July is Over??

Wow, this summer is flying by, and unfortunately I have not been very efficient at getting things, especially homeschool prep, done!  So, what have we been up to lately?

• Back on Friday, July 11, the kids (except Nathan) and I got up early and drove up to White Sulphur Springs to pick up Luke from staff, and Caleb and Jonathan from Camp Caleb.  It was so good to see them again!  They all had wonderful times.  Caleb and Jonathan were excited that there were kids from another big family there at the same time as they were (the mom is also expecting #10), so they didn't feel weird about having so many siblings!
• The reason Nathan wasn't there was because he drove himself to the Civil Air Patrol place to meet the other people from his squadron who were on encampment staff, so they could all drive down to encampment together.  He originally didn't have a slot on staff, but someone else had to drop out, and the encampment commander was from our squadron, so he asked Nathan to take the empty spot.  Nathan was happy to oblige!  He was on the standards and evaluations team, so his job was to be intimidating, quiz everyone to see if they had learned their required knowledge, and conduct inspections to make sure their drill and uniforms were in order.
• Luke had about 12 hours at home, and the next morning he met up with the rest of his squadron mates who were also attending encampment as basics so they could all drive down together.  Another week with 2 kids gone! 
• Monday, July 14, we were delivered a 20 pound box of fresh blueberries by Elizabeth.  Each summer she puts in an order with a friend of hers, who drives up to Maryland to pick them all up.  Yummy!!!  We spent the rest of the week gobbling blueberries, as well as making blueberry bread, blueberry kuchen, and other blueberry-related yumminess.  I did manage to freeze one gallon bag, but we ate the rest of them in short order--they are sooooo good!  Next year, we're definitely getting at least a box and a half, if not 2!
• Thursday, July 17, Bob and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary.  Bob bought tickets awhile ago to a Straight No Chaser concert at Wolf Trap, which has outdoor seating.  I was a bit worried about it being unbearably hot, but instead the weather was absolutely perfect!  We had such a good time.  They are an acapella group, so it wasn't too loud, and they just seemed like such a fun group of guys.  When Bob first got the tickets, we had thought Nathan would be at home that week, but he and Luke were both gone, so it was Caleb's first time to get all the younger kids down to bed.  He did great!
• Sunday, July 20, encampment was over.  We had not planned on actually going down to pick up the boys, since Lynnea and her family were going, and she said they would bring the boys back.  But again, the weather was unseasonably pleasant, even overcast for the most part, and I mentioned to Bob that this was really the year we ought to go down to see the ending parade.  All the other years, it's been broiling hot, and next year we'll have a baby too!  So we spontaneously decided at 7:30 in the morning that we should drive the 4 hours.  We roused the troops and were on the road not long after.  It was fun to surprise the boys!  Luke actually saw our big van in the parking lot while he was waiting to march in.  At first he assumed it was someone else's, but when he noticed the USAFA bumper sticker, and the parental rights.org bumper sticker, and the half-peeled off bumper sticker with the Mother Theresa quote, "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you can live as you wish" . . . well, that was just too much coincidence, and he realized we must actually be there!  We enjoyed the parade, and we ate lunch at a not-highly-recommended place with a bunch of other staff and cadets, which was fun for Nathan and Luke, LOL.  We did hit tons of beach traffic on the way home, so it was a much longer drive back, but it was good to hear stories.  Luke had a really hoarse voice, and Nathan was really tired--it turns out staff is hard work! 
• Monday, July 21, I had another OB appointment, although I had made sure it was with a different doctor than then previous one!  This appointment was 1000x better.  The doctor was so nice.  She said my weight looked great, and she looked at my little booklet where I had been recording my glucose readings for the past week.  She thought those looked good too.  I actually have had troubles with my fasting number in the morning--it's supposed to be under 95, but the numbers had been averaging closer to 100.  She said that was not too bad, and that while I may need to eventually take a pill at bedtime to help regulate my numbers through the night, I wasn't there yet, and she wanted to give it more time.  I told her I had done some research and had some things I wanted to try--like more protein and fiber with my nighttime snack--and she thought that sounded great.  And since then my numbers in the morning have indeed been lower (although not as low as in other pregnancies, but lower than 95), so those things are working.  My other numbers I really have had no problems controlling, so she was very pleased with those.  She was so nice, I made my next appointment with her, even though it meant I had to move a chiropractor appointment I had scheduled in August!
• Wednesday, July 23, we finally celebrated Nathan's 17th birthday!  Bob grilled steaks, and we had corn on the cob and broccoli for dinner.  I made another blueberry kuchen for dessert, and Nathan opened his presents.  We got him a book about pararescuemen called Guardian Angel by William Sine, and another one called One Bullet Away:  The Making of a Marine Officer by Nathaniel Fick.  We also got him a rugby ball and a shirt that says "Scrum Down". 
• Friday, July 25, all of us (except Nathan again) got up early and got in the van.  This time we were driving to Boston, where Bob had a TDY to Hanscom last week!  Nathan also got up, and he got picked up by Elizabeth, Amanda, and Theodore L. to ride with them up to White Sulphur Springs for his weeks on support staff there.  He and Amanda will both be on staff, as well as a bunch of other guys from previous staffs of his, so he was excited about seeing everyone again.  Our trip to Boston will definitely be a separate post!