June: Adventure Camp 2008

ADVENTURE CAMP 2007

Last years camp was so awesome we decided to do it again and again and again. :) We hosted three camps this year M-F, 9-12. It was soooooo much work and sooooooooo much fun. I was exhausted, exhilarated and totally amazed by what we accomplished in those three weeks! A special thanks to Krista who cut and prepped many projects for us by night!

WEEK ONE: A SUMMER CELEBRATION!

This was everyone's favorite camp. It was designed to be a fun, character building camp to celebrate the end of school and the start of summer.

This camp is all about....

....crafts...

...games...

...and being a super star!

It came complete with pirates.

And a mascot.

"FISH BAIT!"

Everyone loved finding treasure

and going for the gold!

We are all winners.

WEEK TWO: TIME TRAVELING

This week we traveled in time to discover how people lived in the past and the major developments that changed and/or improved the way we live. This was the most educational and intensive week of crafts. We tried basket weaving, making clay pots, dipping candles, making soap, bread & butter and ice-cream and a million more things. WOW. I was so busy I unfortunately didn't take alot of pics but here's a few:

We made button flowers for our potted plants when we talked about gardening.

Here's the crazy castle cake that I thought flopped, but the kids flipped over none-the-less.

WEEK THREE: YOU ARE SENSATIONAL.

This week covered the obvious theme of the five senses. I think some hit activities were painting our hands, rolling our eyes (ping pong balls) through an obstacle course; making rice dance to "see" sound waves and making face vases. We celebrated the final day of camp with the big water slide/pool of Krista's. Yahoo....We made it despite the ear infections, pink eye and tired nights. We made it and it really was sensational, if I do say so myself. :)

We made dog ears for hearing and completed it with noses for smelling. You can tell I let Elise, Nathan and Allison decide on some of the activities and catered to their interests. It is after all, THEIR Adventure Camp.

The three dogskateers: Logan, Nathan and Jordan.

By now you are wondering what Aimee was up to during camp, right? She wandered about and joined in every once in awhile but was really left to feed herself, entertain herself and sleep...

Okay, Aimee....help yourself. :)

Finally, a little peace and quiet!

May Madness...

Krista hosted a block party for Memorial Day. We put her pool in our yard and the kids had a blast (in between the thunderstorms). I can't tell you just how much we love where we live!

MAY 16th: Elise's Dance Recital. Elise seemed so grown up to me on this day and it's not just the fact that she had to put on make-up for the first time! I lost her ballet shoes at the last minute and while I was starting to go crazy, she accepted it and said, "that's okay, I'll just wear my old ones." I could have cried because she is so understanding and her old ones were too small. But oh well. She also didn't mind that I forgot her flowers. She was just happy to perform and she was breath taking!!! She was beautiful to me in more ways than one. I can't believe what a great little girl I have.

I love this next picture of Elise just "horsin' " around.
She's as in love with horses as she is dancing and spent the afternoon being
a cow girl riding one of those cheapy little horse on stick things. I love it.

End of April... We got to have the Nixon boys (Spencer and Jordan) stay a few nights (Nathan was squealing with excitement) so Krista and I decided to take everyone to the science museum. Krista deserves a lot of props because most the activities we do are made possible by Krista!! She was the unsung hero at my camp, she's the second mother to my kids and the best neighbor in the world. She even put stepping stones in between our houses so we wouldn't get muddy during our daily treks between houses during the rainy season. I'm not including any captions of this day, but it was so fun for everyone. After the museum we went back to my house for games, crafts and a fire to roast dogs and s'mores. You can almost taste summer coming!

Aimee's Birthday (April 17)

Happy Birthday Aimee!!!!!Turning one is such a treat -

First, Miss Krista makes these yummy birthday breakfast muffins.

Then you get to dig into some sugary cake.

Everyone's happy when you get all messy.

You get to top it off by taking a birthday bath with new toys.

Then, you get presents. WOW!!!

It's fun to turn one!

Aimee isn't just growing up, she's going up! She just recently started free standing and walking is surely just around the corner. It's still surprising to see her standing in the middle of a room and knowing she got up all by herself. We start clapping and then she starts clapping and then she drops down to crawl over for some more attention. She is 29 inches and weighs 19.5 pounds which puts her right at about average, a first for us. What a big girl, we love her so much.

April Activities

Elise has her dance recital in May, but they took class pictures in April. Here she is, our prima ballerina, at the end of the year. She has learned so much and shows real talent in dancing. It's her passion and everyone comments on her skill. Her leaps are high and beautiful and I am so proud to watch her dance, wow! I wish you could all be there to see her.

On a less graceful note and with a more adventurous spirit, we took a family bike ride down to Elise's school to watch some model airplanes flying. Note Elise's beautiful ballet smile and her not so happy bike riding scowl. :) She actually loves riding her bike, she was just upset that her bike doesn't have a basket like Allison's. It was a great ride regardless.

One day of spring break, we drove to the beach.

Ponce Inlet is one of my favorite spots because of the picturesque lighthouse.

This is one of Aimee's first taste of the beach (literally) where she was able to explore.

She really liked it!

The girls played in the sand.

The boys played in the water.

Even Aimee tried a little water action.

It's all fun and games until a wave washes over you.

This is why we love Florida!!!

There's a never ending amount of things to do. I had the busiest Saturday last week that ended with the ward "Cars" party. I laughed because it was the weekend after General Conference where we were encouraged to simplify our lives and enjoy some quality family time. Oh well, in between the comings and goings, we managed to make some box cars and went to the party.

I laughed because we just barely managed to make our little cars at the last minute, but look at what some other people made!!! It was a real car show.

There was some drag racing.

There were trophies.

And of course, the drive in movie: CARS.

We may not have simplified, but we certainly made some memories!