InsIde oUt and uPsideE Down

Family Camp at Whispering Pines never disappoints. This is our 3rd year of church camp. Matt and I have been working with small churches (200 or less) since we were at Western, and I have to admit I love it. I'm not knocking the large church, I grew up in one, but being part of a small church body allows us (as a church family) to do things like we did this weekend. I'm thankful that my kids will have memories of being at church camp and doing all the things I got to do as a kid.

Our theme this year...fix your attention on God and you will be changed from the inside, out. Love our red shirts--they've been blue the past two years. We ladies cried foul and chose another color this year =).

Since our camp is a weekend getaway, and we only have one full day on Saturday, we try to make the most of our time there even on Friday night. Bill always organizes some spectacular event, much like the Amazing Race, but it's called The Amazing Family Challenge. We divide up into teams and do all kinds events. It's to complicated to explain, but it's so much fun.

Shannon and I talked about having a spa night with all the girls up in the camp lodge on Friday--with facials, manicures and pedicures.

All you ladies know how popular that Crackle polish has become, and we're completely addicted to it. We had all colors of polish along with crackle, nail stencils, nail pens and everything in between. We did avocado and oatmeal facials. Larie did a sugar scrub pedicure. We were in heaven =). I believe every girl at camp did something--mainly polish--but we did do lots of facials. I heard a friend comment about what a great idea it was. I'm thinking we may have to do that every year!

Elizabeth and Karson de-puffing their eyes. I believe Karson told me she ate her cucumbers when she was finished. Angela, me and Larie joined in on the pampering.

Saturday we were up and running bright and early. After breakfast, I usually do the camp crafts. This year I decided to do sun catchers. I love the way they turned out and sparkled in the window. I found that many of the boys didn't do one so maybe this isn't ideal for them (although my boys did them)?

After crafts, the day was spent in the pool...in the lake...canoeing...tubing...mudding...water ballooning...shaving creaming...showering =).

I think Miles looks like a choir director in this picture. Maybe they were singing "Wade in the Water" ?

My camera fogged up when I took the picture of Karson and Annabel--such cute girls.

Spencer and Karson snuck away in a canoe. They have become buddies this summer.

We had some interesting visitors during lunchtime. Watching Matt and Weston improv is simply entertaining. I think their names were Cletus and Rufus? I especially like Weston's giant headphones =). Crazy fellas!

After lunch, it was time for the mud pit. I totally planned on getting in this year. I took one of my nicer bathing suits last year and didn't want to mess it up in the mud. This year, I brought an old one specifically for the mud pit. I felt like I got two days of spa treatments.

Karson and Elizabeth soaking it in.

As if mud isn't messy enough, we had a shaving cream fight afterwards. I guess that's one way to get a clean smell back.

Sunday is fast and furious. We eat breakfast, clean up the camp and end with worship. After worship, we have a giant group picture and head home. FOR US...something different was in store. See the next post.

Living it UP at the Bend

I can't imagine a summer without Beech Bend. We are fortunate having such a nice amusement park right here in little ol' Bowling Green. The kids LOVE going there regardless if it's 1,000 degrees outside or not. They usually make it to 1-2 rides before begging to go to the waterpark. We usually hook up with my sister and her kids when we go--they all enjoy being together and riding the same rides. Miles doesn't mind being odd man out as he likes his routine of riding the "kiddie" rides.

I decided to take my camera yesterday and try to capture some pictures of the kids before our summer is over. Here the foursome is on the TORNADO.

I didn't manage to get ANY pictures at the waterpark mainly because our older two like to swim in the BIG pool which is simply a regular swimming pool. And Miles likes going to Tiki Island where he can go down the slides and has even mastered some of the big one's by himself. Matt has a pass and always goes with us so it makes it easy splitting up. For those of you unfamiliar with BB, the waterpark is huge--and taking pictures is next to impossible with all the commotion. The kids didn't spend as much time in the pool as I would've liked yesterday, but they wanted to ride rides after lunch. My kids have become completely NUTS over the new and "improved" haunted house. They have to ride it multiple times. While we were on that side of the park, the kids decided they wanted to go see the Kent Family Magic Show. It's the 2nd time we've seen it this summer.

