Camp Marsha

Last summer when we moved, my sister-in-law Marsha came and got our kids and took them back to Ohio for a few days while we were moving. She knows how much Elizabeth loves crafts so she had lots of fun activities planned for them. Those days were nicknamed "Camp Marsha". She had such a great time doing it, she decided to expand it to include all of the cousins who could make it this year. She had the older girls help her as "YCC's" (Youth Camp Counselors) and they were each responsible for 2 to 3 of the younger children. This is all Elizabeth has been talking about for the last month, she was so excited!

Check out this ambitious schedule! I should have taken a picture of our kids Wednesday afternoon. The three younger ones were asleep within three minutes of our leaving Camp Marsha!
Here are some photos of some of their activities: making bracelets, soap, earrings, t-shirts, flip flops, painting rocks, bonfires, and even a camp store to name a few! There definitely wasn't anytime for these kids to get bored! I loved her "clothesline" for the cups. Marsha thought of everything!

Free time was filled with hours of swimming. The YCC's even had the kids pass a swim test to determine if they needed to wear a life jacket! I know that every craft didn't turn out perfect, but the memories these kids made with their cousins will last a lifetime. Thanks, Marsha, for all of your hardwork and creativity!

Lake Michigan

We had our first trip of the season to Lake Michigan with our friends, the Kennards. Their cute little boy, Seth, now refers to Madelyn and Naomi as his girlfriends.

We have had a case of shaving cream in our garage that Aaron brought home from work because it was coded wrong (or something like that). Justin has been dying to use it. It was gone in less than five minutes.

Madelyn put her new swimming skills to good use. She loved playing in the water.

Naomi was a little nervous at first, but ended up loving the water too. She has no fear once she gets going.

Will, Bruce, Justin, and Jeremy making me nervous. I'm always hearing reports on the news about drownings at Lake Michigan. It stays shallow for quite a ways out, but I'm still the paranoid mother. The water temperature is about 65 degrees right now. I'm waiting for August when it warms up a few more degrees before I venture in. I tested the water, but it's still freezing in my book.

Swimming lessons

These three kiddos have been taking swim lessons the past two weeks at the high school.  Yesterday was their last day.  They all did great this session.  Will passed to the next level.  Bruce and Madelyn both need a little more work, but made a lot of progress.  Naomi can't wait until next summer because you have to be four to enroll them.

Dream job

Elizabeth landed her dream job!  She wasn't looking for it, but she is sure loving it.  Our neighbor asked Elizabeth if she wanted to be her assistant this summer and help her out with her cookie/cake decorating business.  We love stopping by her house to see her latest amazing projects and she even lets our kids decorate a cupcake occasionally.  She is getting so busy that she asked Elizabeth if she would like to help her a little during the summer.  Here she is on her first day of work...all smiles!

We had a great time last week with my parents visiting us from Idaho.  We went over and dropped Justin off in Ohio so that he could ride down with his uncle, grandpa, and cousin to scout camp in Florida.  My parents hadn't been to Ohio since we moved from there almost six years ago.  They really enjoyed their visit with Aaron's parents and grandparents.

Naomi hardly got off this 4-wheeler the whole time we were there.  When the battery died, she tried pushing it around!

This was the first swim of the year for our kids in the pond.  The first of many hopefully this summer.

Elizabeth and cousin Morgan

This may seem trivial, but I loved that I was able to pick strawberries with me mom.  She does things like this with my sisters in Idaho and I always feel like I miss out.  She not only picked with me, but she made most of my freezer jam this year!  

For Family Night while they were here, they shared stories from their childhood with our family.  They are so great about spending quality time with the kids when they are here.  The kids just keep my mom busy playing games the whole time and Will enjoyed watching baseball and Fox News with my dad!

Maybe there is hope!

I was in the house making dinner tonight and wondering how I'm going to survive a summer of breaking up arguments and fights. I feel like all I've been doing this week is playing referee. I looked out the kitchen window and saw this on our patio. I think I needed this today!

Florida Scout Camp

Justin is enjoying himself at Boy Scout camp this week in Florida with three of his cousins and two of his uncles.  He will be home for less than a week and then he goes to camp again with his Troop at home.  Camping in the heat and humidity of Florida doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me, but I'm sure he is having a blast hanging out with cousins he doesn't get to see very often.

Cute ballerinas!

Yesterday Madelyn and Elizabeth had their end of the year ballet recital. It was Madelyn's first ever dance recital, but you wouldn't have known it. She danced in front of a huge audience and didn't seem the least bit shy. She has loved dancing this past year.

This is Elizabeth's seventh year of dance. I love watching her dance. She dances with such poise and elegance.
Here's a picture of Elizabeth with her first ballet teacher, Miss Brittany. This is still our favorite dance studio!

Madelyn has been concerned all week about getting flowers after the recital. Aaron did not disappoint. She was thrilled to receive her little bouquet of flowers.

School's Out!

Today was the last day of school for our kids.  Bruce finished up first grade and Will finished up second grade.  I don't see a lot of change in these two from last August (Will is even wearing the same outfit!)  They have adjusted to a new school and made a lot of good friends.  I was laughing a couple of weeks ago when I went in and ate lunch with both boys.  Will was thrilled to have the girls and I there.  Bruce just wanted to sit with his friends.  Hard to believe next year Madelyn will be in this picture!

These two have changed a ton!  Elizabeth was terrified (that word may not be strong enough) to begin Middle School, being the new kid at school.  Within a matter of days, they both made friends and have had a fantastic year.  They both look so much older and have grown up so much this year.  I love who they are becoming.  They are both unique in their own way, but are just great kids.  Happy summer vacation, everyone!  

Sunburst Marathon

Day of the big race! I wasn't planning on running with anyone, but at the last minute, my friend Cheryl decided to run it (she ran a marathon 6 weeks ago so she had already been training). It was so nice to have someone to run with! I was so nervous! We couldn't have had better weather. It was a little chilly at 6 a.m., but it warmed up and was beautiful and not too hot or humid!

I had a few more who joined me near the end. Justin ran the last four miles with us. The boys wondered why we were going so slow. I assured them after 22 miles, they wouldn't want to run very fast either. The first 20 miles we did pretty well. The last six miles, I wanted to die!

Perhaps the coolest part of the race...running into the stadium. I had done a half marathon here a few years ago. I'm not a Notre Dame fan, but it's an awesome feeling to run onto that field.

Waving to my fans...Aaron and the kids and his parents. One thing I love about running races is the positive environment. Water stations are set up every mile and all of the volunteers are constantly cheering you on, as are other runners and spectators. It's great to see everyone cheering each other on - so much positive energy!

If you recall, I posted about a month ago about my feet which you can read here. As an update, my toenail has come off on my second toe and I'm sure my big toenail will fall off soon. I started wearing the Injini toe socks which has really cut down on the blisters and Vaseline has become my best friend.