This was our "new" camper on its way home one cloudy day in April. We stopped by Aunt Carrie's because she'd been good enough to take Emmalee while I transacted business with the owner of the camper - who happened to live just a couple miles away. It's a new and exciting chapter in our lives - full of hope, possibilities and newfound freedom. It's a very happy day.

The camper has already seen its first trip with us to Turkey Run. It was just as much of an escape and as full of the thrill of a new frontier as we'd hoped. John's quote about Turkey Run was "I've been looking all my life for a place I'd like to stay all my life, and this is it."

And this is only the beginning...

Emmalee loves her Daddy.

John worked hard to create "Extreme Hopscotch". It's hopscotch, combined with a maze, combined with pools of lava and deep holes into the earth. The red you can see is the lava. The hopscotch maze extends far beyond this picture. He created it on the driveway at our friend's home. All the other kids thought it was the coolest!

Ice Cream

Chalk drawings by the kids, of themselves, buying ice cream from the ice cream truck. they can hear the music from a mile away.

Uncle Chris

Uncle Chris comes for a visit.

Guinnea pig damage

Emmalee's guinnea pig nibbled into the power cord of the kids' computer. luckily she was stopped before doing any harm to herself. and fortunately we had a spare power cord.

Back Yard

John helps Emmalee climb the shed.

Good friends.

Emmalee and her friend Rachel at a roller skating party.

Thrill of the climb

John and Emmalee enjoy the thrill of the climb.

John and Emmalee on the suspension bridge at Turkey Run.

Ready to hike

Sprinkles of rain don't dampen our spirits. we hit the muddy trails at Turkey Run State Park. within one hundred yards of our camp we found ravines and waterfalls and gorges. John said it was the awesomest thing he'd ever seen.

John is pretty excited.

Emmalee does a happy dance of her own.

Emmalee and John explore the chasms at Turkey Run.

John fixes s'mores after the 4 mile hike.

Maiden voyage of the 'Dancing Queen'

Here's the truck and trailer on their maiden voyage. the trailer swings and sways at highway speeds . . something we haven't fixed yet. in the mean time i suppose 'dancing queen' is a good name for the camper. at least til she stops shaking and shimmying.

John's class visited the landfill in Indianapolis, which has its own six acre greenhouse - heated through the winter by burning methane gas from the landfill. Great lessons in recycling!

John gives his speech on Nixon.

John's Big Speech

John's big presentation on Richard Nixon. He chose to profile Nixon because he gave NASA a billion dollars to start the space shuttle program.

There is no cure

Danger, motorcycle fever. there is no cure.

That's one way to say it

Conversation with John:

JR (subdued) - "I feel like fuzzy pickles and cheese flowers."

Mom - "What do you mean by that?"

JR - "I'm not in a very good mood. I don't feel good. I'm just cranky."

Fish face

At the doctor's office, Emmalee tries on a fish puppet as though it were a mask.

Outpost in the sky

John and Emmalee hanging out on top of the shed, which has become their fort.

This picture represents their afternoon's work. I see "My Little Pony" (from Emmalee) and rocket, and a Space 1999 Eagle (from John).