Karson and Elizabeth both got to be part of two different acts. This family of entertainers from CALIFORNIA are wonderful and bring so much excitement to the park. The Kent's have seven children who all perform, quite a talented bunch.

The kids posing with Princess Olivia and Buttercup the snake. The girl in the red dress behind Elizabeth is attending school--Berea College--in Kentucky. After the show, we talked to Jugglin' Jim who is thinking about moving to Bowling Green permanently. How cool! The kids have been quoting Victor Kent all day long. There's a part in the show where he actually eats flaming torches. When he's finished, he touches his rear end and says, "I'm spicy." Then he follows it with (your parents are saying) "no, you're creepy." I've heard, "ooo, I'm spicy. No, you're creepy" all day long. After church tonight, we took the kids to Wendy's and Miles was balancing a french fry on his top lip with his hands out to the sides (like Jim) and motioning his fingers for you to clap. He then proceeded to climb up on the booth trying to balance the fry, still with hands out and fingers moving. I guess it's not that funny if you haven't seen the show, but it was cracking us up because he looked just like Jim.

Here is our Miles performing as Indiana Miles the "whip" guy. Our Miles is using a stuffed snake as his whip. I apologize for the underwear attire, but it's all he wears most days. I love in the video how he catches his snake whip in the face and recovers by wiping it on the couch. He ends with a nice spin move and bow for a spectacular performance.

I hope to snag a couple more pictures at BB before the summer ends. It's such a great place, and we've made such wonderful memories there.

Let the Good Times Roll

As our summer slowly winds down, we're still HARD at it enjoying every minute we have left. We spent almost the entire week (last week) at the pool. It was entirely TO HOT to be anywhere else. We've swam at Mamaw and Pappy Maglingers, Beech Bend, Indian Hills, and this weekend...the University Plaza Hotel. Karson's bestest friend at Plano KAYLEE celebrated her 8th birthday there. We adore Kaylee and her mom Brandy. They are some of the sweetest people we know and are very thankful for their friendship.

We got Kaylee a Monster High doll. Not sure what the appeal is with these spooky gals, but I figured Kaylee would like one. Got a text from her mom the next day saying she LOVED her doll. Karson has also gotten into the Monster High dolls lately.

All I can say about these dolls is "eeewww". I can't understand what the appeal is of a doll that looks gothic, creepy, dressed like a ghoulish/vampire/Dracula/wolf or whatever, but the are the "new" thang. Two of Karson's friends at church have brought them and wanted to play. Karson doesn't own one but wants one SO bad. Since she is a saver (when it comes to her piggy bank), I told her she could buy one with her money. Matt took her on a run to try to find the one she wants--TRU, Target, Wal-Mart--nada. Little did we know, it would turn into a wild goose chase much like the desirable Cabbage Patch doll or the Zhu Zhu pet. Apparently, the one she wants (pictured above) is impossible to find and not one of the newer dolls. SO, lucky us, when we googled it, it cost(s) WAY more money and is hard to find. I lucked out and found one on Amazon. She/WE waited and waited for it to arrive. AND, when it did, it was the wrong doll. When I talked to the customer service rep., he said it was probably pulled from the wrong area. I'm thinking...they are ALL pulled from the wrong area--these dolls are creepy. We had to take it back to the post office and return it--currently am waiting on a refund. I found another one from K-Mart. com which happened to be cheaper--yeah! I ordered it and a day later received an email saying there was an error in the processing, and I needed to call. Sheesh. I called and was told that K-Mart didn't stock it but Sear's did and they could re-order it through Sears. Okay, sure, do that. At this point, I have been charged by THREE different places for this doll. Then, I received another EMAIL from Sears stating the same thing as the Kmart email. I called yesterday and was told that the doll wasn't in stock, and I would receive a refund. NOW, I am waiting on THREE refunds and haven't told Karson because I know she would have an aneurysm. I found the doll on Mattel's website and ordered it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. That's been the small drama of the week (it's always something, right).

