Last week my oldest son went to a week of Cub Scout Day Camp. This year he was a Webelos 1. I remember vividly his first year when he was but a wee Tiger Scout.  He loves Cub Scout camp. And who wouldn’t? 8 and a half hours outside each day, fishing, archery, BB guns, wood shop, specials, crafts… Each parent is required to volunteer one day. Two years Scott served in this role, last year I went, but it was the last day of camp and I didn’t get to see as much of the action.

We had a fun weekend at the circus… Friday night swim, Saturday included a trip to the mall to spend birthday money and allowances, Father/Son set up for cub scout day camp week ahead, afternoon at the gym for the girls Open House… and Sunday was filled with a great morning of worship, friends over for the afternoon, and my 7 year old got to perform with her gymnastics friends at the opening of the Baysox game!

All of my kids have enjoyed pushing the pretend mower along side their Daddy, but I do believe none of them have enjoyed it as much as our youngest. The look of absolute GLEE on his face when he hears Daddy say it’s time for him to go cut the grass is absolutely priceless.  He even willingly will choose to stay behind with Dad to cut grass and meet the rest of us at the pool MISSING SOME SWIM TIME rather than miss the chance to cut the grass with his Dad.

Seems all of my posts recently are animal related, but truthfully, that is Life At The Circus these days… it’s all about the animals. Holding them, taking them potty, fighting over them… Hands down the youngest two are my biggest animal lovers. My oldest son has taken way more to the cat than he thought though, he was surprised by how snuggly the kitten is and loves to hold her (though he has taken to either wearing layers of shirts or sweaters b/c he is not a fan of the scratching).

I couldn’t believe how many old clichés took on a whole new meaning and relevancy to Scott and I last night when we welcomed our cat into our family. When I responded to the ad on Craigs List, I asked if there were any female kittens still available. She replied, that I was the first to respond to her ad, and so I could have the pick of the liter if I wanted to stop by that evening and take a look.

Since late last fall, our youngest daughter has been lobbying hard for a cat. She did a school project on one, she drew endless pictures of them, she wrote stories about them, she slept with her stuffed animal cat every night and my favorite was the note she wrote Scott listing all their fine attributes.   We waited it out awhile, trying to see if it was merely a passing phase or if it would stick.

This weekend we celebrated our youngest daughter’s 6th birthday. Since her reoccurring theme of the year was all things feline, it came as no surprise to me when she requested we have a cat themed birthday party. Because she doesn’t like cake, she requested brownies with little plastic cats on each one. (For real, those were her exact words) I was more than happy to grant that simple request. (hands down easiest birthday cake I’ve done for one of my kids)

Since the passing of our beloved dog Maggie, there has been a void in our home. I missed her immensely more than I ever anticipated. And while no dog could ever replace her or what she meant to our family, we felt it time to once again hear the pitter patter of doggie feet in the circus home. But, we needed to wait until we were home from our grand adventure before welcoming a new pup to the family.

Yesterday afternoon the girls got their baby dolls and strollers and headed to the court to walk their babies. I don’t know what it was about that particular moment in time, but it struck a chord in this Momma’s heart and made me all sappy.  As I watched them pushing their dolls and pretending they were walking to China… with a stop in Tennessee for some Chick-Fil-A, I found myself longing to take in the moment.

The last stop on our grand adventure of 2013 was Grandma and Papa’s house. We arrived in the afternoon on the 4th of July… just in time for a cookout. The kids greatly enjoyed tractor rides with Papa, playing board games with Grandma and running the trains in the basement. Then they requested a visit to “The Coolest Playground Ever.” As we trekked around the US over the past 3 weeks, Scott and I learned from the kids that the playground by which all playgrounds are judged against is the wooden one by Grandma and Papa’s.