Make new friends, but keep the old

This past week my best friend from high school, Jessica, and her mom got to come visit kamp. It was so fun to show them around and for them to see where we spend a lot of our lives (at least 1/4 of each year). I have known Jessica since 8th grade and I won't say I'm great at keeping up with high school friends, but she is one who I know will always be a part of my life. Up until now the only time I see old friends is when we are in St. Louis for a visit. So, it was really exciting for me to be able to show her a little of what our "world" looks like. Most people who have never seen Kanakuk for themselves are a little surprised at how big it is, how many activities there are and how many kids come through the gates each week. It was a quick visit, but so enjoyable! I never know for sure when I'll get to see Jess, so I was very thankful she and her mom took the extra time to drop by. Thanks, Jess!

A Backyard Zoo

I went for a run last week one morning before the kids woke up. As I ran through K7 and our neighboring kamp, K-west, and even up the hill into K2, I could hear the lovely cock-a-doodle-dooing of our rooster. I was wondering how many other people were being awakened by the same sound. You many be wondering why we would have a rooster...good question. The rooster is just the beginning, though, of our newest addition to K7: the petting zoo! Yep, we have goats, bunnies, ducklings, chickens, a lamb, pigs, and a turkey. It is right behind our cabin and has provided lots of entertainment so far. Mylee and Isaac have love it, along with all the staff and kampers. Mylee had been hoping for a pink pig with a curly tail and her wish came true. She named him Curly. Isaac was always excited about animals until he got close, but he has gotten a lot braver and walks around in the pen and pets them now. The most amusing thing has probably been the goat that jumps over the fence. We'll walk back to go look at the animals and the goat will just be walking around down by the office eating leaves off trees. If you tell him to "go home" and kind of follow him over to the pen, he jumps back in...until he gets bored. Mylee likes to get him back in when he comes out. The petting zoo has definitely been a big hit, and if we can have pets during the summer and not at our house, that is great with me!

Oh-and after a few mornings of the rooster waking up kampers really early, he went to live somewhere else :)

Here are some pictures of the zoo!

Cowboy boots....and tie dye!

During Staff Training Week at K7 we have a theme for each day and everyone is encouraged to dress according to the theme. Two of my favorite days this year were the country western day and 80s day (who doesn't love a good side ponytail?) At the end of the western day we had a western hoe down complete with a cookout, line dancing and lots of boots. Mylee got very much into the theme days this year so when she got to bust our her pink cowgirl boots, she was thrilled. I don't know if the rest of her outfit qualified as "country" but she picked it out and who's to argue with a 3 year old about country attire? She seems to have become quite the performer and didn't shy away at all from going up on stage and dancing with the best of them.

A couple of days later was 80s day and most people went all out for this one. The day was topped off with a roller skating party and Mylee had her first experience on skates. She looked great in her tie dye shirt! The evening was going to be a little late for Isaac so he and I and our dear friends Jenni, Zoey and Ruby stayed behind and went and got ice cream instead. Not much beats 2 little ones with ice cream cones!

Mylee and Lauren getting ready to go...watch out skate world!

Isaac and Zoey working on their cones

Ice cream is the best!

Congratulations, Brian!

My sister's husband, Brian, graduated from Southwest Baptist University a couple of weeks ago. I made the day trip to Bolivar and felt a little old as I counted the number of years ago it was that I graduated from SBU. It was fun to go back and find a favorite teacher, see a friend unexpectedly, and be with family for the day. Congraulations, Brian on a great achievement!

A Hair Raising Experience!

Before kamp started, we took one last trip to St. Louis. It has become a traidition to go visit all the grandparents before we disappear for the summer...and celebrate a couple of birthdays, Mothers Day, get to a Cardinal game and anything else we can cram into one weekend. This year Chad stayed at his parent's for a day to help with the building of a new patio (which turned out great!) and the kids and I went to Mimi and Papa's (my parents) for the day. We ended up taking the kids to the Magic House in Kirkwood and it was awesome!

I lived about 15 minutes from this place all growing up and never went. It was probably the coolest kids place I have been to (besides Disney World, of course). There were 3 HUGE floors of all kinds of rooms to explore....bubbles, sight, sound, pulleys, magnets, smell, wheels, machines, and anything relating to science you could imagine for a kid. The most popular item at the Magic House is a ball that you put your hand on and you get an electric charge (painless) and it makes your hair stand straight up. It was definitely Mylee's highlight. There was a whole section for younger kiddos and had a 2 story house with kid-sized furnishings, a store with real containers and cash registers, a fishing pond, post office, fire station, etc. We had to drag Mylee and Isaac out to go get some dinner. It's always a good thing when they leave asking to come back real soon!