Isaac had a sleepover with cousin Evan on Friday night. He doesn't sleep-over with many people, usually only Pap and Nana or Meme and Pops. It was kind of a big thing for him to stay with Evan. However, my 4-year old Miles had NO problems at ALL spending the night with Samuel Garcia last Sunday night (his 1st overnight with a friend). Anyway, when I went to meet up with Paul and Isaac, I decided to take Isaac to Toys R Us and go backpack shopping. Plus, we needed some Nerf bullets for the new gun Paul had just got him from ESSEX (the best store in BG).

Here's his pick. Isaac has really gotten into Star Wars lately. He gets the DVD's at the library, along with the chapter books.

I was up in the attic the other day (melting alive) and found these. I knew they would come in handy some day. Luckily, there is TWO flat sheets. Isaac and Miles have been carrying them around the house =).
Speaking of backpacks, Karson picked hers out a few weeks ago. She wants to carry a messenger bag this year, and Justice has some of the cutest ones I've seen. Justice is the store that girls "graduate" into past Gymboree and Children's Place. I don't like all the styles in there, but there are a couple I like (that aren't TOOOO mature). We found her bag there and spent way more than I wanted to--it better hold up. And, I got her a thermal lunch box from 31. Karson picked out the garden lattice design which goes quite nicely with the bag she picked out.

Today is an extra special day because the twins celebrate their 7th birthday.

Evan asked us for a box of money--he was very serious about his request so I took it very serious. I found a box at Office Depot and had the kids paint it green, and I added some money signs and tied $19 in cash like a kite string with Mighty Beans at the end. We got Elizabeth the game Hedbandz and some Monster High stickers.



Paul and Shannon planned a day full of activities like tie dying shirts, making paper airplanes, face painting, making jewelry and hairbows and a water balloon fight. The kids had a blast.

Today was busy. Karson decided she wanted to try out for Robin Hood at PTK later that afternoon (after the party). I didn't know what to expect since Karson has never been involved in theater, aside from PTK camp which she attended for the first time this summer. I had talked to my friend Chas moments before to try and get a feel for what we should expect--her son Walker has been in many PTK performances. When we walked in, I could tell these kids came to ACT, you know what I mean. I read on the application that a resume is encouraged. A resume? We walked into to the theater and watched a couple of acts--WOW. I immediately felt scared for Karson and told her she didn't have to do it. Plus, there are lots of people, parents and kids, in the audience watching and listening. To my surprise, she said, "Mom I want to." I told her what Chas had told me, make sure she speaks LOUD and enunciates. There are many kids there for try-outs so they pair them in groups and have the kids actually do a scene from the play with scripts in hand. The kids get to practice with their partner(s) ahead of time. Karson read three different times. I was SO PROUD of her. I thought she did great. I know she has high hopes of getting one of the bigger parts, but honestly, I'm not sure if she did. Like I said, the kids there came to PLAY. They were very animated, and the age ranges were 7-18 so Karson is definitely one of the youngest. When we got in the car to leave, I told her that I was SO proud of her and that there is NO WAY I would've done that at her age--that she was very brave. Then we talked about being prepared for whatever part they assign (if any??). It makes no difference to me if she decides to pursue acting or not. The committment is HUGE--two hours a night for the entire week (minus Wednesdays). I'm not sure for how many weeks either? We'll see. I'll keep you posted =). After try-outs, we headed over to Chick Fil A afterwards to meet up with the birthday kids again for dinner with our families. A super-de-duper day all around!

