One Step Closer

Today we did something very important! We took Elle shopping for her school supplies. I think I had more fun than anyone! Really though, the supply list was very simple and specific and didn't leave much room for personality so I'm already looking forward to the time when the girls can buy more of their taste....I'm sure they will love being high schoolers and their mom is tagging along and telling them all the fun things to get. Anyway, we started at Target but it was just too confusing, spread out, and kept not finding what we needed. So we headed to the trusty ol' Walmart to get everything. We spent about $35 on all the supplies and then another $14 on a lunch bag and bottle. I felt like that was quite reasonable! We also won't have to buy her too many clothes at least until it gets cool so we can start preparing for that now. We are all getting so excited as the day approaches which will be August 24th!

Twin Bed

It's official...for the first time in over 5 years, there is not crib set up in my house. My heart is breaking just so ya know. Yes, I am thrilled to see my baby becoming more independent and this is also a step towards full potty training at night, but it breaks my heart that I don't have a baby in this house!!! It's just so bittersweet, but I think that word can pretty much sum up parenthood and motherhood specifically. Shawn didn't really care either way, but to me it made me a little sad. Anyway, we decided to buy a nice mattress, give it to Elle, give Ava the old, not-as-great mattress and wait on the box springs and frame. It was affordable that way, plus we can get the box springs and frame on Craigslist for way cheaper, eventually. Anyway, Ava has been in it since Saturday and has done marvelous! I think camp helped her get used to the idea since she slept on a sofa. Anyway, she hasn't gotten out of bed once and only cried once on the first night for just a minute. It's so nice to be able to snuggle with her now when we put her in bed. I also have found that since it's on the ground, her and Elle have made that mattress prime real estate when playing in Ava's room. It was a smooth transition and for that I'm thankful!Bye Bye crib!

Ooh, this is kind of nice...different, but nice.

I think I can get used to this :)

The Tabernacle

We heard that one of the churches of Christ in San Marcos, was doing a VBS about the Tabernacle, this week. They had replicas of the things that were in the Tabernacle as well as a small scale building. We thought it would be neat to go and let the girls see it. We were just as excited as them! I love hands on learning--it makes things so much easier to understand when you can see what is being described. It didn't dissapoint! What a neat experience. The girls loved going. Elle now knows what the showbread, the Ark of the Covenant, the lampstand, and many more things are. Elle and Ava with the High Priest

They all look so cute!

The lamp stand

Elle holding the sign for her class

As an added bonus, while we were there we got to see Shawn's uncle Cliff and his cousin Carla. They are truly some of the nicest people I know. We went over to Cliff's house after VBS to get a few peaches since he has an orchard (Caskey Orchards). The girls were SO excited to get peaches. They each ate one right on the spot, all the way down to the pit. They both wanted a second, but we said no, that they could have one the next morning. Guess what the first words out of Ava's mouth were the next morning?...."Peaches?"

Underwater Swimmer

Elle has had 6 swim lessons at this point and has 2 more to go. She is doing so good. She got a difference teacher on Monday and since then has made a lot more improvements. This newer teacher is a little bit older and seems to really know how to interact with the kids. Yesterday after Elle's lesson, she came and got in the baby pool to play a little bit until it was time to head home. She decided she was just going to do it and she held her nose and put her whole body under the water and started kicking her legs and moving her arm....SWIMMING!!! I was so so so proud of her! It sort of came out of nowhere, but that has always been how it is. When they are ready they'll do new things...but only on THEIR time!

Ava was cheering her on...what a sweet sissy.

Salado

We headed to Salado yesterday afternoon to check out this town we've heard so much about. It is the neatest little town! There are all kinds of girly stores with antiques and dodads and all that kind of stuff! We didn't get to go in any because they all close around 5 which is weird...I'm guessing Salado is really busy on Saturday during the day?? Anyway, we found this little burger place to eat, then had icecream and then headed down to the river. It was a spring-fed type of stream so the water was crystal clear and cool. We took a net and a container and spent the next hour or so trying to catch minnows, just because. We all had such a great time doing such a simple thing. There was hardly anyone else around which made us feel like we were off in the woods somewhere. We definitely feel like we've found a little treasure in that area and we will for sure be headed back there more often. It's only about a 25 minute drive so it's perfect! I told Shawn that I wanted to go there for an anniversary one time because there are a ton of B&B's and everything looks a lot like a little cottage...just my style!

This is why I have the best husband! He has no problem catching minnows in a pink Barbie net!

