Something About Beans

We had a fun-filled day today. My parents flew in town late last night, so the boys happily woke them up bright and early this morning. We had a big breakfast then headed to Weston, Missouri to spend the day there. Until yesterday, we were planning to camp there overnight but then decided to nix that after seeing the forecast of a low in the 30's overnight. Didn't sound very fun when you have have 5 children 4 and under and an eight month pregnant woman (not me for once!).

Anyways, we visited the Weston Applefest and stuffed ourselves with everything but apples....bratwursts, pulled pork sandwiches, funnel cakes, chips, kettle corn....a meal of champions. We then met our friends, Tom and Bobbi with their 2 cute girls at Weston Bend State Park. We still wanted to experience the best part of camping - cooking over the fire, hiking around, and making smores. The kids had a blast despite missing their naps. We even found the teeniest frog ever.

So why is the title of this blog about beans you ask? Well, the guys made us a wood fire in the grill near the picnic site. We were making our delicious dinner over the fire, chicken with vegetable wraps and baked beans, when I hear this amazingly loud explosion. I turn around to see my father running away from the grill covered in soot and something brown. The can of beans exploded and nailed my dad in the stomach. The timing was uncanny. He was doing a close-up video of the fire and our food. Somehow the camera survived and we have it all caught on video tape. (For a large sum of money, you can order your copy of it.) After the initial panic and scare, my dad is left with a large can-shaped bruise on his stomach, and we are left with a funny memory of the exploding can of beans.

The Gym Visit...For Posterity's Sake

I went to the gym yesterday to get a swim in for the week. Going to the gym is supposed to be a nice break for me. The boys go play in the childcare and I have time doing something I enjoy. Not so yesterday...

As I was dropping Josiah off, I realized that I had forgotten his pacifier in the car. It didn't seem worth the effort of walking all the way back out there to get it, so I just left him promising I would be back quickly. As I was getting out of the shower, I was paged. Josiah was fussy and hungry. I rounded up all three boys and headed to the car. No small feat considering they unwisely put the childcare center in the very back of the gym. We pass by the locker rooms, every office, and the lobby (including the salon and cafe). This is a long, tedious process.

I get to the car and realize I had left one of the two bags I have to bring in the childcare area. Josiah is screaming so I go ahead and nurse him in the car before beginning the adventure back. I unload everyone, we somehow make it all the way back in and then Joel proceeds to throw a temper tantrum in the lobby. Now we are causing a scene.

We finally get to the childcare area, collect the missing bag and head back to the car. About 10 feet from the car, Caleb trips and busts his lip and nose. He does his breath holding thing and passes out. I am holding Josiah, so I race to the car and throw him in his carseat (no time to put on his seatbelt). When I get back to Caleb, he takes one breath and then passes out again. I wait till he wakes up and then I laid him down inside the car.

In the meantime, Joel has scared Josiah and Josiah is now screaming as well. I run back over to the other side of the car and buckle Josiah in. I can't find the wipes and blood is going everywhere. Joel has apparently been playing with them and has left them out in the backseat. They are all dried out. I find some kleenex, calm down Caleb enough to make the drive home and leave.

I was planning on going this morning to the gym again....and for some reason, I decided it was too stressful today.