Katie was in charge of breakfast. Although she explained to Pat that she never cooks, the breakfast was great! She taught the nephews how to eat pigs in the blanket. The boys were not convinced of the breakfast fun but still enjoyed the pancakes and porkies.
With Nikolas, Jamison and Peter's birthdays so near we had a little birthday fun. I ran out of time to wrap Nikolas' present so we had a little scavenger hunt. The boys asked that some of their presents could be hidden. 
Katie took the boys to the stream that went through the campground and she was the one that fell in! To her defense she was trying to help Jamison across some rocks...and splash! 
Welcome the newest Van boy, Zachary. He was an awesome camper....man, he packed away the smores!
With all the fun, we needed some rest time, even Gpa. He chose to rest in the car. 
My boys fell asleep and Nikolas did not. Every once in a while he would walk past the tent and peek in to see if they were awake. 
The boys created a super secret chipmunk society. The chipmunks would hide in the woods and one chipmunk would act as lookout. When an adult was spotted and "ALERT" was sent to all chipmunks to scatter. I was able to catch one on film but he ran so fast i just caught a foot. 
Here is a rare sighting of the chipmunks at the watering hole. They were discussing welcoming a the new youngest chipmunk (Grayson) into the secret society. From what I understand, there is a secret handshake and a secret code of conduct but I was not able to torture them enough for them to give me details. 
Grayson loves his new baby brother! 
Dinner time! and for dinner Turtle Burgers. Rob sent me a link to some crazy recipe with bacon, cheese, hot dogs. You then shape it to a turtle and bake. What i did not do was take the time to read the recipe and learn that this would not necessarily work on the grill. So we abondoned the turtles and they became regular hamburgers with bacon. Everything is better with bacon.
The boys were a bit worried when I told them we were having turtle burgers for dinner. " How could you be eating one of your favorite animals!"
Glow Sticks! a camping weekend can not be complete without them! And for once my boys stayed awake long enought to actually use them.
I also tried those JUMBO marshmallows.....it is like having 5 regular marshmallows on one graham crackers. The chocolate/graham cracker/marshmallow ratio was way off but it was fun to give them a try! 
Jamison actually tried roasting his own marshmallow. Usually he asks to have it lightly warmed and them put on the graham cracker. This picture was taken right before Peter decided to move the propane lantern out of his way, with his hand, on the glass. At 10pm we had a screaming boy with bad burns on his fingers screaming that he will never be able to write his name or play basketball. We also learned that all urgent cares in the Rochester MN area close at 4pm.....i guess they can help you when your urgent matter happens before 4pm. 
So instead of an ER, we headed to Walmart to stock up on all pain meds, burn creams and gauze to patch him up until we can get home. It was amazing how many people, with kids, were shopping at Walmart at 11:30 pm on a saturday night! GO HOME and put your kids to bed. At least my kid was still crying and upset about his blistered fingers. Peter is ok, fingers are badly blistered but we are watching them carefully and keeping them dry and clean. He will write his name again and will even play basketball again but in the mean time we make sure he has elastic waist pants on (so he doesnt have to try to button them) and I help him brush his teeth (which i still do on occasion because the teeth never look all clean when he is done). Lesson learned....not all lanterns are battery opperated with light bulbs.
Katie took the boys to the stream that went through the campground and she was the one that fell in! To her defense she was trying to help Jamison across some rocks...and splash! Welcome the newest Van boy, Zachary. He was an awesome camper....man, he packed away the smores!With all the fun, we needed some rest time, even Gpa. He chose to rest in the car. My boys fell asleep and Nikolas did not. Every once in a while he would walk past the tent and peek in to see if they were awake. The boys created a super secret chipmunk society. The chipmunks would hide in the woods and one chipmunk would act as lookout. When an adult was spotted and "ALERT" was sent to all chipmunks to scatter. I was able to catch one on film but he ran so fast i just caught a foot. Here is a rare sighting of the chipmunks at the watering hole. They were discussing welcoming a the new youngest chipmunk (Grayson) into the secret society. From what I understand, there is a secret handshake and a secret code of conduct but I was not able to torture them enough for them to give me details. Grayson loves his new baby brother! Dinner time! and for dinner Turtle Burgers. Rob sent me a link to some crazy recipe with bacon, cheese, hot dogs. You then shape it to a turtle and bake. What i did not do was take the time to read the recipe and learn that this would not necessarily work on the grill. So we abondoned the turtles and they became regular hamburgers with bacon. Everything is better with bacon.The boys were a bit worried when I told them we were having turtle burgers for dinner. " How could you be eating one of your favorite animals!" Glow Sticks! a camping weekend can not be complete without them! And for once my boys stayed awake long enought to actually use them. I also tried those JUMBO marshmallows.....it is like having 5 regular marshmallows on one graham crackers. The chocolate/graham cracker/marshmallow ratio was way off but it was fun to give them a try! Jamison actually tried roasting his own marshmallow. Usually he asks to have it lightly warmed and them put on the graham cracker. This picture was taken right before Peter decided to move the propane lantern out of his way, with his hand, on the glass. At 10pm we had a screaming boy with bad burns on his fingers screaming that he will never be able to write his name or play basketball. We also learned that all urgent cares in the Rochester MN area close at 4pm.....i guess they can help you when your urgent matter happens before 4pm. So instead of an ER, we headed to Walmart to stock up on all pain meds, burn creams and gauze to patch him up until we can get home. It was amazing how many people, with kids, were shopping at Walmart at 11:30 pm on a saturday night! GO HOME and put your kids to bed. At least my kid was still crying and upset about his blistered fingers. Peter is ok, fingers are badly blistered but we are watching them carefully and keeping them dry and clean. He will write his name again and will even play basketball again but in the mean time we make sure he has elastic waist pants on (so he doesnt have to try to button them) and I help him brush his teeth (which i still do on occasion because the teeth never look all clean when he is done). Lesson learned....not all lanterns are battery opperated with light bulbs.All in all, a good trip. Gpa requested a house next year.
