Couldn't have said it better myself -

To blog, or not to blog, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler to say whatever pops into my head, 
The slings and arrows of mindless thought,
Or to take arms against a sea of mommy issues,
And by opposing encapsulate them in pictures. 

To watch the internet die — to sleep while waiting for them to upload,
To sleep, perchance to dream — ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come... 

Nothing as exciting as what is actually happening here, so... here I go... blogging again... 

Shoot!

Two years have gone by... birthdays, camps, vacations, themed events, holidays, 

more tooth fairy visits than I could ever count (though I can verify that she has 

a real problem with punctuality)...

There is no way I could catch you all up and you've seen us around on Facebook 

and even in person from time to time, so let's just begin again today, shall we?

Steve is on Elbrus and Madi is at camp. Both are enjoying themselves immensely and taking on challenges they never could have imagined when we first came to Southern Russia. Steve will climb to the peak after spending some time getting used to the thin air up there and Madi has been immersed in the Russian language for 20 days now. She has made great friends and been a huge help with her photography and videography (What?! No one was more surprised than she.) skills.

And we were able to spend 5 days on our beloved White River.  It was a crazy busy time of running the games, sports and rafting for our church camp.  

So much fun and just about as much rain.  

We can't wait to do it again next month for Sam's birthday, but at a much slower pace.

Now I am going to go and for the second night in a row, show my kids how it is done... 

I've never been one of those mothers who can let the kids win just because they are kids.  

Okay, I may have manipulated a "Queen Frostine" or "Mr. Plumpy" a time or two, 

but that was out of sheer exhaustion.  

Good thing they are such good sports! ; ^)  

Truth be told... this may be a close game... wish me luck!