An Afternoon At The Lake

This Saturday was full of chores around the house and in the yard. Trent told the kids that if they got their work done, he would take them to the beach here at the Lake. They created a check list and had me write down all they had to complete. They went to work immediately and actually did a good job on their work. They then had to wait for their parents to complete their own work. I think Jon was in his swimsuit at least 2 hours in advance anticipating a visit to the beach. Eventually, we got out and spent part of our afternoon out on the beach. It was a beautiful day. It was warm without being overly hot, and the humidity is still under 50%, so it wasn't oppressive. There were a lot of people out, but it was still a really fun time. The kids played in the water and in the sand. I think they will miss the beach and the lake.

Getting in the water. Jon is being tough and flexing his muscles for some reason.

Starting to get in now. Jon, strangely enough, is more comfortable in the Lake than he is in the pool.lots of people were out in their boats.

Playing in the sand.

The Critter Report

I thought that since we are less than a month away from moving out of our house here, we had seen the last new critter to visit our house. This Saturday, however, we added a new critter to the list. While cleaning out the screened in porch, Trent found this little turtle hanging out in the shade under some leaves that blew in. After all the kids checked it out, Ashley and her friend Cassidy put the turtle in a little crate and took it across the street to Cassidy's yard to turn it loose. There is a small creek there, and we thought it would be nice for the turtle to be where there was both water and actual vegetation. This takes our list of critters who have visited while we lived here to deer, squirrel, birds, toads, racoons, a snake, a fox and now a turtle. I think the kids and I will miss the various critters when we move. It has been fun to have so many visit.

Happy Birthday Jon

Jon celebrated his 6th birthday this week. We are in such a crazy time with the last week of school and Missions Law goings on and trying to find a house to move to etc. etc. Still, we found a little time to celebrate our adorable little man. He had a great birthday filled with lots of the things he loves very best. He got to open his presents before getting ready for school and enjoy the Spiderman video from Grandpa Dude and Muriel/Grammy while eating. Otherwise, the day's activities dictated that Jon had to wait. So, he meticulously stacked up his new toys to wait until he could return and play with them. They have all been out and assembled and played with repeatedly now. I think having Jon's birthday somehow put my kids in summer vacation mode. Now when they get up in the morning, they forget they need to get ready and just want to play.

Opening presents

Hooray. Indiana Jones legoes. Two of Jon's favorite things rolled into one!

Stacking up the toys to wait for later.

As I mentioned earlier, Jon received a Spiderman video from my Dad and Stepmom. In the video, whenever Spiderman has his mask off, it is Jon's head. These videos are of the kids the first time they watched the video. I love hearing them giggle when they see Jon, and I love how Jon points to himself and says, "that's me!"

Happy Camper

This past weekend, Ashley had her first Girl Scout Camporee. It was a full day of activities and two nights of camping.

A couple of weeks ago her troop had a practice camp out in someone's back yard. Apparently some of the girls had never been outdoor camping at all. Ashley ended up with 2 ticks following this experience and (very briefly) said she didn't want to go to camporee. She changed her mind and off she went.

For them to earn their camporee patch, they had to help pack. She was so cute working with her dad to roll up her clothes and learn how to pack the backpack well. It was hilarious watching her walk around with it. I think these pictures are the straightest she stood with it on.

I was a little worried about her, because we had intermittent thunder storms all afternoon Saturday that turned into steady rain Saturday night and Sunday morning. She had her rain poncho (pink) though and seemed not at all affected by it. Trent told me she would be fine, and he was right. It also gives her a fuller "camp" experience I suppose. She went on nature hikes and learned about local plants. She had to help prepare food and clean up. According to Ashley, their Sunday morning breakfast was called ticks on a toilet. It was bagels with peanut butter and mini chocolate chips. I thought for certain the name alone would stop a lot of those girls from eating it, but I guess not. Ashley made it through dry happy and tick free.

Thanks to everyone who has supported her girl scout / brownie efforts. You helped pay for her to go to camporee, and she had a great time.

Dressed up like Daddy

I wanted to post this cute picture of our ever creative Jon playing dress up with some of his dad's uniform items. This now doubles for Indiana Jones apparently.