There are very few occasions where I feel like I can dress them up like twins, and a fun photo op is one! 
Below are some outtakes....the boys were hiding in the flowers and pretending to be rabbits. 
Or atleast that is what Jamison was doing, i have no idea what Peter is doing. 
I broke out the FILM camera. I had to explain to the boys what film was....and they still didnt get it because they kept asking to see the picture. See how much they "love" each other!
This one is pretty cute, but they look like conjoined twins. 
The boys were having fun setting up poses...but at times they got out of hand. Right after this one Peter pushed down hard and Jamison started to cry. It was that laugh that moved right into the cry...so as a parent you dont know what really happened...you were laughing a second ago! 
Keiko sent the boys outfits called "Jinbei" (i guess a "happi is just the shirt). The boys liked them and said that they are super cool! and comfortable. I wanted to see if i could get one boy in the jinbei and the other in their leiderhosen for our aupair experience photo...but I did not think I could stuff even Peter in the leiderhosen. 
This is our "noogey" shot....another one that lead to a small battle. 
I have a case of tweedle dee and tweedle do......
Peter on the other had would stand under a bucket and have it dump right on his face. One time it even knocked him down to his hands and knees. He got up and said "that hurt" Genius! 
It cooled them down in a flash!
Fortunately it fell away from the house and nothing was smooshed except a couple bird nests. I know I am looking forward to some cooler, less humid weather!
Jamison stayed in the room that they had and Peter moved into the "toy room" or "Keiko's room" 
The boys were very excited to have dresser space to display their most prized treasures....rocks and jewels.
They even have enough dresser drawer space that they each have a special drawer of treasures...more rocks. (man, if that drawer pulls out all the way and crashes on toes that person is not going to be happy. 
BIRTHDAY PARTY! and that means cake manipulation. Jamison requested a bunny, like the one we had at Easter, but chocolate. This one had to laydown because his legs broke off. Eventually his head broke off also but Jamison did not notice because of all the excitement. I added jellybean poop for the kids. They loved eating the poop. 
Peter requested an army cake (again). I am still not a fan of army men, so thank goodness to ToyStory3 and Legos, i had to accessorize with Lego men. 
"Birthday Goers at 5'oclock!'. I know why my mom only let us have 2 parties....they are exhausting!. Pizza making, relay race, scavenger hunt, pinata and a water balloon fight! Who needs a bounce house and those crazy party places.
The army cake was declared the "coolest cake ever!" by one of the 6yos. I am pretty proud of myself! 
Pinata wacking!....rules. #1-backs against the barn #2-each person gets 2 swings #3-wait until we say "go" to scoop up candy. 
Yes...someone got hit in the head because he broke rules #1 and 3. Fortunately it was my kid.
Presents. The boys made a haul! For their actual birthday we had a pretty low key day. Swim lesson, martial arts class, birthday dinner(breakfast for dinner, including yes, you guessed it- BACON) and an ice cream cake! 
The boys gave each other gifts "Cullen style" in a brown paper bag. 
At one point during the day Jamison asked "Mom, am I really 6?" yes dear, I cant believe it myself. Happy Birthday Boys!
Man my legs were feeling it! But the look pretty nice. (not my legs, but the floor)
Now all that is left to do is trim, door, stairs, hand rail and storage cubby. Woo hoo! 
Swim lessons started this week. This year, level 2. I can noticeably see that the boys are more comfortable in the water and have started to do the front crawl and backstroke. 
Here they got to go off the diving boards, no help required to go off, just a little help to get back to the edge. This year their teachers are named Nikki and Ty. No Lance this year, but the boys are still enjoying class! 
The neighbors gave us their basketball hoop!! woohoo!! We were talking about getting one since Peter has been very interested in BB so it could not have come at a better time! Thanks Neighbors! Pat and Teresa started a game of HORSE. We have played HORSE, HIPPO, RABBIT, PIG, ALLIGATOR and the list of animals go on!
Jamison is really working the look, even down to the Converse All Stars....