Just hanging out

Kristy and Tim enjoying the finer things in life.







Sarah has found the comfy hammock down below the deck.






Ahhh...how precious is this? Savannah cuddles with Kristy as they swing together.



Now THIS is Sarah's idea of ultimate relaxation -- a hammock AND a book.

The girls enjoy a friendly game of Blink.

Even a little rain shower doesn't dampen Lindsay's mood!

The first night is not complete until we have made s'mores!!!!

Friday Morning -- After a great night sleep, it's cheerios for breakfast for Savannah. The rest of us feasted on pancakes and sausage.

Timothy is very thankful for Michelle's assistance in cutting up his pancake and sausage.

Poor Dean couldn't let the day go by without doing a little bit of work.

One last day of fun

Morning hugs.




And morning licks.

And morning s'mores????

Actually morning omelets!

Kayla and Meaghan

Drake, Timothy and Skye

Check out these grasshoppers!

A friendly game of horseshoes.

Kayla does awesome french braids!!

Not to brag -- but I was the hearts champion :)!!

Cindy would rather read a magazine than get beat at Hearts.

And Meaghan would rather take a snooze since she was not able to sleep in til noon!

From Allie's vantage point on the rocks above the cabin.

Lindsay, Kayla and Tim

Allie enjoyed working on her prayer journal. Kayla was so sweet to bring up all the supplies.

Antler fun! Timothy brought the big ones home. Thanks Jim and Dean!

Timothy and Meaghan

Kayla and Lindsay

Camp Grace 2009

Guest Post from Allie:

I had a great time at Camp Grace. This year's theme was "Open the Eyes of my Heart."



This is where I slept in my cabin.


We hiked up to a rocky ledge and in the background was Laramie Peak.




Laramie Peak

This is a birds eye view of camp. From where I stood, I could see a volleyball game going on below me.

This is me on dress-up night.

Cabin mates:



Missy and Taylor

Melissa

Anna and Katelyn

And then there were 6 bedrooms......

With the exception of a few months while she was an infant, Sarah has shared a bedroom with one or both of her sisters.

Our current housing situation has 5 bedrooms. Phil and I, Allie, Sarah and Lindsay, Timothy, and Savannah. A few months ago we began tossing around the idea of moving Sarah out into the playroom. This was mostly due to the fact that Lindsay is a clutter bug and I got tired of hearing her blame her mess on Sarah. I figured if she had her own room -- there'd be no excuses.

The idea came to fruition while Allie was at camp. We moved the table from the craft area in the basement and started moving toys upstairs to Tim and Savannah's room. There was no expense involved because we had a bed frame, mattress and box spring in the garage.

The kids still have a small area to watch videos, their table and craft supplies AND Sarah has her very own room. We continue to think of ideas for a curtain/divider between the rooms.





Sarah even has a sink and huge vanity area. We are hoping to find some carpet runners for the sides of her bed, but other than that, she is delighted with her own space.



The modified playroom/rec room.

Lindsay's own space has been kept amazingly clean! The animals sleep on the bottom bed and she sleeps up on top!

She chose this rainbow light for her birthday.

Allie changes her bedroom around more than some people change their....well you know what I'm talking about. She has recently ditched the brass frame and has the box springs and mattress on the floor. Currently the head board area is tucked under her built in shelves.

Kayla gave her this very cool purple chair and I believe, the purple hanging light.

Even without the toys, Savannah loves to hang out in her sister's room!

Books and piggy tails

Lil' Miss Savannah's hair is now long enough for piggy tails. They make her cheeks look fatter, but adorable! She loves being read to and it is so cute to watch her scoot backwards and then plop in a lap to be read to.

She kept Phil entertained during swimming lessons.

New Haircut

Thanks Meg and Missi for reminding me that I never posted an after haircut picture of Allie. So here ya go:

Sometimes she straightens it, sometimes she lets it go wavy. Either way, very cute!



And a close up:

Intolerant of Church?

I read the following on a blog today:

Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck write as guest columnists today in the Newsweek/Washington Post forum on religion. Here's an excerpt:

Perhaps Christians are leaving the church because it isn't tolerant and open-minded. But perhaps the church-leavers have their own intolerance too--intolerant of tradition, intolerant of authority, intolerant of imperfection except their own. Are you open-minded enough to give the church a chance--a chance for the church to be the church, not a coffee shop, not a mall, not a variety show, not Chuck E. Cheese, not a U2 concert, not a nature walk, but a wonderfully ordinary, blood-bought, Spirit-driven church with pastors, sermons, budgets, hymns, bad carpet and worse coffee?

Summer Swim Lessons

We just finished the first session of swimming lessons through Swim America. Lessons are generally held indoors, but a pump problem necessitated 2 days in the outdoor pool. This was fine by me as 9:30 is a beautiful time to be outdoors.

I didn't get many pictures of this session, so I will add some more after 2nd session begins next week. Allie was at camp so she won't start lessons until next week.

Lindsay is in goggles nearest the pink noodle. She advanced through 2 levels this session and is hoping to complete the program in the next. Her stroke is very nice and she is getting faster.

Sarah is hitting the gong to celebrate the passing of her level. She, too, loves to swim and is now working on perfecting her dive.


Timothy and Libby kept themselves entertained by poking their fingers through the grate in search of water.