"Vacation" with Gram

Mom came for a long weekend, so she treated us to many "extras". We had a great week. Here are just a few shots.

Watching all of Uncle Adam's Home Videos.
Trip to the zoo. We tried out the boat tour! It was fun!
In the 100 degree heat, we found ourselves gravitating to the misters!

CYT Production

(Sydney is in the middle of this picture in the green shirt. Her arm is somewhat in front of her face.)

Sydney had the chance to go to a Christian YouthTheater Camp last week. They worked all week to produce a Broadway-style show. It was so much fun to see their end product!

Her friends, Ella and Jessica went with her. (This is Ella.)

Mud Pies with Cousins!

I never realized how messy mud pies were. But, it was worth the fun, I think! The humorous part was getting the girls cleaned up. We had to wash the majority of the mud off of their hands with our outside faucet. I was trying to lift the girls over to the faucet in order to keep them out of the mud (since we don't have our landscaping in). When I finally got to Raegan and got her cleaned up, I looked back to see Cambria sitting in the mud hole we had just created with all the hand-washing and Mia's hands and feet covered again with mud. They had been having a hayday with the "new mud" after I got them all cleaned up! So, we went at it again with firm instructions to stay out of any and all mud.

By the way, Toby said he would just watch all of us get dirty. :)

Raegan's Date with Daddy

Last week, Raegan went on her date with Daddy. (Daddy likes to treat each one this way for his/her birthday.) They went to Pump It Up first. After a little bit of encouragement from Daddy, Raegan became a pro!
This slide was a hit!Then, they went to Spangles for lunch before heading to the park.

Jackson and Daddy's Campout

Jackson and I set out on Friday to camp at Marion Reservoir. The first thing we did was set up our tent.
We started a fire after finding and chopping up some wood. We both had blisters on our hands from chopping so much wood. Jackson is roasting our dinner for that night.

Here he is showing off his gourmet camping hot dogs. The were quite good.

After dinner, we set off to find a spot to fish. We found a spot at the end of the cove and Jackson caught one fish that night. He became quite good at casting. I believe it was a fairly large Shad that he caught. He was SO excited as was I. He's quite the little fisherman.
The next morning we had breakfast. It included Pepsi and chocolate donuts. I know, I know, too much sugar. We had a big day ahead of us though. Jackson thought it was pretty cool to drink a Pepsi at 7:30 in the morning.
We spent the rest of the morning fishing some more. Here Jackson is relaxing and enjoying the day. In other words, the fish were not biting. He did catch another Shad later on that morning.
On Saturday afternoon, Doug Reasoner came out with his boat to take us fishing on the lake. This was Jackson's first time on a boat (other than a canoe). He really enjoyed going fast.
Jackson caught a 2 lb. drum while we were trolling in the lake. The fish put up quite a fight, but Jackson was able to real him in all by himself. He wasn't quite so sure about holding him by himself.
We also caught a couple of Walleye towards the end of our day. They weren't quite long enough to keep. They were 16 inches and had to be 18. Still, pretty good size fish. The fish Doug is holding he caught with his daughter's earlier that day in El Dorado. Doug cleaned it and gave it to us. Jackson ate it the next day for lunch. It tasted pretty good even though I'm not a fish lover. Thanks Doug for taking us out. We both had a great time!

Secret Keeper Girls

I got the opportunity to take Sydney on a date today. If you happen to be a mom of an eight- to twelve-year-old, I highly recommend Secret Keeper Girls. This is a packet of 8 Dates for you and your daughter that leads you through eight different dates which are paired with specific lessons on beauty and modesty. I know there is another packet that teaches lessons on friendships as well. Sydney and I had such a sweet time on our first SKG date! We went to Aunt Hattie's Tea House.
First, we had to pick out our hats. This took a while!
We were seated in the cutest little corner. Sydney was amazed by the decorations, including the different chandeliers. (She even made me take pictures!)
After ordering our Strawberry/Kiwi & Raspberry teas, we were treated to Raspberry Soup. It was scrumptious.
Then, they brought out our tray of goodies. Let me just say that it was all delicious, and we couldn't finish it all. After eating all the goodies, we worked our way through the lesson. Believe me, the work was definitely fun, and it led to some thoughtful conversations.
I can't wait to go on more dates!

Speaking of Concrete. . .

(See the post below which is actually my "earlier" post.)

We had a treat yesterday and last night. The Cryer kiddos came over for the afternoon and evening. Joshua is another picture of adoption! What fun we had!