summer, it was probably the thing I missed the most. 

We were only allowed to bring half of the amount of kiddos to camp this year but it was still awesome! 4-H Camp is the perfect storm of getting to direct program with our youth while sharing the workload with other awesome Extension Professionals. We would all love to program like we do at camp all year, but the load is just too much to carry on your own. The camp group I get to work with is the best! We don't just plan camp, we love camp and we rock it. So, it is no surprise that this camp was awesome, even with some wrenches thrown in (weather) we had one heck of a time! 

To all the campers and counselors I have ever had, I now know your sadness when it is your last year going to camp. I felt it on Sunday. 4-H camp is special and it is one of the things I will miss the most about my 4-H job. 

Hopefully, Daryl will still get to go and some day Alex. Maybe they will enjoy camp a little more without everyone telling their mom everything. LOL There are eyes and ears everywhere at camp! 

They gave me TWO radios and I didn't loose either. Whew!

The sign of a successful camp is how fast they fall asleep when they get home! 

Last night of camp we had a very special camp fire. 

Sometimes a rain break will lead to a Yoga session! 

Poor guy, forced to do a selfie with mom! 

Hot, sweaty and having the time of his life!

Catching All The Fish (Wisconsin pt. 2)

 The Highlight of our vacation was the time we spent with Adam of Pike Pole Fishing! He books months in advance and now I know why. He does everything he can to make sure the people on his boat are having a good time. He was also so good about showing the boys different things on the different types of fish they caught. 

I have to tell you a little story on Alex. To beat the heat we were to meet at Lake Koshkonog at 5am. This means we had to wake up at 4am and be on the road at 4:30am. Daryl was so excited he sprung out of bed and was dressed in a flash. Alex, was not that excited. On the drive to the lake he said, "This isn't the worst day of my life, but it sure feels like it." I reminded him that he said this after he caught his first fish and he said this was The Best Part of Vacation! 

The boys caught several different types of fish but their catches of the day was a Pike for Alex and a 23" Walleye for Daryl. One of the things Adam taught them was how to hold all of the fish they caught. Other than the Pike (those things are beastly) they did hold all their fish. I was very proud of my little anglers! 

Adam invited the boys to come back some winter to try Ice Fishing, they are all for it! 

Alex's Pike, that thing was the craziest fish I had ever seen!

The last fish Alex caught was a sauger. Look at those teeth!

Alex with his sheep head. I thought this was a great picture!

The 23inch Walleye, And one huge smile on Daryl!

Alex was catching such big fish I had to help hold the pole. 

Did I tell you Adam let Grandma Rosie drive the boat?!

Alex holding his fish like a pro!

Most of the time when one of the boys was reeling in a fish the other boy caught one too!
They kept Adam busy!  

On Wisconsin pt. 1

Today was the last day of our summer vacation, and did we have a great one! The boys, mom and I packed up last Thursday and headed to Wisconsin, where the mornings and evenings are still cool! Our goal was water slides and fishing. We accomplished both and more! 

Our first stop was Wisconsin Dells to spend a few days at the Kalahari Water Resort. It had a huge indoor water park, outdoor water park and a small pool behind our hotel. Daryl and Alex loved the slides and I even rode more than I thought I would. Any slide that let me go down on a tube, I was on it! I thought 2.5 days might be too much at a water park but the boys got to the slides when they opened at 10am, I usually dragged them away at 1 for something to eat and then they were back for an evening swim till 8 or 9 pm! So we will call that a success. 

One afternoon after I had ripped them away from the water park we headed to a safari park. They had an impressive collection of animals but the best part was petting kangaroos and feeding the llama! Then on our way out two kookaburras laughed at the boys so hard it startled them both. It was so funny! 

I will save our fishing adventure for another post. I do have to talk about the Birthplace of John Wayne in Iowa. The best part about road trips is you never know what you will stumble upon. Driving up through Iowa we say an exit for the birthplace of John Wayne so we decided to hit that on the way back. Turns out it is in Madison County Iowa so we also got to visit one of their many covered bridges. It was a pit stop for the ages! Good Work Iowa, good work. 

Glad to be home, we will call summer vacay 2021 a success. Bring on the rest of summer, I'm ready! 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

 Baseball started for the boys at the end of last month but we are now in full swing. Both boys are playing in the Sunrise Sports League and are really enjoying it! It is hard to find a league for recreation with so many youth wanting to do out of town tournaments and play year round. Well, I think after a couple of years of searching we have found a league that is challenging for the boys but they are still able to get on the field! 

Alex is playing coach pitch and is way more excited about getting outs than hits. He has made a lot of improvement over two years ago! Last year he opted for Soccer but we might be able to do both this year because he can do fall soccer. 

Daryl is in the Middle School division and is playing the most competitive ball he has ever played. And he is keeping up with the team! So proud of him. He usually catches, sometimes he fields but on Monday he pitched. My mouth dropped open when they sent him to the mound! Because of run rules his team was far enough behind that the outcome of the inning he pitched didn't matter, so his coach let him have a try. His coach is really good about making sure everyone plays and lets them try new things when it makes sense. 

So three or four nights a week you can find us at the ball field. PS-Grandma loves it! 

When you unexpectedly get to pitch!

His normal spot!

Alex at bat!