Trout Creek--Kari

Kari went to camp the week after school got out. She wanted to go with her cousin, Ashlynn, who is a year behind her in school, so they went to the Jr. Super week for kids in 4th-7th grade. Lorelai and her her friend, Ella, also went that week, and we had the three girls at our house a couple days before we took them to camp, to save Ryan and Michelle another trip over the mountain. It was like they got two bonus days of camp, with our house full of seven kids. They all had a great time together.

Dropped the four girls off on Monday, stalked the FB page for photos all week, and picked up our girl on Saturday. They all had a fun week at camp!

I got these from FB. It's like a game of "I-Spy"or a "Where's Waldo" book, scanning all the photos for glimpses of your kid. We saw a bunch that had Kari in them, but these were the most obvious ones.

Weekend with Kari

The weekend after school got out, I took Kari away to Hood River for one night to go through Family Life's Passport 2 Purity material to prepare for these soon-coming teen years. She wasn't a huge fan of these discussions, important as they were, but we got through it and managed to have some fun, too. We ate out at some yummy places, enjoyed some sweet treats, and went on an adventure together, zip-lining at Skamania Lodge. She wasn't too sure about the zip-lining at first, which sort of surprised me--didn't trust the harness and had me go first. Once she realized it really would hold her, she threw herself into the experience, and had a great time.

breakfast at Bette's Place in Hood River

Her face says it all: "I am not thrilled about this get-away, Mom, or this photo."

"Now I'm having fun"

Grandpa "Andy"

Tonight we are gathering at Mom and Dad's house to celebrate the life of my Grandpa "Andy," Bob Freeman. He passed away a week ago. He was a tough Army guy with a gruff exterior but was a true softy on the inside. He always had a hug for me whenever we visited. He's the only one who's ever called me "Andy." I loved it.  As a little girl, I had no idea why he called me that, so I just called him Grandpa Andy right back, and it stuck. He'll be missed. I've been blessed with so many grandparents in my life, and they're all growing older. It stinks saying good-bye to those we love.

Theology Re-Alignment

Playing the game, "Headbands," was funny stuff!

A couple weeks ago, Grant was talking at the dinner table and said something about "Mrs. God."
Taken aback and horrified, I said, "Grant, there is no Mrs. God!"
Grant: "Yeah, you know, Mrs. God and the flowers, plants, and trees."
Me: "Oh! You mean Mother Nature!"
Grant: "Yeah, Mrs. God!"
Me: "No, no. There is no Mrs. God, just God."

I don't know how he even knew the term "Mother Nature," since I don't think I've ever said it, but I explained that people who don't believe in God will sometimes use that term when talking about His creation but that the Bible tells us God created the earth, and there's only one true God.

He thought for moment, and said, "Ok, good to know!"

So funny how his brain works! He's soaking everything up. I'm thankful for the Sunday school teachers, his preschool teachers, and Teacher Ginny in "Tater Tots" at church who are all pouring into him and helping him learn more about the Bible and this great, big God we serve.

Girl Hair

The crazy hair post reminded me to do a post about all the fun hairstyles we've done this year. Right before spring break, East Orient had a lice outbreak, and Aubrey got it. It was a royal pain getting rid of it, but we've had experience, so I knew exactly what to do, and we were able to get rid of it fairly quick. I insisted on having Aubrey's hair up for the rest of the school year, so we wouldn't have to deal with that again. It was either that or cutting her hair short, which she did NOT want to do. Aubrey has been very into her fancy hairstyles this year, so she didn't mind having to have it up. I've had fun learning how to do different kinds of braids and experimenting on her and our neighbor, Kate, who also has long hair. We took Kate to school every Thursday and Friday morning, so we always did matching hair-dos on them on those days. I didn't take pictures of all of them, but here are some of the hairstyles we did:

Last Day of School

Kari's last day of school ended up being the day before Aubrey and Joel's because of a shooting threat at the middle school for the last day. The police did not think it was a credible threat, and the school was open that day, but we just felt better about keeping her home, just to be safe. She was ok with that decision, especially when she learned she'd get to spend the day with Grandma A. and go out to lunch. She managed to squeeze ice cream into the deal, too. :)

So, this photo is on Joel and Aubrey's last day, and Kari's first day of summer break! Grandma and Kari brought home silly string to celebrate the beginning of summer, and the kids had their spray celebration on the trampoline. Grant was too busy playing inside with Russell. He used his later. And yes, Aubrey is on the trampoline with a lollipop in her mouth. Didn't catch that at the time!

Tennis

Kari and Joel both participated in tennis "academy" again this year. They worked on technique and improved their skills with Coach Pate. A couple days of tennis got rained out, but they were able to get matches in a couple different weekends when the weather held out. Aubrey and Grant made their own fun while their siblings were playing.

Spirit Week

I had so much fun with Crazy Hair Day this year. I convinced Joel to spike his hair (next year, I'll try to talk him into putting color in it!), and then I made a couple of delectable doughnuts. Kate and Aubrey were great sports, letting me put a plate and chocolate with sprinkles in their hair.

 Getting it out wasn't bad at all.  Just rinsed it out in the kitchen sink. Easy-peasy!

Some of the other spirit week days were "twin" day, athletic-wear day, mismatched day, and sunglasses day. Joel participated in most of them, and Aubrey did it all. She showed her school spirit! :) 

End of school year

The sky was gorgeous one day while we were waiting in line to pick up the kids. I had to take a photo. The weather has been so crazy lately--sun, extreme heat (100 degrees!), rain, hail, thunder, lightning. Today it's cold and rainy, but we'll have days like this one again soon, I'm sure.

Kari's spring band concert showed a whole lot of growth since their winter concert!

Kari thumped this huge stack of schoolwork on our table this last week. Once there were only 3 school days left, she let us see what she's been doing all year!

She had her piano recital this last week, and she performed beautifully! Her teacher also awarded her the summer scholarship for being a dedicated, hard-working piano student. We're so proud! We sure do love her teacher, too. She's amazing.