puppy love

The day after Bible Camp ended, we took a day trip to Black Mountain to visit Grandma Hen's Aunt Florence.  The company was great, and the boys especially enjoyed spending time with a four legged friend!

God's Backyard Bible Camp, day five

God's Backyard Bible Camp, day four

God's Backyard Bible Camp, day three

 

 

God's Backyard Bible Camp, day two

God's Backyard Bible Camp, day one

Last year, my friend Teresa and I agreed to co-chair our church's VBS.  One night at a CE meeting, I said, "Okay, I've got an idea..."  I wasn't even sure what I was going to say, but my idea turned out to be a full day {8:30 - 3:30} camp for five days, instead of the shorter evening VBS programs we had done in recent years.  Teresa agreed, and God's Backyard Bible Camp was born.  It was a lot of work, but it was also a TON of fun!  We had lots of kids, lots of volunteers, and numerous fun activities all week.  I think everyone - campers and counselors - grew in their faith.  The next few posts will showcase just a few of the highlights for our family.

re-entry

We had so much fun on our Disney cruise!  When it was time to leave on our final morning, I think we all wanted to stay under the covers and pretend it wasn't time to depart.  A picture is worth a thousand words...

 

... re-entry can be tough!

Disney Dream crulise, day three

Day three we found ourselves on the beach of Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.  The boys were ready to beach comb, swim, and {of course!} relax waterside.

After lunch on the beach, we headed to Monstro's Point, where P and C took jobs as archaeologists and began searching for whale teeth and other artifacts.  I'm fairly certain they could have kept at it for hours, but the adults were all getting pretty warm out in the sun.

I voted for a return to the beach, but P and C were in favor of returning to the ship for an afternoon by the pool.  We spent our afternoon there, and then dressed for some family pictures before dinner.

We enjoyed one last dinner aboard the ship before tucking it in for the night.

Disney Dream cruise, day two

We got up early on day two so C could wait in line for the princess gathering.  He was near the front of the line, and he couldn't wait to have some time with each princess.  He told Ariel that she was on his birthday cake when he turned four, and they had a long conversation.

C also told Snow White that she was his daddy's favorite princess.  She showed him how to pose like a prince, but he got distracted by something off to his left in this photo.  Snow also told him that she had enjoyed performing with him the night before - what a memory that princess has!

C stopped in to see Tink before we headed to a delicious breakfast.

Day two was full of pool time.  We are a family that loves the water!  {To be clear, P and C love swimming pools but don't really care about the ocean.  I know... but they're young, so I'm hoping they'll grow out of it.}  C wasn't quite tall enough for the AquaDuck, but P was, and he had a blast.  Daddy A and I both had the chance to ride it with him multiple times.  The three of us agreed that riding it at night was especially cool.

The night of day two was Pirate Night.  We waited in line for the one character P was interested in meeting.  On his way past the photo station, P tried to sneak some of the "treasure".  Captain Jack said, "Well, he is a pirate, after all!"  The photographers were in stitches.

I thought all three of my boys made excellent pirates.

We stopped to see Pirate Mickey on our way to dinner.  We even got a photo with P and C smiling at the same time!

As with day one, the end of day two left us all ready for a good night's sleep!

Disney Dream Cruise, day one

At the end of July, Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred surprised us by taking our family on a Disney cruise!  We were all thrilled and had the BEST time!!  I could never do the experience justice with a few blog posts, but I'll at least try to give you a small taste of our vacation.

When we arrived on the ship we headed to the pool, were both of the boys started their vacation in a big way.

Before dinner, C got his princess fix.  :)  Being the awesome big brother that he is, P was willing to go along for the ride.

Tiana spent lots of time with C.  He talked to her and sang to her, and she listened and encouraged and was so sweet.  On our last night, we found a printed 8 x 10 photo of C and Tiana signed, "To C, Love, Tiana".  We were amazed that she went out of her way to get the photo printed and then autograph it for C and have it sent to his room.

We got to the show early and got seats on the front row, and P and C were asked if they would be willing to have a part in the show that night.  P agreed, and C was reluctant at first, but Kevin, an awesome crew member, talked C into performing as well.  They made the most adorable dwarfs!  The also got certificates delivered to the room as a memento of their participation.

I tend to stay out of photos, but we tried to get some family ones on this trip.  I want my kids to have pictures of all of us when they grow up, and not just of each other.

One of my favorite things about Disney is that they work to put lots of special touches into the everyday.  The boys' dinner plates were Mickey shaped, and the waiter even made their ketchup Mickey shaped as well.

By the end of day one, we were worn out!  We went straight to sleep so we'd be ready for day two.