So Long, Boys!

So long, farwell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight... bum, ba, da, dump, da, dump, da dump...

Off they go, once again, on their annual canoe trip to the Minnesota/Canada boundary waters, where their manhood is tested with ticks, mosquitoes, and the ability to catch their own dinner. Caleb, Seth, Noah, and Paul left today with Ken and Matthew Thomas to spend 7 days in the rugged outdoors, sure to come home with many stories, including one pertaining to a realistic-looking plastic bug in someone's trail mix, courtesy of Seth (with my approval, of course... I can only imagine the recipient's face when he finds it... he, he, he).

The girls, Nathan, and I were left to take care of things on the homefront. So far, so good... although, it's only been about 10 hours. I promised the girls that we'd have some fun. Tonight was movie and popcorn night. Later we're planning a tea party, a strawberry shortcake party (the edible kind AND the cartoon kind), a trip to the zoo, a pedicure night, and of course, a slumber party in mom's room every night :) Mixed in with all that fun, I have bunches of things on my to-do list. I started pondering that list today, and I couldn't figure out why I think I can complete more things with four little kids while I'm missing the helpful, bigger kids? Those bigger boys are my right and left hands when it comes to a smooth running household. It seems a bit backward. Maybe if Paul took the little ones and left the big ones? Then... then... wow, imagine the things I could get done...

Then again, maybe it's just the freedom from being on a schedule. The little ones really don't care if we have popcorn and apples for dinner. There's no school or piano practice to worry about. I can post a blog at 2 a.m. and not feel bad for staying up late, because, well, we'll just nap tomorrow... so far, so good...