Outdoor Baths

While it's warm outside, who needs indoor baths?
In the Bacak house, a water hose, a trampoline, and a little baby shampoo will do.
Justus calls this "water jump", and if you've been over lately, he has probably signed this to you, while pulling you toward the backyard. He thinks everyone should water jump with him!
Last week, we had a spontaneous water jump after dinner, and the kids stripped down to their underwear to spray each other with the hose.
Rusty put on his swimming trunks to join in, because he's a good Dad, and even more so, because he's really 12 on the inside.
I was inside doing the Mom thing...washing dishes, smiling and waving from the window. They started to chant "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" So I decided to abandon the kitchen responsibilities and the dignified Mom persona (where you never get your hair wet???) and get wet with them. I was so glad I did! It was way funner(because that's a word!) than sweeping the kitchen floor.
Then we all started to chant "Sage! Sage! Sage!" This was Sage's first week to live with us, so who knows what she was thinking at this point, but we knew she was perfect for this house! She jumped in with us, and let Jax spray her down relentlessly too. So much fun! A trampoline with four kids, three adults, and covered in baby shampoo is fun AND treacherous! I felt so proud that the night did not end in an ER visit and an x-ray! Success!
We have no pictures of the actual trampoline part because we were ALL on it. No photographer was present. Did anyone have "Flash" in college? At Baylor we had a company called Flash, and they were always there. No matter what the event, what time of day...you could have a pow-wow at Wal-Mart at 3am, and you could just call out "Flash!" and they would be there, snapping away at all your cheesy college girl poses. Sometimes I wish Flash lived with us to capture our every precious moment. I'm doing my best to document these things. Any BU grads getting a fun flashback? What did you guys have like this at A&M?
So much fun! Moments like these are memorable. Where's Flash when you need them?

Fun in the Sun- Viva La Padre!!!!

We are having a blast.
I have to brag on my fearless Emma. She is a boogie boarding machine!!!
She conquers the giant waves on her little board, and if she gets sucked in by a big one, she just pops her little head up, and goes for the next one.
She is truly a ferocious surfer girl!
One time she swallowed so much sea water, she threw up, and then went back in.
Crazy.
She goes out with Rusty or Matt and Nick, and they have been in awe of her.
What six-year-old girl does these sort of things???
Tonight is our last night, and we are sorrowful.
We went to the beach tonight for a little photo shoot. The beach is such a family photo op. Carissa, our personal talented photographer took some great shots.
There's a great one of Treston and all four of his godparents-Matt & Erin, and Nick & Carissa. Precious.
We are ready to plan next year's trip!
Viva La Padre in 08!

A Stop On The Way...

On our way to our beach vacation this week (woo-hoo!!!), we made a stop in Corpus Christi for a homeschool field trip.
And for fun.
We went to the Texas State Aquarium.
We are studying oceans this month, since we are visiting the ocean, we find that to be a good time to learn about it.
Of course, the kids loved it...almost as much as their Daddy.
Did you know, Rusty and I visited an aquarium on our honeymoon?
In Van Couver.
Our kids come by their love of Creation honestly. Rusty is like a kid at these things.
It was great family fun.
We have arrived at our beach get-away, and the younger folks have just arrived. (Matt & Erin, nelyweds! and Nick & Carissa, married 7 mos. All four are Treston's new godparents!)
Rusty really showed how old we were when he talked to them about bringing a "boombox."
Awesome.
I'll post pics later on.

My Kids' First Wedding

It's been a week since I updated my blog.
I'm really not a blog loser.
It's been a crazy week. Our lives are a little out-of-control with travelling right now.
But it's all going to resume to whatever sense of normality we can muster by the end of the week.
I can't wait!
This past weekend, my kids were in their first wedding. Jodi, who we love (you may remember seeing pics of her on the blog before...she lived with us last fall) married Andrew Saturday! It was so sweet that she asked Emma, Jax, & Justus to be apart of it! The boys were the ring bearers, and they were beyond cute in their little men tuxes. Jax didn't want to take his off. He looked good, and he knew it. He did a super job!
Justus was not impressed with wearing the jacket and tie, but it made him the center of attention, and he LOVED that! (Who knew you could wear a diaper and a tux at the same time?) He has learned how to whoop! and he does it often. That's his big crowd pleaser...the sound Aggies love to hear. He probably did it a hundred times by the end of the weekend. He was determined to be on the stage too! He and Jax walked down the aisle, holding hands and holding the pillow, (looking precious) and then walked to me and I took them out. Well, that was not good enough. During the wedding, he made a mad dash (starting in the foyer) for the stage, and made it about a third of the way down the aisle before Rusty (holding Treston) caught him by the back of his shirt and yanked him back. I was watching from the last pew, and it all happenned in slow motion. You know the feeling? I don't know what he's going to do in life to be on stage, but he's sure he's meant for it. The groomsmen reported this to be the highlight of the ceremony.

