Busy busy busy

We have been on the run since the end of May and now here we are at the end of June. This summer is flying by!

We did have some fun the last visit to the hotel in Detroit (with Andrew for work). The Sunday before, we went with some friends from church to a pool where they are members. Ethan was pretty brave jumping off the high dive (10 ft ?) and spending most of the day without his life jacket on. I guess peer pressure can be a positive thing. Thanks to the Overholt boys he was ready to learn to swim without his life jacket. He spent all the time at the hotel without the life jacket and is getting really good at swimming. Elizabeth is working on jumping into the water and going under. She still needs a little practice with that. Elisea is pretty fearless when it comes to the water. I'm sort of wishing she had just a little more fear.

Elizabeth had a friend (Kate Trammel) over for her first sleep over. It was so fun and the girls did really good. They are like peas in a pod and were living in an imaginary world the whole time. Ethan was the big brother to both of them, standing with his hand on his hips and speaking in a deep voice " what do you need girls or I can get that for you". It was really fun to watch. Elisea jumped right in and was enjoying having another friend to play with.

Last weekend we had our annual camping trip with the Wolfe's. It was a little shorter this year and a little more exciting. The weather was the main highlight, severe thunder storms hit the camp site just as we were finishing dinner. The Lord was gracious to us though and we all were safe and sound in our tents. As Kristy told her kids "you know people pay money for CDs that sound like this". Our kids went right to sleep and Elisea even had her first camping trip in a sleeping bag and not the crib. She was pretty proud of herself. The next day was beautiful and the kids were off exploring, biking, eating berries, and having water gun fights. Us adults got a chance to chat and eat and clean up. Then we headed to the beach for the rest of the day. It as a very memorable camping trip and we are looking forward to our August camping trip with the Wolfe family. Their friendship is such a treasure and we are praying for Jeff and Kristy that God would provide work here locally so they don't have to move.

I guess that will bring us to this week of picking up sticks (thanks to a huge storm), playing in the sandbox (the kids favorite activity lately), weeding the garden, jumping on the trampoline, coloring, new devotion "Lord, teach us to pray", cleaning, laundry, ordering books and getting organized for the next year of homeschooling, softball games, learning some new songs about the attributes of God from a great new CD, and on and on and on......

This weekend and next few weeks look to be just as busy as the last few weeks. The 4th, a crazy work week for Andrew, Adventure Week, some camping trips with more friends, and another camping trip with the Wolfe family (at their cabin in Michigan). Maybe we will slow down around January. I love being busy and doing so many great things with my family. God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends and activities.