Found the Camera!!!

Here are some summer pictures!

The Beach!

Summer girl trip! We took the kids to the zoo ! Almost 100degrees!

Catching Up!!

Wow! The summer has flown by! I think I can just forget ever catching up and just move forward from here. At this moment, I have a missing camera. (I am hoping this will be a temporary thing) so I have no pictures to update. All of the summer pictures are on the camera... So what have we done this summer? After camping on Memorial Day weekend, we settled down to a few weeks of rest/play time in June. I took the kids to Fernbank for the day. We packed a picnic lunch and found a great playground in ATL to eat and play at. Toward the end of June we headed to another campground for a long weekend on the lake. Tully and Lauren joined us with their new dog Shooter. We had a really good time just hanging around the campsite and swimming in the lake. Too soon our long weekend was over and we headed home.

After working a few days...we packed up again and headed south to Columbus for The 4th of July. We camped for 3 nights. Z had to work the parade and fireworks back home, so he took us down and set us up and then came back 3 days later to pick us up. We had a great trip, with a great campsite. We spent most of our time fishing, riding bikes, and hiking in the park. Sunday night we were surprised with a firework display over the lake. E and my dad spent lots of time fishing right behind our campsite in the lake. Special times that I hope E will cherish forever!

After a week of Bible school, we were off to the Beach for a quick trip before schools started. We spent 4 nights camping on the beach and had a blast. Z's parents were able to meet up with us and spoiled the kids with 2 days of shopping and getting whatever they wanted. We all had a great time and wished we had a few more days before we had to come home. We had an 8 hour drive with the camper... definitely tiring for Z. The Beach was beautiful and we camped at a great place. I never get tired of going to the beach!

Okay, well that gets us to the here and now, no wonder our summer has flown by. Now back home to catch up on some summer reading projects and some pool time before school starts!

Camping Time!!!

I can't believe summer is here!!! Where did the month of May go? We lost it somewhere with baseball, camping, and end of the year activities. At the end of April we purchased a used camper. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this purchase. We had a pop up camper when I was a kid and I have so many fond memories of camping trips. We spent many days riding our bikes, playing on rocks in the creek, hiking, making new friends and seeing new places . To contrast with other vacations, camping is all about spending time as a family. It is not about staying in fancy places, doing expensive activities, or dining at five star restaurants. It is relatively cheap after you make the investment of a camper and it just reinforces the ideals and values that I want to teach my kids. The values being to appreciate the world that God has created. To work hard and then have time for play. To enjoy being together, spending time together and just learning how to get along. (The longer I live, I realize that learning how to get along is something that many of us did not learn how to do as children) I think that is part of my job as a parent. Not just to hope and pray my children get along, but to teach them the life skills they need to get along, communicate effectively, and to work together as a team!) That sounds really good 1 week into summer vacation--I may not sound so optimistic after we have been out of school for a couple of months and it is 95 degrees outside!!Ha! Also on the practical side, I want to show my kids that taking a vacation and having lots of fun, does not have to involve spending lots of $$$$$$ and buying lots of stuff. All of that to say!!! Will will be doing lots of camping this summer and hopefully for a long time to come!!

Our 1st camping adventure was at Red Top Mountain the end of April. We only went for one night more or less to try out the camper. I am so impressed with my hubby. He has jumped right into all the "behind the scenes" work it takes to manage a camper. He is already great with pulling the camper, hooking it up, setting it up at the campsite etc. It is ALOT of work, and I am so thankful he is willing to do all that for us. He is slowly teaching me how to do it, but I am much slower to learn than him!! We loved Red Top and would like to go for longer when we get the chance.

Our second camping adventure was over Memorial Day weekend. This time we stayed 3 nights. We had an issue with the fridge and lots of rain...more like a real camping experience! Ha! We went to Cheaha State Park. I had gone there as a kid when I was little, but I had forgotten how beautiful and untarnished this place was. We were18 miles from the nearest store. I little bit of an inconvienence, but the natural beauty was worth it. I was amazed at all the wild Oak Leaf Hydrangas. They were everywhere. I have never seen Oak Leaf Hydrangas growing wild, they were beautiful. We hiked to Cheaha Falls--okay some of us hiked-- M and E got tired and we ended up carrying both of them almost the entire length (one mile) back. Maybe we should try something a little shorter for our next hiking venture!!! We had a great time minus an issue with our black and grey water. Who knew there was so much to learn about campers!!! Can't wait for our next adventure.

Baseball!

Wow! Can't believe it is baseball time again! E is really enjoying it this season and it is so nice that Z gets to be his coach!

Easter

Spring Break

We originally planned to go camping for spring break, but after a schedule conflict and about 2 inches or pollen on the ground, we changed our minds and took a last minute trip to Charleston, SC. Little did we know that spring break weekend was the busiest weekend of the year in Charleston. Oh well! We still had a great time even with all the crowds. I came back rested, relaxed and with some new motivation to work in my garden!

We took a trip down memory lane...The Citadel
The pier in downtown was beautiful!
The last picture we had on this pier was 16 years ago when Z came to Charleston to attend the Citadel. My how time flies and things change!

The Chicken or the Egg?

My cousin S that lives next door to my mom has taken on the occupation of chicken farmer. Actually he only has 3 chickens, but they are quite busy, laying 2-3 eggs per day. My kids love going down and looking at the chickens and seeing if there are any eggs in the chicken coup. Last weekend my mom was in charge of feeding the chickens. In payment for her duties, my cousin S told her to keep any of the eggs the chicken lay. On Saturday S, E, and M went with my mom to gather the eggs and feed the chickens. Luckily there were 3 eggs and my sweet mom of course let each of the kids have one to bring home. (I am retelling this story as my mom told me, I did not get to hear this cute conversation) Saturday afternoon my mom brought the kids back to our house. On the way home M sat in the back seat carefully guarding the 3 eggs that she and her brother and sister were allowed to bring home. My mom noticed that she was being very quite and leaning her ear toward the basket where the eggs were. Finally M spoke and told my mom "I can't hear them, I can't hear them" My mom asked M, "what can't you hear?" M promptly replied. "The baby chickens, I can't hear them" She thought there were tiny baby chickens alive in the eggs. Not wanting to ruin M's excitement, my mom was not sure what to say. She finally told her that there were not baby chickens in the eggs, just the yellow stuff inside like you eat. I am not sure M was too convinced. Tonight we ate those brown eggs that the kids brought home. I was not sure how M would take eating the eggs. I was hoping this little farm lesson would not hit too close to home--she really loves to eat eggs-- She actually helped me crack her egg and was finally convinced that there was no baby chicken in the egg--just the yellow stuff we eat. Ok, technically there are "baby chickens" in the eggs, but for right now, just to keep it simple; the yellow stuff inside the eggs have nothing to do with those cute baby chickens M was so concerned about!