Our Summer!

So much is going on, we are so busy it seems like.

In June we wrapped up our school year. We are still working on a few things this summer, but feel satisfied with where we ended. The kids went to a couple of VBS's at several different churchs around. They all had a blast and it was nice to be able to just spend some one on one time with Emma.

At the beginning of July Abby and Reagan went to Pine Lake Primary Camp from Wednesday through Saturday. It was hard to let them go, but they had sooooooo much fun and it was a great experience for them. It is so neat to see them doing the same things I did as a kid, and camp is one of my best memories. Learning about God and making friends, swimming, campfires, canoeing, carpetball, counselor hunt and so many other things, such a wonderful memories being made. The same week Eli got to go to mom and dads ("Grandma and Grandpa Camp") where he went fishing, took apart an engine with my brother Andy, picked black raspberries with Aunt Stacia, and Grandma took him and got light up sneakers! Emma and I sorted clothes, purged some different areas of our house (still much more needs to be done) and just hung out.

On July 10th the kids ran the Moonlight Chase. Abby and Reagan ran the mile race and Eli ran the 1/4 mile. Abby's time was 9:05, Reagan's time was 9:36, and Eli ran a good race (they don't time the 1/4 mile officially, but I think he ran around the 3 minute mark). Then we went over to the McGimpsey's and watched the 4 mile race, ate popcorn (the best ever) and had fun hanging out with my family and the Hansels.

The kids had swimming lessons the last 2 weeks, Abby was in level 3, Reagan was in level 2 and Eli was in level 1. They had lots of fun and learned alot of new skills, and they all passed to the next levels! They were so excited!!!

This week is the Johnson County fair. We went Monday night and the kids did the tractor pull along with the Barker kids. It was a long night, but we ended up going to Dane's Dairy for ice cream so it was worth it:) Today was kids day, so I took the kids back around 1:00 and we met the Barkers there. We let Abby and Kaylie go off on their own for the very first time. It was a little scary, but they knew their boundaries and knew the rules and we met back every 20-30 minutes. They had a BLAST! It is so fun to see them growing up, bittersweet to know that in a couple of years, they won't need to be walking around with me, they will want to be off with their friends. Reagan and Brandon wanted to go off on their own to, but they are only 7, and that is just a privledge that comes with age. We will be going to the fair the next couple of days and will stay for the fireworks of Thursday night.

Next week we are doing a Backyard Bible Camp in our neighborhood park with some of our friends from church. We have a ton of kids in our neighborhood and it is exciting to see what God is doing here. Part of the BBC is that we will be hosting a BIG block party the last night, food, games and an inflatable slide! I really hope that we can be an example of Christ to our neighbors, please pray for that.

So that is my update for now. I am hoping to get some pictures posted soon, but I seem to keep saying that...someday!