Spring Break: Melissa Rocks, Lil's Sick, and Camping?!?

We'd hoped for a spring break that was to die for... great plans of grandeur. We did have great plans. Work was really busy, so I couldn't take the whole week off, but I busted it like crazy to get my work done early so I could at least take one day off and we could go camping as a family. I talked to the local Scoutmasters to hit them up for their favorite nearby camping spots. The weather seemed like it was going to cooperate. Everything was lining up. Then work got really busy. To use Dan's expression, Grrrrrr!

I know what you're thinking... another dumb dad that ditched his wife and kids' desires for the office deadlines. But before I'm convicted, I have to say I'm really proud of our family. Here's why... on Wednesday afternoon when it didn't look like I was poised to finish in time to be able to go camping, I called Melissa and we discussed the evening's plans. I committed to myself to get my junk done early so we could go camping, so I told her that I'd work as long on Wednesday as it took to get my stuff done. Yes, I know... that's nothing to really be proud of. Anyone can pick up the phone and say, "I'm gonna be late." What I'm proud of is what took place on the other end of the telephone line. Melissa said, "Well I made a great dinner, and I'm not gonna let you miss this one, so we'll bring you dinner."
"Are you sure?" says I.
"Yes," came Melissa's reply. "I made barbecue pork sandwiches with home-made buns, coleslaw, and rice crispie treats for dessert. And I made it just for you, so after we eat, I'll pack up dinner and the kids; you can take a short break, see the kids and say goodnight to them and we'll deliver you some dinner. You're gonna need some energy if you have to work real late."
"Wow, that'd be great!", I responded.

So my fantastic wife brought me dinner AND I got to see the kids before they went to bed. It was great. True, I didn't get home until after midnight, but I got the work done I needed to get done and we were on schedule to go camping again!

Before I continue with the story, I have to praise Melissa again. The pulled-pork sandwiches with sweet BBQ sauce on home-made buns were great. I devoured both rapidly. Then, the coleslaw was awesome... thanks again to sweet Lady Lou. Then I could only cram one rice crispy treat down my already-packed stomach. So I saved the rest for breakfast. Breakfast of champions!

On Thursday Lillian came down with a fever. Dang-it! Unfortunately, she still has the fever... she's always had a hard time kickin' sicknesses off. Needless to say, we didn't go camping. So we decided to camp in the back yard. After all, it's basically the woods... So on Friday, I cleared an area, started a campfire, set up the small tent for Kate and Morgan in the treehouse, and we sat around the campfire. We sang some of my Papa's (my maternal-grandfather) old cowboy songs, and sent the girls off to their tent. I slept on the back deck on a cot under the starry sky (there are definitely more stars visible here on a clear night than in Tucson). As I lay looking up at the stars that night I couldn't help thinking of how wonderful the Creator's works are. The heavens are remarkable.

I don't know what the deal was during the night, but I was cold. It was terrible. I was cold all night, but I didn't want to go inside 'cause the girls were up in the treehouse in their tent and if one of them got up in the middle of the night for some reason (we all know what that reason is!), I was worried they'd fall off the treehouse edge. So I stayed outside on the cot in my sleeping bag. My muscles were all tense in the morning, so at 0500 (or thereabouts) I figured I might as well get working. So I got up, raked leaves, trimmed the hedges around the driveway, and re-started the campfire (to burn the leaves I raked up).

On Saturday, Lillian's fever persisted, but we had high hopes that her fever would break. But no luck there. So Morgan, Kate, Dan, and I went to the children's talent show at Church (Lil' was still sick). The kids all prepared their talents to share with the other children. Morgan and Kate prepared a special number. Morgan was to play "Old MacDonald" on the piano while Kate tap-danced. Many other children performed ahead of Kate and Morgan, so they knew what to expect. They got on stage & Morgan set up her music at the piano. Then she began to play. Kate stood there. Yep. She froze. She just stood there. See the video below. What you don't see in the video is Kate deciding that for the next number she would sing instead of dance, as planned. Then after singing the first two words of the song, she collapsed on the stage floor and began to cry. Poor girl! Morgan was un-phased and kept on playing. After she saw that Kate was off the stage (I went up and picked her off the floor and tried to console her), Morgan kept playing... and why not, she had a captive audience! In all it was quite comical, though I could see this kind of thing scarring a teenage girl.



Well, I could probably go on for a while... but I'll spare you. I will say that the chicks are growing rapidly. If you didn't know, we got baby chicks last week. They were two days old when we got them. We got 5 White Leghorns and 5 Rhode Island Reds. Here's a picture taken last Saturday (14 Mar):













And here's a picture taken this weekend:






Today they learned how to jump out of their box. So we had to move them to a bigger home. Now it's a race against the clock to see whether I get the coop done in time for them to move out there. Otherwise they're gonna be poopin' all over the garage! Yikes!