camp nin, day 4

On day 4 of Camp Nin on the farm, there was great rejoicing, namely because the sun came out. After consulting the schedule for the day, the children grabbed their journals and we hustled them out to the porch for some writing and drawing . . . in the sunshine . . . lest it go away again in thirty seconds. 

They wrote about their favorite part of camp thus far. Most answers included "Blackjack," "the food" and "chasing chickens." 

They had me up until that last one.

And yes, I realize that because I was an English major and work as an editor, I probably cram writing down my nieces' and nephews' throats. 

I also have realized I don't have a problem with this. 

Character building. That's what I call it. 

Because the weather was so lovely, the children also lunched outdoors on the patio where the puppies could quite literally eat the scraps that fell from the masters' table. (Hey, why didn't anybody use that Bible passage for their devotions in the evenings?)

Also, for those of you wondering what those sandwiches on this little camper's plate are called . . . they're taverns. 

Not loose meat sandwiches. Not sloppy Joe's. Taverns. It's an Iowa thing. Trust me on this one. 

After lunch, the boys went to the farm to learn about what men do in the country and to help my farmer bed calf huts. (He may or may not have taken them for ice cream afterwards too, which I think wins him the Uncle of the Year for 2015 award.) 

We also tried to con them into doing the "Been farming long?" pose. I think they pretty much nailed it. 

I also had to giggle just a little when one of the men at the dairy spotted the boys and kindly humored them by saying, "You two looked ready to work. Are you the new guys that start today?" and the boys replied, "Um, no? We're just here because of our uncle." 

While they were gone, the big and little girls hosted a tea party for their moms and me, complete with placemats, tea cups, invitations, dessert and introductions. 

See how that goes? The men work; the women take care of the house and sip on pink lemonade. That's how we roll, and we don't have a darn problem with it. 

We topped the night off with a fair amount of hooting and hollering during a game, devotions, bedtime for the kids and . . . chips and dip and Lime-a-Ritas for the adults. Because when the sun shines, hey, it's something worth celebrating.