Jeff's Father's Day Gift

We continued the tradition again this year and gave Jeff pictures for Father's Day, both for his office at work and for our living room at home.  It was tricky to get the older kids to smile normally this year, and Benjamin was easy.  Here are all the shots, even the ones I didn't buy.  As always, some are better than others, but I think they're all fun to look at.  If you are a grandma who doesn't have a copy yet, hang tight and I'll send one to you…I have one with your name on it.  I'm a little behind!

She took pictures of the books that the kids were reading, or, in Benjamin's case, "reading."  And, Jonathan decided, after reading Fellowship of the Ring, that he's going to save it for when he's older.  Anyway, I'm glad Jeff is happy with this Father's Day tradition, because I think we all really enjoy having pictures of the kids together each year.  They do change a lot from summer to summer!

Too Fast

Today as Jonathan was standing next to me in church, he said, "Mommy, I'm nearly as tall as you!"  He was up to my shoulder, and so proud of himself.  When did that happen?  His childhood is going way too fast.

Climbing, Etc.

Camp is always an amazing week for us…we really "reset" as a family - spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.  Those things don't always show in photos, but it's true.  We have the perfect mix of time alone, time as a couple, time with our kids…time listening to amazing speakers, time having adventures, time eating yummy food (which is something the kids especially enjoy…)  But, here are some things we could capture on camera.

Here's a picture of Jonathan on the climbing wall.  He kept trying until he made it to the top!

And here are the older kids getting ready to go on the ropes course with Jeff.  This was Grace's first year to be old enough to try it.  She shed a few tears and didn't make it on the first try, but I was so proud of her because she said, "I think I'll be brave enough to do the whole thing next year," and she tried again and made it across later in the week (again, with some tears.)  Jonathan, of course, was familiar with the course and made it across.

This part is always tricky, though.

This is how Grace amused herself while the big guys finished the course.

Jonathan on the zip line.

Jonathan says, "Daddy looks kind of funny when he goes on the zip line."

Goldfish sharing.

Grace on the night for dressing up crazy.  She wanted loops in her hair, so we put in ten of them.

Family Camp at Last!

We really did go to family camp…and I'm finally proving it with pictures.  We had a wonderful week once again.  This was our fourth year in a row, and our kids were so sad to leave and are so excited to go back again as soon as they can.  Each year has been different but special in its own way.  This year was our first year to come to camp without diapers, pack 'n play, or stroller!  It was a whole new stage for us, and we really enjoyed it.  I'll spread this over a few posts, and hopefully you won't have to wait many weeks for the others!

Jeff, excited to be driving to camp!

The first afternoon is a family carnival, and you can see a few of the things we enjoyed below.

The balance bikes were a new attraction this year, and a huge hit with the preschool set.  Benjamin had a little trouble fitting his head into one of the kid-sized helmets.  We were not surprised.  But once he got squeezed in, he loved his bike.

After a picnic dinner and skits, our kids got loaded up with sugar and sent back to the cabin and to bed.

Camp is one of the only places that I read bedtime stories to all my kids at the same time, and I sure enjoy it!

Reading to the Dollies

Yep, she's reading aloud to them, and she does it all the time.  You should hear the expression in her voice as she reads.  It's quite amazing.  But, you can't hear it, because she won't do it for adults.  She'll do it for her animals, dollies, and specially selected little kids.

Here's who she was reading to.  The first three were mine when I was little, and I recently gave them to Grace.  There's Sleepy Baby, Laura (the rag doll,) Angela, and Baby Jenna; then closer to us there's Raggedy Ann, a Cabbage Patch Kid named Morgan Evelin from a lady in our old church, then Ariel who's covered up by Carrie, and I'm pretty sure Heather, Amy, and Holly Hobbie are in there, too.