CAMP MEME 2010, Day 6

Camp Meme comes to an end. We had a great week, and, thank You, Lord, the brutal heat held off until the very end.

No reveille on the last day of Camp Meme. We let the boys sleep as long as they wanted; they finally rose around 10:00 or 10:30.

Meanwhile, Obi & Meme were up at 6:00 am to get ready for the Porch/Yard/25-cent sale. Good thing, since the first customers showed up at 6:30! I got an ice chest ready and set up the Lemonade Stand for the boys to make a couple of bucks when they rose.

After the sale wound down, we had rest time, then had a delicious supper prepared by Jerusalem, our oldest child, the boys' Momma. She fixed Super Bowl Hoagie Rolls in honor of Father's Day; when she still lived with us (last century) she would fix these on Super Bowl Sunday.

After supper, the boys presented the stick-puppet play, "Babe, Al, & the Flood of '23," a little play about the heroics of Babe Ruth & Al Capone during the Hot Springs flash flood of 1923. The flood was real; the heroics, fiction. We all celebrated with some yummy dessert.

After the play, Camp Meme was officially over. Momma took the boys swimming again -- and Meme and Obi collapsed. See you next year!

CAMP MEME 2010, Day 5

Friday is always a highly anticipated camp day. But this year, Camp Meme goes to Saturday!

Nevertheless, it was a joyous moment indeed when reinforcements arrive: the boys' Momma came to spend the last 2 nights.

Before her arrival, though, we had a pretty busy day. In the morning I typed up the script for the stick-puppet show, "Babe, Al, & the Flood of '23." It grew out of discussions Wylie & I had about the things we learned about Hot Springs on Day 1. Meanwhile, Miles & Wylie were putting the finishing touches on the theater, and Meme was printing period photos to use for the puppets.

For our lunch break, we went to the Chinese Buffet downtown, then I took the boys to the Dollar Tree store for a little shopping. On our return, we did a read-through of the simple script a time or two. Miles was a bit defensive about not being able to read much yet (perhaps because Wylie is an excellent reader) but we got through it.

Bed time movie for Day 5: "Short Circuit." "Input! I need input!"

Is it just me, or are the posts getting shorter as the week goes on? Ha!

CAMP MEME 2010, Day 4

Highlights of Day 4 of Camp Meme included:

* Taking the boys to play at the playground they like to frequent when with us. They climbed and played and ran the bases on the nearby ballfields.

* Barely making it to the OBU caf in time for lunch -- they were putting everything away as we came in, because the rush of campers was over. Took the boys to meet my boss & others in the office. They did not embarrass me, very well-behaved.

* Reading another chapter -- long chapter -- in Yankee Batboy.

* Going wading/swimming in Lake DeGray State Park. Wylie & Miles had a great time splashing around and enjoying the waves coming in. Meme hiked up her pedal-pushers and waded in, too.

* Participating in a square dance hoopla at one of the Lake DeGray pavilions. The guy leading it was very good. He taught the majority of folks, young & old, to do the basic square dance moves and then led them through a few routines. After watching the first one, the grandsons were eager to join in. You should have seen those boys dos-i-do, promenade, and rip-n-snort! (Those of us who just came for the free ice cream and cheered the dancers on had a good time, too.)

CAMP MEME 2010, Day 3

Only Day 3? Are you kidding me?

Well, really, it was a laid-back day mostly. (Wiley even thanked the Lord for such when he said the blessing at supper!)

This morning, Meme had to go into work for a little while after breakfast. When she returned, she took the boys to the OBU library, where she checked out some books for them. Then they went and had lunch at the OBU caf while I grabbed a little nap!

When they returned, I had to go down to Emmet and be part of a graveside service. When I got back, Meme was preparing a taco supper for us. Meanwhile, Wiley watched one of the Lord of the Rings movies, and Miles re-watched "What's Up, Doc?" Then -- supper was great: homemade guacamole and salsa, Santitas white corn chips, Mexican rice deluxe, tacos, sweet tea. Yum!

After supper, I did most of the cleaning up while Meme went to the store for more camp supplies. When she got back, we had a read-aloud of chapter 1 of Yankee Batboy, one of the books they brought home from the library.

After that, the boys & I watched the end of the Yankees-Phillies game, then ESPN's 30 in 30 documentary, "June 17, 1994." Wiley lasted the whole hour, but Miles bailed about halfway through -- he had me put the movie "Spy Kids" on for him in their room and went to bed. Sorta.

Lots to do tomorrow, but that's tomorrow.

CAMP MEME 2010: Day 2

Day 2 of Camp Meme was a little more relaxed than Day 1. We had a lot to recover from!

The boys waited patiently in their room until Obi (that's me!) blew reveille on my "hand trumpet," then we marched out on the front porch, put the USA flag in its holder and said the Pledge of Allegiance. (This is our routine every morning.)

Then we had cereal for breakfast. After a little Free Time to play, the boys & Meme started working on the Puppet Theatre for the closing day's performance. Meanwhile, I prepared a sandwich lunch for us. After lunch, nap time for Obi & Meme while the boys played in their room and watched a Disney movie.

After naptime, it was off to the OBU library for a few minutes, than dinner in the OBU caf -- hamburger, mac & cheese, beef stew, pizza, salads, cake, pudding & ice cream. Yum yum!

Then we enjoyed an hour of swimming at the motel where Judea works. After that, home for baths & showers, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and bedtime.

Another good day.

CAMP MEME 2010: DAY 1

Wylie and Miles are back for the 3rd year of Camp Meme! Momma actually delivered them the night before the camp officially satrted, so they got an extra night, and thoroughly enjoyed watching "What's Up, Doc?" our favorite comedy.

Monday, Day 1 of camp - we had reveille, breakfast in the mess hall (Meme made pancakes!) and eventually we were off for a day in Hot Springs. Their Aunt Judea rearranged her work schedule so she could spend the day with us, and was a tremendous help.

In the Spa City, we: 1) rousted Uncle Joshua out of bed (he had the day off) and let him know the plans; 2) visited the Gangster Museum and learned a lot about Hot Springs' colorful and criminal past; 3) visited the famous Arlington Hotel and had some refreshments from their Starbucks; 4) walked Bathhouse Row and took the tour in the visitor's center in the Fordyce Bathhouse; 5) got some more refreshments and cooled off (it was only about 95 degrees outside) in the Central Avenue Subway; 6) visited the historical photo galleries in the Convention Center (pictures of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Cy Young, baseball teams, Al Capone, Bugsy Siegal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Raft, and Alan Ladd, to name a few) and let the boys run off some steam in the enormous hall; 7) redezvoused with Maw & Paw and bought some chicken & biscuits at Popeye's; 8) took our chicken & the potato salad and drinks Maw & Paw had brought, to Whittington Park for a picnic; 9) watched the Hot Springs Concert Band set up for a concert of John Phillip Sousa music while we dined; 10) went and picked up Joshua to join us; 11) enjoyed the first half of the concert, then packed up; 12) went and filled up 4 big jugs with Hot Springs water at the Cental Avenue Visitors Center; and 13) headed for home!

At home, everybody bathed and went to bed! The boys watched "101 Dalmatians" in their room as their "go to sleep" movie.

A good start to Camp Meme 2010!

Another Love Affair With Legs

Yep, daughter #2 has one that's working, too.

Ten years down, many more to go.

Congratulations, Jemimah and Adam!