Camp Grandma & Other Hesse Happenings

Whoa. What a busy two weeks we've had since I last blogged. Josh's family came into town late on Monday the 11th, and we had a wonderful time together. They just left around 9pm tonight, and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself after going from a house full of company down to just me and my two sleeping kiddos. (Josh started back to work last night, so I'm really all alone!)

In addition to all the fun we had with the Hesses, I have been logging around 30 hrs/week on a book I'm editing. I've had some late nights and lots of time during the day to work since I enrolled the kids in Camp Grandma (w/ Camp Counselors Auntie Rachel and Grammy and Outdoor Activity Coordinator Papa). I still have over 100 pages to read in the next few days, but I know I wouldn't have been able to get this far without all my helpers!

Here's a quick overview of what we've been up to...

The girls had an "ionic foot bath" at my nutritionist's office. Google it if you're intrigued...very interesting and very cool! I was skeptical until I saw the color of my water after we were done. Crazy!

We went boating for two days on Percy Priest lake in Nashville. Josh rented a ski boat from a friend at work, Josh's dad brought all of his skiing equipment, and we had a GREAT time out on the water. We went skiing, tubing, swimming, and also had a great picnic. We all had a fantastic time. The weather couldn't have been better, and we made some great memories.

The guys built shelves in the basement for Josh's tools (we have lots of space in the basement, but we had very little organization going on!). Now we just have to finish finding a place everything, and we'll be in great shape!

The girls went to an all-day scrapbooking party, and we had a blast. I never get to scrapbook, between freelancing and the kiddos, so it was a real treat for me. I'm still working on my sister's wedding scrapbook! (She got married in 2005...sheepish grin...but as I tell myself, we moved and had a baby between then and now, so I've been a little busy.)

Josh arranged for all of us to eat at the upscale restaurant he works at, Old Hickory. We had artisanal cheeses, tasty appetizers like smoked salmon and shrimp, delicious salads, entrees like veal and Kobe beef, sides like garlic mashed potatoes and lobster macaroni & cheese, and desserts like popcorn ice cream (yum!) and cheesecake. (And I know I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff.) They comped a lot of our food, but Josh said our meal would have been at least $700 if we had paid full price. We had a delicious meal that would have been even better if we had been smart and gotten a sitter for the kids. :-) They're not quite up to three-hour meals at fancy restaurants. (Oh, and Kaden got carsick on the way there, and we had to make an emergency stop at Wal-Mart to de-puke the van and buy all new clothes, including underwear. That's a story for another time, but just imagine me pushing Kaden through Wal-mart in a cart with nothing on by his pukey undies. Oh my. I got some serious are-you-crazy glances.)

Josh and his dad pressure-washed and stained our deck, with some help from me, and it looks awesome! We didn't quite finish the steps yet, but we're close. We stained the floorboards a reddish stain and did the railings in white. The white really pops -- the deck looks a thousand times better. The previous owners never sealed or stained it, so after 6 years, it was really looking tired. But it looks awesome now -- I am so psyched! Now we just "need" a fire pit and some deck furniture. :-)

Oh, and amidst all those things, we also celebrated Father's Day on Sunday and my birthday on Tuesday. We tried out the new Marblestone Creamery in Bellevue on Tuesday night, and it was taaaasty. I recommend the non-fat frozen yogurt with cherries and hot fudge. Delicious. (And halfway on a diet!)

As you can tell, we barely had anything going on while our company was here. I mean, we were practically just twiddling our thumbs with nothing to do! ;-)

Thanks to the Hesses for a great vacation (at home)!