Stay posted for more updates this week. I have a blog post brewing in my mind about taking care of the orphans. (James 1:17)

Adventures of Camp Ozark: Part 2

This looks like a beach vacation.
It's not. It's CAMP OZARK!
It's the sand volley ball court.
This is from Monday night. We had so much fun!
Emma has been charming people with her daredevil ways, and today spent hours on the water trampoline.
Heather, I tried the meaningful conversation while brushing her hair, in order to give a more authentic "Little House" feel to our cabin tonight, but she was a Cheetah, so we didn't get very far. I don't think there were ANY girls like Emma on "Little House."
This week is totally different from the past weeks we have come to Camp Ozark...we usually come in July when campers are here. This is Orientation week for the counselors. So there are no campers, only oodles of fun college students...who love kids...and there are only our kids and the permanent staff members' kids here. So our kids are FAMOUS. Jax is well known around the bumper boats for his schmack talk, and constant spraying of strangers. He's so precious! He watched closely today while Rusty and I did the ropes course and zip line, and yelled up to me "Mom, I love you! When you come down, can you hold me?" I love this boy.


Justus is that adorable little boy who signs. This has captured the heart of every beautiful college girl here. He has also learned to WHOOP and put his thumb up as a crowd-pleaser to the Aggies. I certainly didn't teach him that. We have to credit Bec-Bec (Becky who is here with us, having fun, and helping us out tremendously) with that one.
Unfortunately, Justus has been sick, and is running fever for almost four days now, and has a terrible sore throat. This has only limited his fun marginally. After we had dinner Monday night, they had a dance, and Justus got in the middle and did a little break dancing, while people gathered around and cheered. He was trying to show these white people how it's done.


Treston, quite the hit of the entire camp!
I seriously could have charged admission on this night, because we had dinner "on the grounds" outside, and we just stripped him down and let him go to town on some rice and fruit. It was the mess you might expect. But these cute college people do not see chubby babies covered with rice, in their ears, up their noses, everyday. They gathered around in large groups just to watch. Treston was unbothered. There was food present. That was all that mattered to him. When the food runs out, he starts yelling. This is a pic of his first ice cream. There was no way we were going to get away with having some and deny him! He's pretty easy-going, until it comes to food, as you can tell! The girls have lined up just to hold him, so we let a group take him while Rusty and I braved the ropes course and zip line today.

Other highlight: we went fishing last night. Does anyone remember the phantom fish that I caught last year, unwitnessed by people over the age of 5? Well, we all got lucky this year. Everyone of us caught a fish, and Rusty even caught a hook in the finger. Such are the dangers of fishing with kids. I got some very stereo-typical, adorable pictures of my kids holding up their fishes proudly before throwing them back. It was awesome!

By the way, thanks for the recommendations on reading! I am almost done with one of them, and ready to start another. I have enjoyed reading for hours and hours at night! It's been great.

We will be packing it up all too soon. I do miss all of you guys, and will see you soon. Pray for us, driving straight through on the way home (8 hours) with tired (and some sick) kids, and many valuable things precariously strapped to the top.

And yes, Ashley, we'll just squeeze you in next year! I think they expect us to keep bringing more and more kids each year, at this rate. I don't know where another one would sleep, but that wouldn't stop the Ingalls family, would it?

I'll keep you posted on further adventures. Love to all of you!

Camp Ozark Adventures: Part 1

First of all, pure success...we made the trip from Texas to Arkansas with two double jogging strollers and a car top carrier full of our belongings strapped to the top of our loaded-down van...straps flying in the wind...semi-trucks passing like hurricane force winds. We made it. And so did our stuff. I can only sing my husband's praises for this huge VICTORY!
We have been basking in the gorgeous weather here! (Prior to today, which is rainy.) It has been absolutely gorgeous, couldn't order a more perfect temperature. It's been a sweat-free camp, and I didn't even know that existed. I don't feel so disghusting at the end of the day that
I want absolutely nothing to do with myself...to run away from ME.
We took a hike with the entire camp up to the cross (at the top of a mountain) with the kids. Now, hiking was not in my vocabulary years ago when Rusty met me. I am a changed woman. I am a good wife. (At least for hiking. I don't know about anything else.) I actually like the physical challenge. However, I'd enjoy it more if there were not the risk of my children falling to their death. Much more.
These pics tell the story of what my kids have enjoyed the most. The newest addition to Camp Ozark...bumper boats that SPRAY other people. What could be cooler than that, at least in Jax's mind?
I believe I'm eligible for "Mom of the Year" for getting on a boat with Justus and letting my
children spray me relentlessly for about 15 minutes. The kids barely got a drop on them, but I was soaked. But it was fun.
Emma, of course, did the zip line and ropes course the very first thing when we got here. She is as fearless as ever.
We are sleeping four kids in a one-room cabin, which feels very
"Little House" to me, minus the air conditioning unit and the refrigerator.
We are having a great time!
Love to you, our friends!