ACU Camps 2015

We continued our tradition of going to ACU camp. This year Kaylee was in Mpulse and Campbell in Learning to Lead. This is always such a fun week for them. They love living in the dorms, eating in The Bean, and just experiencing Jesus with friends. I enjoy watching the videos on Friday at the closing ceremonies each year that show the highlights of their week. Thank you ACU for continuing to make my girls love you more each year. Praying for two future Wildcats here!

 Campbell with her roommate SJ

 Kaylee & Maddie

 Last Day of Camp before heading back across town to our home.

Kaylee, Maddie, Ali, & Campbell

SH Church Camp 2015

Well, once again I had the pleasure of accompanying my daughters to church camp. This year I got to be one of the leaders in the 5th grade girls' cabin so I had a little more free time. Since this was Campbell's first year I got to enjoy both my girls being there and living life to the fullest. 

The camp was beautiful and had a lot of fun things for the kids to do. 

Our day started with breakfast and a devotional, then we broke into discussion groups, had a little free time, lunch, free time, all sports competition with teams, a little discussion time, dinner, devotional, discussion time, and a little theme night fun.

(Kaylee, Samantha, Chloe, Abby)

 The Prom theme night (Goodwill came through on some dresses that could be ruined.)

 (Campbell, Lilly, & Gracie)

 (One of my dearest friends Sherry and her son)

 If you have never done a paint war in prom attire you should, the kids had so much fun and I dare say the adults who participated did too.

 The most awesome middle school youth minister EVER!

 Kaylee after the war, yes this dress was black.

 Campbell and Reagan who opted to change into something more comfortable for the paint war.

 A little kayak fun during lake time.

 Some paddle boat fun too.

 Me and my girls at the end of the week

A group photo after the paint war

The three of us had so much fun spending the week together and growing closer to God as well as our friends. The theme this year was Prisoner: be set free. I feel like the message was for us to break free from the things holding us back and know that God takes us as we are and loves us fully. I cannot wait for next year!

Campbell's 10th Birthday

 When Campbell got home from camp we quickly celebrated her 10th Birthday before it was time to head to another camp. She decided that she wanted to have a slumber party so we go this sweet, crazy crew together and had a blast. We ate Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, bowled and played games at Primetime, ate cake (which for some reason I have no picture of), and played games till they all fell asleep. All the girls were so good and were actually asleep by 2:00am which I thought was pretty reasonable after all the sugar they had tonight.

 They all walked away with several treats from Primetime!

 We also celebrated some more with my parents. I do not remember where it all started but for some reason Campbell started calling my dad "Steve" so he decided to call her "Margaret." Thus the name on the cake. I love that they have such a fun relationship and special bond with each other.

I cannot believe that my baby is 10 even after celebrating her twice.

Campbell is such a joy to our family and we love her with all our hearts!

 Here are 10 special things about her right now.

1. She loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor.

2. She loves animals. Thank goodness other than the one dog we have she will settle for stuffed animals or we would have our own petting zoo.

3. She loves her family and her friends with all of her heart.

4. She always has fun where ever she is with whatever she is doing.

5. She loves tennis and volleyball! Well she loves her tennis coach Sean and her team for volleyball. It is all about the people with her.

6. She loves to read, especially if it is a book about animals.

7. She still loves to play with her American Girl dolls and that makes me so happy because it reminds me she is still my little girl.

8. She loves to give hugs and just have cuddle time.

9. She is still a Momma's girl, which I love.

10. She is an encourager to others and loves everything about being in the Middle School youth group at church and learning more about Jesus.

Dallas Weekend

Once we picked the girls up from Pine Cove we decided to have a fun weekend in Dallas since we already had Rangers tickets for Sunday night and it was the weekend before Campbell's birthday.

Our first stop on Saturday after checking into the hotel was to go to the Dallas World Aquarium. I love this place! There is so much to see and experience.

I think we could have stood and watched the penguins all day. What is it about penguins that is so fascinating? They basically waddle, eat, and swim but it gets my attention every time.

After the aquarium we did a little shopping, you cannot go to Dallas and not shop can you? I think it is against the law or something.

On Sunday we went to eat breakfast then made our way to the Perot Museum. I have been hearing about how great it is for years so we were very excited to finally get an opportunity to go.

The teacher in me loved all of the hands on experimenting that the children get to do when they are there. My girls especially liked the robot area and the music room.

 On Sunday night we made our way to the Rangers game and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable ones we have been to as far as the temperature goes. 

We had such a fun time cheering them on to a victory!

After the game was over we headed back home so that we could all sleep in our own beds and we could give Campbell her birthday present which was a completely re-done room for our big 10 year old. I will post pictures of that later.

Happy soon to be 10th Birthday Campbell Grace!

Pine Cove

In case you were wondering what two girls look like at 7:00am in the summer before heading to Pine Cove for camp this is it. Do you see the sleepy eyes?

This picture was taken several hours later when we stopped for lunch near our destination.

Two of my girls' best friends who also happen to be sisters have been going to Pine Cove for a few years and wanted my girls to join them in the fun so we paid our dues and packed our bags. The packing of the trunk could be a whole other post since there are multiple outfits used in a day along with theme night gear. It is quite the challenge to get it all ready and took this mom a few weeks just to get it all gathered up. The things we do for our kids and also for a week of no arguing. LOL! 

Campbell and her best friend were in the Towers while Kaylee and her best friend were in the Timbers. Yet another plus that they both got a break from each other.

Kaylee & Maddie

John and Cary (aka the Dads) had to get in on the fun too.

Within minutes of getting the little girls settled in their cabin they had already gotten on their swimsuits, taken their swim test, and were enjoying a snack.

One of the theme nights was neon, can you tell?

One theme night for Kaylee was came, it was her favorite!

It was a long week without my girls but I managed to keep busy redecorating Campbell's room for her 10th Birthday surprise. (More on that in a later post.) As you can see from the pictures I have posted they both had an absolute blast and cannot wait for next year. This Mom was so happy to get hugs and hear all about their week the whole way to Dallas for our next adventure. Thank you to the staff at Pine Cove for giving my girls such an incredible week and enriching their relationship with our Lord. We all cannot wait for next year!

Lake Granbury Fun

A few times a year we are honored to get to spend a weekend at a lake house owned by the parents of some of our dearest friends. Our whole family always looks forward to it and so many wonderful memories are made there.

 Kaylee and Cooper are best buds, he is the little brother she has always wanted.

 Campbell and Addie pair up like two peas in a pod and she is the little sister Campbell has never wanted but loves like family.

 We had such a great time on Lake Granbury. All the kids enjoyed tubing, swimming, and just being on the water as much as possible. The great thing about this lake is that the town is right there so even if the weather is not cooperating there is plenty to do. If you live in Texas you know we were so excited to see the rain that it only added to our fun for the weekend.

Thank you again Driskills and Pringles for all the memories, laughter and good times...we look forward to the next time already.