Swim Lessons and Crochet Lessons

Elle started swim lessons on Tuesday. She has 8 lessons to go through altogether. My goal for this is just to get her more comfortable in the water. She loves being in the baby pool but she doesn't have the desire to try to big pool. I also figured that these lessons would be a good indication of how the first of the school year would go since she'd have to trust a total stranger. Well, she has exceeded my expectations!!! She is doing great in the class. There are 2 other kids in her class and she's already become good friends with the little girl. She also loves her teacher. Unfortunately, for today and tomorrow, she has a boy teacher. I thought it would really throw her off to have a shirtless, tattooed guy teaching her to swim, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. One little funny thing I've noticed about her is that she yawns throughout the entire 30 minute class. I'm guessing it's just a nervous thing, since she doesn't do it before or after the class. I'm sure they think I'm not letting her get enough sleep. Anyway, that's another big hurdle to jump that she's done with ease!

I took my eyes off of Elle for a second to make sure Ava was doing okay, and this is what I saw. She was peeking through the hole in the drain cover with forehead stuck to the ground...too cute!

Second, Monday night was Ladies Night at church so we all get together and learn a new craft from one of the ladies. Monday was crochet. I have tried learning it before, but unfortunately my mom had a hard time teaching me and I had a hard time learning since she's left handed. But, Monday, after some almost tears, almost bad words, and almost giving up, I got the hang of it! It's not perfect but you can tell a big difference between my first try, on the right, and my second try, on the left! YIPPIE!

I have arrived

I have officially made it onto the Cakewrecks Blog. I sent in this picture quite a while back and while I was at camp, it was put on the blog!!!! AWESOME!!!!
Check it out....just scroll down a few cakes and you can't miss mine!
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/does-this-cake-make-me-look-fat.html
If you are easily offended...don't look at the cakes after mine...some are pretty ewwish.

The Camp Experience

Right now Elle is singing "Thank you Lord for loving me." It reminds me of what a blessing it is to be able to take our girls to camp way before they can actually be campers. Yes, it was hard to have my kids by my side 24/7 with no privacy at camp, but the stuff they gain from being outdoors, no technology to disturb, and getting to be around other kids with like mind, made it all well worth the lack of privacy! This was another wonderful year at camp. Our class was wonderful this year, but it always is. We had 13 HS girls and 6 HS boys. It was actually a really good ratio. Usually there are equal amounts of boys and girls but our guys cabin had around 6 cancellations at the last minute. We taught from the book of Ephesians and man it was a great book to go from! So much great stuff to learn! In personal news, I turned 31 while at camp. Shawn took me up to our cabin on my birthday and had a cake and milk for us. He sang happy birthday to me and then we did some cleaning and adding to the cabin to start making it feel more like home sweet home. Earlier in the week Shawn and our friend Dustin painted the ceiling and walls in the kitchen/living room and that was no small feat...the ceiling is REALLY high and just getting the ladder ready is a huge task in and of itself. But, it was all worth it because the cabin is starting to look so so so good!!! It makes me really excited for our first trip there! Here are a few pictures from our time at camp....I took over 700 pictures, many of which are on my facebook page, but it just takes too much time to upload many pictures on here, so I'll just show some of my favorites. Enjoy!
This was in Las Vegas, NM the night before camps starts. We always stay in a hotel there and then on Sunday drive the 30 minutes to get into camp. This fireworks display was such a treat for us Texans who have been under a burn ban for YEARS during the 4th of July. We happened to see if from our hotel and decided to find it! The city of Las Vegas was putting on a huge display! What a way to start camp with a bang!

The nightly ritual...FARKLE! On this night we squeezed 12 people into this game. These are some of the best memories!

We took the girls on a short hike to mini falls. They absolutely loved it! The water was freezing!!! They were really dissappointed that we didn't come across a bear...Shawn and I were not.

4th Session Teachers 2009

On top of that pole, a person is perched. They are about to stand up and jump towards a trapeze. This is about to be a new element on the ropes course. It was too much for even me! Shawn did it though and made it look easy!

Here's the precampers putting on a little play dealing with the verses that talk about the whole armor of God. True to form Elle said her lines perfectly while Ava picked her nose and then ran off stage to give Shawn a hug in the middle of everything. He told me later that she wanted to give me a hug too, but that he made her go back with the other precampers.

Here is our class....so well behaved looking....don't let them fool you! :)

Closing campfire...always so bittersweet. I was ready to be back in my comfortable home, but didn't want to leave! Shawn preached for closing campfire.

CBH take 7

We are headed to Camp Blue Haven in the morning to do our 7th tour of duty! We are so so so ready and excited to breathe in that fresh mountain air, sing those uplifting songs, become closer to God, and be in a safe little bubble with our brothers and sisters in Christ! Our girls are just about as excited for this as I get for Christmas! They are more than ready. I keep getting "Is it tomorrow now?" That's a hard one to explain. Pray for our safe travels with all the crazies on the roads. We will be back on the 17th!