family camp: july 4-6

We celebrated the fourth of July with a little parade for all of the kids at camp. :)

Walking in the parade—popping wheelies.

Friends Leah, Sophie, and Jessica

The three of us on the fourth.

At 10 that night, we headed down to the beach to see fireworks across the lake. The perimeter of the lake is all lit up with flares.

Watching the fireworks.

Nolan was the first to wake up in our cabin most mornings.

The whole family on the last night of camp.

Stacking crackers at the banquet dinner.

With so much going on, Nolan had trouble sitting more than five minutes to eat at every meal. We found a Max & Ruby book at the dining hall, and I can’t tell you how many times Steve read it over the week.

Favorite!

Dana became all of the kids’ best friend when she passed out her glow stick bracelets :) Not sure what Steve is gesturing here.

I bid on this s’mores bucket in an auction to raise money to help build wells in Congo. We enjoyed a small campfire on the last night to eat the s’mores. The Reese’s one I ate was delicious.

with Grandma Alice

Uncle Josh was fun (& helpful) to have around all week!

Saying bye last Saturday.

We stopped by this restaurant on our way home to meet up with my friend (and former camper) Ellie! We liked the seagulls all lined up on the roof.

So good to see this girl!

I will be honest that it was difficult chasing an under-2-year-old around at family camp. I had made a list of ideas of things to do while we were there—and some didn’t happen. I spent most of the afternoons in the cabin for nap time, so I missed out on a lot of activities. I didn’t see Steve’s winning shot when he and his brothers won the basketball tournament. There were some great moms there that I wanted to get to know better. And it would have been nice to lounge on an Adirondack chair on the beach with a good book.

But I am so happy that Nolan got to spend a week with us in such a special place! He really enjoyed all of the time outside playing. He loved being with his cousins. And I hope in the future, it can be a place full of memories and spiritual growth for him. :)

family camp: july 1-3

I posted the beach photos the other day, and here are the rest of our photos from the first half of our week at family camp.

My newest favorite picture? Aww.

Waiting for chapel to begin one day, we had a visit from an English prince.

Which could only lead to my husband running in with a Scottish kilt as William Wallace. I was thrilled that the guy on the right captured it all on video. It’s on the camp’s slideshow/video for the week, and I’m going to have to get my hands on it. 

Anyways, this signified that we were going to play Braveheart (our camp’s version of capture the flag) that morning.

Remember Braveheart Halloween baby?

Faces painted, and ready to win. (All of Steve’s brothers are in this photo—Josh on the far left, Phil next to him, Dave in the GIVE shirt, and then Steve).

Nolan decided it would be fun to pull up some of the cones separating the English side from the Scottish side. How symbolic, right?

I spy Nolan in the crowd.

Steve in search of the English medallion.

What the littlest kids would rather be doing.

And the Scottish side wins!

Cutest photo of Nolan and his cousins.

My sister-in-law Dana and I escaped nap time in the cabin to tie-dye some tee shirts at the Arts and Crafts pavilion. I was Arts and Crafts director one summer, so it brought back memories :)

Tie-dyeing with some fun ladies.

We took a little trip down the road for some ice cream. Perry’s is the best! Nolan tried some of Mommy & Daddy’s favorite flavor, Piece of Cake.

That night at camp, we watched a huge black tower of smoke appear just a couple blocks away. Sadly, a bad fire had completely destroyed one of the vacation homes on the lake. There was a large group of boats gathered in the water to watch.

Camp is known for its all-red cabins.

Blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes. Not sure what Nolan is chewing on here.

Chapel, built in 2007-8, while we were on staff.

The dining hall.

Taking a break from all of our guys for a ladies’ lunch.

Little piano man.

Second half of the week to follow soon!

22 months

I’m still not ready to admit that Nolan is almost two. I told Steve that we can’t round up—when asked, we either have to say 22 months, or “He’ll be two in September”  :)

He is saying more and more words:  his new ones are—stuck, papa, two, tickle, book, George (as in Curious), teeth, boat, bath, baby, corn, blueberry, Kiki (Kathleen), train.

When he looks at a book or a paper with words on it, he pretends to read it himself, and he says “toy toy toy toy”.
When he sees letters, he reads every one as “i”.
Similarly, when he counts, it’s “two two two”.

He never stops moving, discovering, learning.
He barely even takes a break to eat anything.
And although we seem to be getting a few more tantrums,
he is still the sweetest and happiest little guy.

I’ve never seen him make this face before, but it’s cute!

family camp: beach day

We got home last night from a week at family camp with Steve’s family. The camp is where Steve and I both worked for many summers, and where we fell in love. I have too many photos for one post—so I’m dividing them up. These photos are from our time at the beach last Wednesday afternoon. My brother-in-law Josh took almost all of these.


Heading down to the lake with Grandma.

Nolan’s first time in a lake!

He was really enjoying it, but then all of a sudden, he decided that it wasn’t for him.

Mommy gave him a kiss, and he asked to go back in the water. . .

. . . Again, he wasn’t happy.

We decided it was time to just play in the sand.


Nolan’s almost-three-year-old cousin.

Nolan with his 18-month-old cousin—it was really fun to see them all interact on the beach.

Mamas standing guard.

Nolan played in the sand at least once every day we were at camp, at either the beach or the giant sandbox camp has near some of the cabins. We’re probably going to have to get him his own sandbox soon :)