Roadtrip to Nashville

What could be more fun than 20+ hours in the car with two toddlers? It actually wasn't that bad. This past weekend we headed for Nashville, TN to see some great friends and run in the Rock n' Roll Country Music Marathon. We broke up the trip by stopping in St. Louis on the way there and back which helped a ton!! It was great to see Doug and Courtney, some of our long time friends and their two girls. Our kids had a lot of fun playing together and Chad and I both finished the 1/2 marathon (although Chad's finish was at a lot better pace than mine!). As far as the race, we weren't quite prepared for the heat and hills of Nashville, but the atmosphere was unbelievable with over 30,000 runners there. We had a brief delay leaving the race as our van was blocked in the parking lot with no way out. So, after an hour and a half and getting caught looking in an unlocked car for a spare key we were able to get out and headed back to our kiddos. It was definitely a memorable weekend of friends, fun, and family. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

The bounce house was fun!!

Isaac enjoying a popscicle

Amelia and Mylee with their popscicles

Chad and I pre race (and pre sunrise)

Catch up

Well, once again I have let too much time go by without updating our blog and now there are about 15 things I could write about. So....since I probably won't sit here long enough to tell you about the 15 things that have happened and you wouldn't have time to read that much, I'm going to try and abbreviate as many of the events that have occurred in our family in the last couple of months.

The Blessing Bank

There are so many times as parents that Chad and I wonder if we are doing anything right and if our kids are taking to heart any of the values we desire to teach them. We had a sweet moment with Mylee a few weeks ago during a "family night". Her favorite thing is for us to create a scavenger hunt for her so we were in the midst of one and she got a clue that led her to find a blessing bank. The blessing bank was created by one of our dear friend's sister-in-law and the purpose is to teach your kids how to give a portion of money they may recieve towards tithing or giving to others. We explained to Mylee that our friend who had given us this bank is going to Africa to help people and tell them about Jesus this summer. She immediately went to her wallet (which held $5 she had been saving for a toy she wanted) and said she wanted to give all of it to our friend to take to Africa. I told her she could just give her "church" money from her allowance, but she insisted on giving all of her spending money as well. Chad and I sat there with tears in our eyes as we were once again taught by our daughter. How often have I given everything I have to help someone in need? I probably haven't modeled that very often, so I was also reminded that her generosity had nothing to do with anything I had or hadn't done as a parent...it was just a pure loving little heart with the ability to understood at 3 years old that people are more important than things. Little does she know how her blessing bank has blessed us.

Sibling Fun

We are a year and a half into having two kids and it has been fun to watch the transitions and growth in their relationship with each other. Isaac has always adored Mylee. He wants to be wherever she is doing whatever she is doing. I know that can be annoying at times for Mylee, but she tolerates it pretty well. The greatest moments to watch, though, are when they engage each other and really want to be playing together or snuggling on the couch. Mylee's latest goal is to pick him up. She tries with all she's got, but still hasn't managed to really get him off the ground. She doesn't have a whole lot of a weight advantage on him....it wouldn't suprise me if he is the one picking her up before too long. We think the video does a much better job describing it!

Mylee's First Soccer Team

We are in the middle of the "biddy" soccer season and I think Mylee would tell you that she doesn't like soccer at this point. To quote her exactly, "I don't like soccer. It's too much work and it makes my legs hurt!" But, it is still fun and funny to watch. She is on a team with several of her little buddies and just to experience what a team is for the first time is good for her. Our family rule is that you don't have to start a sport or activity, but if you do, you have to finish it. So, we will finish out the 3 game season and see if she gets a new outlook on the sport by next spring :) Chad said from the start that the girls would be out there talking and holding hands and sure enough, the first practice they were playing ring around the rosies and giving each other hugs. I guess when you're 3, those are the things that make it fun.

Happy Easter!

We have stayed in Branson the past couple of years for Easter, but this year made the trip home to the St.Louis area to visit the grandparents. My parent's house is pretty calm with Mylee and Isaac being the only grandchildren. We had a little easter egg hunt and they each got a basket on Easter morning. Then, we went to Chad's parents house where there are 10 grandkids and a lot more going on! There was another Easter egg hunt, a huge dinner, and even a hunt for the adults :) We no that no matter how we celebrate the holiday (with 2 kids or 10) we are eternally blessed for the reason we celebrate. Jesus is alive and He defeated death and for some reason finds pleasure in extending His grace to us. We are thankful!

Isaac sporting his new Cardinal hat and shades

Mylee and Papa having a peep...Papa's favorite!

Mylee and Aunt Sarah dyeing Easter eggs

Our family...Happy Easter!