Song of the South

Not sure if it's the fresh peach I just ate or the mood I'm in, but Song of the South seems to be an appropriate title for this post. This month, or summer no less, has been such a whirlwind. I think getting out of school in June has caused this feeling of "summer rush". I am NOT ready to be back in a routine at ALL, but I am starting the see the dim light at the end of the summer tunnel.

We've been making the most of July. It started with a Friday trip with all of our bestest friends to Holiday World. Would you believe that I have never been to this theme park? My children have been a couple of times, but not me. All I can say is...we will be back...most likely before the summer is over. Our kids loved every minute of it (besides the mandatory photo ops.). Here is our Holiday crew:

Here are our Holiday hooligans.

You can see how COOP-erative Miles is in every picture. Actually, Isaac is looking pretty pathetic too. Why do my kids have such a hatred for pictures? Not sure? I really don't take that many pics and rarely go to photog studios.

As long as they are goofing off, I can usually get a good photo. Stinkers!

Who ya gonna call?

The highlight on my trip was seeing the DIVE show. Very awesome! I'll spare you all the cool details, but you can imagine how neat the show was/is.

</

Oh yes, we must spend at least $10 on a miniature stuffed dolphin. A definite must.

We stayed at Holiday World until close. The kids were completely pooped and so were we. Great memories!!!

We (me, Karson and Matt) had tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville on Saturday, July 2. I could hardly wait. She has been one of my favorite artists from her beginning. Love her, love her, love her (sadly she has replaced Martina McBride as my #1 vocalist--I do still love me some Martina though). My friend Lisa whipped Karson and I up some cool tanks and head gear to wear to the show--I also scored some great guitar earrings at Claire's. Lisa also made some friends of ours some matching shirts. Trips to Louisville are never a waist for us--we have the best extended family in the world and love visiting with them. We planned to get to L-ville early Saturday, hang out with the fam most of the day, attend the concert that night and spend the night. Our plans CHANGED, sniff, sniff. Hours before the show, my friend called and told me that they had just arrived at Yum and were told the concert was cancelled. Sniff, sniff. We later found out Taylor got sick and had to cancel--doctors orders. I really wasn't sad about her getting sick, that happens to us all. The bad part is that the concert was rescheduled for a TUESDAY night in October. Ugh. Our plans are still up the air about the postponement??? I would prefer to see her in concert at Bridgestone in Nashville which is way closer and falls on a weekend in September. However, I need to recover the cost of my L-ville tickets first. Ugh again. I know we'll see her soon either way!

The photo above is on July 4 which literally was a BANG. We went over to Colvin and Debbie's for dinner. Matt's brothers had purchased some of the grand-daddy fireworks. Now that all fireworks are legal in Kentucky (you don't have to cross the Tennessee border to purchase), it was like a fireworks extravaganza on every street in our neighborhood. There was no shortage on a good show. I was looking forward to our "show". Ben lit the first one and poof, it was beautiful, silver, sparkled in the sky--awesome. Seth lit the second one and unbeknowst to him put the firework in upside down. Poof, it came out the side of the tube, on the ground, green, glittery and smoking. Needless to say, we only saw two fireworks in our show =(. The tube was busted and Seth was needled the rest of the night. Poor guy.

One of the things I love about July is picking wild blackberries. They are worth the sweat, the needle pricks, the chiggers you may acquire, all of it for a cobbler or simply to munch on. If you wait to late, you'll miss picking. I always use July 4 as my mark and raid the fields around the Deaton farm.

Karson is fortunate being around her grandparents so much. I love it when she comes home talking about helping Pap Colvin in the garden. We also love the yield we get to enjoy like green beans, squash, cucumbers and peppers.

There is also a great fruit/vegetable stand close to our house where we like to stop and get watermelons and fresh peaches. Summer is delicious. I guess that's an appropriate end to this Song of the South post--now I'll shut my mouth =).