In Tents

We got in our second camping trip of the summer. Which is good--we didn't get any in last summer (which was maybe for the best with Nils having been really young and into everything). This time we were down to Clear Lake State Park in Iowa where we met up with all of my family. In true Wenell-camping fashion, we had rain. Not much for us, just sprinkles here and there Saturday night and Sunday morning, but my parents had 2-3 inches on Thursday night when they were there early.

It was a good weekend with family. Each family took a meal, so that made meal times more relaxed, and we all enjoyed the anticipation of what each meal would be. The weather was cooler, so the lake wasn't the best for swimming, but the kids still got in some and enjoyed playing at the beach. We played a bit of bean bag toss and ladder golf. And the campfire was almost continuously going.

It wasn't our favorite campground (not very tent friendly), but it was a good half-way point between us all. And we could overlook what the place lacked since we were having a good time together. Sometimes that's what camping is about (not all the time, but for this weekend family-time was the biggest need and blessing).

Celebrating Anders' birthday.

Nothing more relaxing like sitting around the campfire.

Playing lawn games.

Uncle Bubs & Baby Riley

Anders, Ethan & Nils playing at the beach.

FarFar & FarMor with all the grand kids.

Five Candles

Anders is officially five now that he had that "thing with the presents and the games" (see previous post). He wanted an outer-space theme. Beth made a great rocket cake for him.

The weather held and we were able to be outside for the whole party. The kids played some space games: ring the space shuttle, alien bowling and feed the alien (with water balloons). The slip and slide became the favorite activity for a while. Oh, and of course there was present-opening. "Awesome" was used a lot. I don't think I'll see him for the next couple days; he'll be busy with his toys and building things.

It's hard to believe we've been parents for five years now. I'm still not used to this part where they keep getting bigger. Just when they get into a cute phase, they move into a different one. And I mourn the loss of the previous phase, but marvel at what's next. It's a wondrous (and at times frustrating) journey watching Anders grow into the man God created him to be. He's creative, artistic, sensitive, loves to build things, loves to learn, loves natures, needs a lot of affirmation, hates shots (kicking and screaming), is shy but loves his friends and so much more. That's my son, and I love him.

Timing is Everything

Me to Anders this morning upon him waking up: Happy birthday! How does it feel to be five?
Anders: I'm not five yet.
Me: You're not? But today's your birthday!
Anders: But I haven't had that thing with the presents and the games yet.

Pottery

It's been since I was in college that I last worked with clay, making pottery. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't overly good at it. Vessels would seldom turn out the way I intended them to look. Sometimes they became something entirely different.

A real potter knows what his clay will turn out to be--and it will become that. The Scriptures--especially the Old Testament--have several images of God as a potter. In church this morning, Keith Johnson, co-author of the book A Prayer to Our Father, shared some of the Hebrew images (including ones form Jeremiah 18:2 and Isaiah 29:16).

Isaiah 64:8 says: "Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." A reminder that God formed Adam out of the adamah (the dust, the mess, the ground). We are what is formed. God is the Former. We each of our role (as Is. 29:16 reminds us).

I tried for years to form myself. I doesn't go well; I don't recommend it. The Potter must form us, according to His will. And we can't think we're a finish product yet, because we'll be perfect when we are--and I don't know about you, but I'm nowhere near perfect yet. That'll come the other side of Heaven. Sometimes God has to completely break us to help us become a masterpiece of His work:

"So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him (Jeremiah 18:3-4)."

We must not be afraid of being formed. Only when we let God make us into His design can we be used for His purposes.

Independence Day

Our friend Joel went with us to watch the fireworks last night. St. Louis Park has some of the best that I've seen. Fireworks themselves are a great reminder that with freedom comes responsibility. Let's not misuse it.

The Lecutres

So while we were camping at Devils Lake earlier this week, the boys and I hiked over to the amphitheater while Beth was napping in the car after a trip over to a playground in the park. I go up front and show them that sometimes they have a naturalist do a presentation at the podium or show a film here.

