VBS 2012

 Grayson participated in Vacation Bible School this past week at our church.  I was also there teaching the 5-6 year olds, so it was a fun week for both of us.  

 Of course his favorite part of the day was singing.  And he has not stopped singing the songs--we hear them quite frequently around our house these days.

 Snacks were also a very exciting part of the day for him!  

 Here's  his sweet little class. 

A special thanks to Karyn for the pictures!!

Our Camping Experience

We joined Mimi and Papa this past weekend on their annual church mission trip.  Chad and I were planning to just stay the weekend, but Chad was going to have a busy week of work the following week, so me and the kiddos decided to stay for the whole week rather than being at home on our own while daddy worked late nights.  We headed to Fort Payne, Alabama which was only about 2 hours from us.  This area was hit with tornadoes a year ago so the men in the church were going to help rebuild a few houses. 

The car ride was pretty peaceful while the kids took their afternoon naps.

 

The first day was nice.  Everyone got their campsite organized and set up, the kids played games, and we ended the night with dinner and devotions.

This was Caroline's first camping trip and the first night was pretty rough.  She was apparently very afraid of sleeping in a camper.  After crying herself to sleep, she woke up at 2:30 am and did not fall back asleep until about 5:00am.  We were sharing a camper with my parents--so no one got much sleep.  Thankfully, Grayson somehow seemed to sleep through it all.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it started raining that night?  Um....pouring! And it rained pretty much for 2 days!!  Rain was not a good combination with 2 kids under 3 in a camper!  Thankfully, a nearby church allowed us to use their church building for meals and to have a nursery so that the kids could play and nap.  

 

The kids LOVED it!  By the  2nd day, Caroline  was getting used to camping, so our nights were much better!  We maxed out a minivan!  Me, Bonnie, and Courtney got around everyday in a minivan with 4 kiddos!  That would be me squished up in the backseat with the 4 littles.  We had to drive about 30 minutes from the campground to the church, but it sure was better than being locked up in a tiny camper because of the rain!

Finally the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy being outside.  

Grayson and Caroline enjoyed spending a week with Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Willy, and Abby Ruth.

And nature calls....

Cousin time!!  A bucket of water was a great way to pass the time away...

The day that Chad was with us, he insisted that we go see a waterfall.... in the pouring rain.....

so we did...

we were all soaked!

Our week was filled with GREAT fun and GREAT memories!!

Summer Update

We have been pretty busy since the summer months are here.  

the KIDDOS spent a few days with Mimi and Papa

so...Chad and I patched, sanded, primed, and painted our new exterior windowsills.  Fun, right?  Well, we thought it was!   It was so nice to be on our own schedule for a few days and actually feel productive!  

I got to spend some time with  two of my sweet college friends--while I was KID-FREE!! 

 it was refreshing.

we enjoyed our Summer Neighborhood Picnic

I hosted a dinner for my neighborhood women friends-I LOVE these girls and feel so blessed to have them so close-by!

We went for a Family Bike Ride

the kids were troopers while daddy took us all around town...

Grayson got a new "watergon" at a friend's birthday party--it has been a great source of entertainment over the past few days...

 Caroline is a busy little bee and absolutely LOVES being outside..

 

 grayson finally learned to pedal ALL BY HIMSELF and now actually enjoys his tricycle (however, the bike we bought him for his birthday, still sits untouched and he will probably be too big for it by the time he shows any interest in it)

 

 Caroline's obsession with shoes continues to grow---DON'T mess with the girl's shoes!

 

This past week Grayson has been sick so we have been quarantined to the house (with the exception of multiple walks a day and playtime outside).

We're hoping Grayson feels better soon because I miss seeing people!