Mini-Me

Camping

Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet. ~~Author Unknown

This morning, Rachel began a conversation with me about the Girl Scouts. She saw a box of our recently purchased Girl Scout cookies and began asking me questions. So, I explained a few things about the Girl Scouts. One thing I mentioned was that she would probably love it as they also went camping. Rachel then asked, "Do they camp in tents?" I replied, "yes." I then asked, "Is that a problem?" She replied, "That would freak me out." Then, she asked, "Will they have bathrooms?" And, I replied, "Not always." Then she replied, "I don't think I want to be a Girl Scout." Have we created a monster or what? I figured Rachel would think of tent camping as an adventure. No such luck.

While I do love nature myself, I can't say that I'm that enamored with camping in a tent. And, the main reason is that I would dread the setting up and taking down of everything. I prefer to spend my time enjoying the places we stay at versus spending the majority of my time getting set up for the night and then dealing with an uncomfortable place to sleep. Yes, we are spoiled as our RV has all of the creature comforts. Can't say that I blame her much.

It wasn't until recently that my children would even urinate in the woods. With young boys, this usually isn't an issue as I think they find it entertaining to whip it out and urinate whenever the mood strikes. But, my little foo-foo girls were horrified at the thought of hanging their fanny out in the woods when they had moments where they needed to "go" and there wasn't a restroom nearby. However, during this past week, Anna had a change of heart. Gail and Harold took the girls on a hike at Sipsey Wilderness. While on the trail, Anna alerted Gail that she needed to poop. And, there were no bathrooms anywhere near by. Gail told Anna she'd have to go in the woods. Anna was adamant that she wasn't going to go in the woods. But, after walking a bit more, the urge was too uncomfortable and nature forced Anna to do the unthinkable. So, poop in the woods, she did. Rachel, of course, was offended at the thought. Rachel is my "mini-me." Now, Anna is not so prudish. If she's got to go, she doesn't mind squatting in the bushes if duty calls (Anna is Jeff's mini-me). In various ways, we can see bits of each of us with each child. But, the majority of people who know us will instantly say Rachel looks like me and Anna looks like Jeff. And, overwhelmingly Rachel acts like me and Anna acts like Jeff.

School Update

We visited Dauset Trails a few weeks ago. While there, Jeff videotaped all of the animals on the trail. Rachel's class is currently focusing on "Things I know about." So, Rachel wanted to bring the video to class to share what she had learned about the animals. Jeff put the video on a DVD for her. And, I printed pictures of the animals, bought her a poster board, and helped her develop a picture board to show the class. The board had pictures of the animals, their name, and a hint to help her remember a fact about each animal. For example, I drew a small mountain next to the photo of the Cougar so she would remember to tell everyone he is also known as a "mountain lion." She presented her poster board and video on Monday. On Tuesday morning, I stopped in and asked the teacher how it went. Both Rachel's teacher and the teaching assistant couldn't say enough good things about Rachel's presentation. She wasn't shy. She spoke clearly and matter of factly. She knew the animals and explained features of each. She took charge even questioning her classmates. Rachel's teacher jokingly said she was ready to go ahead and hand the class over to Rachel for the afternoon after her presentation. We were so proud of her. I'm not going to claim that I was the sole provider of any talent or intelligence that Rachel possesses. Jeff is, by far, much smarter than me. However, the way she approaches situations...specifically her type-A tendencies....that has "Angela" written all over it. Poor kid.

Portraits

We visited a local studio last weekend and got a family portrait and birthday portraits of Anna. Unfortunately, my scanner is dead. We have ordered another one that I hope to be in soon. Once it arrives, I'll scan the photos to share here.