So next Anders goes up behind the podium and starts giving a speech on conifers (their knowledge of which comes from a They Might Be Giants song on their kids' CD). After he's done, Nils and I clap. And then Nils goes up to give a speech. I couldn't hear him (let alone see him) to know what he talked about, but it was probably also on conifers.

They keep alternating giving lectures 4 or 5 times. Mostly on conifers each time, I think. Anders did one on plants, trees and flowers where he was gesturing with his arms around him. I tried hard not to laugh because he would take it personally, but it was quite humorous. And on Nils' turns he stands behind the podium so I couldn't see anything at all of him--nor could I hear a word he said. Thankfully, he would peek around the side when he was done so I would know to clap. It was the best 15 minutes I've spent at a lecture.

Scenes from Wisconsin

I didn't get this posted right away after our trip, but coming back from our camping trip on Tuesday we made a couple classic Wisconsin stops along the way:

The first was actually a candy factory outside Baraboo that had cows as their mascot. The second was a cheese store to pick up some cheese curds. Classic Wisconsin.

Outing

Beth's shift today started at 11am, so the boys and I took her into work so that we could have use of the Vue. We hit the Linden Hills area to explore it. There were several kids' shops in the area. We hit Creative Kidstuff (a Twin Cities staple, but our first visit to one) and Wild Rumpus, a fun bookstore with cats, birds (including a little bantam rooster), an iguana, chinchillas, ferrets and other animals (only the cats and the rooster were loose). I wish we had discretionable money to spend at fun local stores like those. Maybe some day . . .

Then it was a trip to Como Zoo. We hadn't really been in the summer before, so we had to take in a Sparky the Sea Lion Show. The park was packed, so we didn't see a lot of the animals--which was fine, we've seen them all before. But we hadn't seen the seasonal butterfly tent. It was a lot of fun--the butterflies just flew around and alighted on us. Of course I forgot to take the camera in--it was with the stroller--so we'll have to get some pictures of the spectacular colors another time.

We also hit the conservatory to see some of the flowers. I'll just let you enjoy the colors without further comment.

Happy Canada Day

In honor of our friends from BC who are staying with us tonight, I made a Canada Day cake. I'm pretty proud of it. It's my first Jell-o® cake. The strawberry maple leaf was a bit tricky, but it didn't turn out too bad. Thanks for stopping over, Dan & Rose.

Camping

We were down in Madison this past weekend for a wedding of one of our former middle school youth group students from when Beth and I lived in Eau Claire. It was fun to see a few of the people from our church back then. Congratulations, Sara & Mike!

We stayed with Beth's sister and got to hang out a little with two of her brothers and their families (we had another wedding to attend in Iowa as well, but we also needed to see some of Beth's family this summer). We enjoyed the farmer's market and time outside.

From there we finally got to go camping (we didn't get to at all last summer). It was Nils' first since he was really little. They both loved it and did well. We pitched our tent at Devil's Lake State Park outside Baraboo.

The weather was great for camping--but a little too cold to enjoy some swimming. We did a lot of hiking instead. Our first hike was to see Balancing Rock and Devil's Doorway. The path to the top where the balancing rock sat was only .4 of a mile long, but it was 500 feet up. The boys did most of the way by themselves, though, and really enjoyed it. They were in awe of the rocks, the spiders, the "caves" and everything else along the way up.

We finally made it to the top and saw Balancing Rock. The view was spectacular. The boys found a nice rock chair to lounge in.

We hiked along the top of the ridge, over to the Devil's Doorway and then started the 500 ft. descent (this time in .3 of a mile) down the Potholes Path.

Later that afternoon, we did a short hike to see Elephant Cave and Rock. We discovered that it's not really a cave, and you had to use your imagination to see an elephant (as Nils was trying to do). But again, the views were great and it was nice to to have time together.

Now to get all the clothes washed, put things away and get the house clean for guests arriving tonight!