Camping!!

Peter got a week off from preaching, so we took the opportunity to go camping for a night. The original plan was for the boys to go up for a night in a tent and I'd stay home with the little ones, maybe visiting for a couple of hours during the day. Ultimately, we rented a rustic cabin and we all stayed overnight together. The boys did leave ahead of me and the littles. They left in the morning, with a packed lunch, and were able to fish for several hours. They reeled in some nice sized fish.

Then they checked in and drove over to the cabin. They took these pictures just before I arrived with girls and baby.

They are very happy to be camping!

First thing to do was to swim, of course.

Everyone was pretty excited about their goggles.

Life jackets are helpful.

Cal got cold and decided to dig awhile.

Peter and I just waded in the shallow end and oversaw all the wet fun.

I like this one. I like him a whole, whole lot. (Peter, that is) :)

"Hi Buddy!"

I like 'lijah too. He did really great out there.

We decided to swing for awhile to dry off before getting into the car to drive over to the cabin.

We really like Calvin's lobster swim trunks.

Showing me "no hands."

For supper, we put together packets of ground beef, potatoes, carrots and onions wrapped in foil. We do this every time we go camping.

While we were waiting for dinner to cook, William go out his measuring tape. Right. What for?

Samuel found a baby Ringnecked Snake...

...that they wanted to measure.

Here's a few shots of the inside of the cabin. It's pretty basic, as it is a rustic cabin.

There is a table to the left of this picture. There is an outhouse to the back of the cabin, as there is no running water here. But there are a lot of advantages to this over a tent.

Dinner's ready, served with ketchup. It was actually very good. Peter did an amazing job making sure that they got cooked just right in the coals of the fire.

Very interested in the fire, of course.

Next is s'mores.

Roasting marshmallows...and toes.

Here comes more sticks for the fire.

"Is it done yet?"

Some people just like to catch their marshmallows on fire...so they can blow them out...over their sister's head.

First s'more. Not bad.

Ha. This is a funny face for Benny.

Sun is setting now. I LOVE being out here.

After-dark visitor.

Found on the side of the cabin the next morning. One of the kids took this picture. They loved the colors on this moth.

After breakfast, the boys went to some nearby lakes to do some more fishing. I let Elijah get a good, long nap in the cabin while the girls and I played outside and took some short walks nearby.

Millie is excited to hold the moth herself.

After some lunch, we all went over to the lake to have a last swim and ride in a boat.

A turn for Benjamin and Cecily.

Next we headed home to get me there in time for a dentist's appointment. It was short, but so nice. Short is good at this phase. We're grateful for this beautiful park that is close enough to go up there and enjoy in small spaces of time.

Peter is 34!

A modest steak dinner with baked red potatoes and sauteed corn and zucchini.

It's become a sort of tradition for the kids to hide Dad's gifts and make a scavenger hunt with clues to find them. Peter LOVES this tradition. It really makes the kids feel involved in the preparation and celebration of his birthday too. The kids wrapped his gifts and set up the scavenger hunt entirely on their own. It's so helpful that they're getting bigger! I was freed up to focus on cooking his dinner. The first clue led Peter to the mailbox, which is also a typical hiding place every year. :)

Deciphering his next clue.

The clue led him to his own closet.

Heading to the next one...

...which was on the deck.

Since I let the kids handle this, I was unaware that one thing was hidden in the sandbox and another out in the tree fort in the woods. I might of intervened had I known, but no harm done.

And this one in the garage is hooked onto the end of a fishing rod.

Now to open.

My mom got Peter a book he wanted called "John Calvin and the Church: A Prism of Reform." He was excited and what you see here is him reading to us *all* the titles of the essays included. The kids were highly interested. (Not so much)

We finally made it to dessert. :) Peter isn't huge on chocolate. If I'd had time, I have planned ahead better for a dessert he particularly likes. But he'd rather that I not push too much and overdo it at the last minute, so we settled for something quick and easy: Individual chocolate molten cakes (made in a muffin tin). We had some homemade chocolate ice cream in the freezer and, in the end, neither of us thought the dessert was too shabby. :) Hey, we survived another year!

Actually, the Lord has blessed us tremendously. These celebrations are always a reminder of how blessed we are. God has given us good and meaningful work to do. He has filled our lives and teaches and trains us. We are growing. Not easy. Growth isn't. But worth it and beginning to bear good fruit, as God is faithfully showing us lately. Praise the Lord for another year and another step closer to the Glory that awaits.

Fishing, Stuff and the Park

Peter took the boys fishing just before Father's Day. The following pictures are ones he took from their trip. After that are some random ones and finally some from the park where we played on Peter's birthday.Tackle.

Bait.

The first lake.

The second lake. There's the fisherman himself, getting ready to cast.

Cal is just playing in the water, studying what's going on under the surface.

Just a nice shot. I think this is Cheat Lake.

Bringing one in. Lakes look beautiful, don't you agree?

Ben's Make-a-plate that he got back in the mail. (He traced the outline of the horse and did the rest himself).

My 10 year old's sense of humor. He liked the sunglasses on the can of soda, but thought he needed to add a crooked hat to complete the look.

Faithful Sam with his berries. We have one small patch of wild berries in the woods adjoining our property. Sam faithfully seeks out the ripe ones every day, sometimes twice a day, to be sure that he doesn't miss any. He adds each picking to his bag in the freezer where he is hoping to accumulate enough to make a pie.

This is Hoopha, called hoops for short. (Hoopha is "under" in Greek). Ben found this box turtle on the field above our house one day after a rainfall. We've been feeding/enjoying him for a bit before returning him to his home.

Eli's first day to swing at the park. He looks one-legged. :)

Cecily and I found these glasses at the park.

The kids played a game of tag with dad, involving some balls.

Sam got caught.

Hot, happy time.

Pirate face? I think they just like to try things and then see what it looks like on the camera.

That's it for now. We celebrated Peter's birthday yesterday, so we'll post some pictures of that soon. Otherwise, I'm caught up. I guess I'm just too distracted to get the camera out much these days.

Elijah - 4 Months

These pictures were taken just before he turned 4 months.

I love how he coos, and chews on his hands. He's just beginning to "play."

Here you can just see him putting his two middle fingers in his mouth. These are the fingers that he finally settled on. They're the ones he soothes himself to sleep with. He went back and forth between the fingers and his thumb. I have several thumb sucking children. I was kind of glad he settled on the fingers since he's the first one to do that.

Lounge chair for babies. He does the "deer in the headlights" look very well.

Even Peter will occasionally wear the baby carrier.

"Hi Dad!"

He's so interactive. So cute.

He spotted me. :)

In his bed.

I found this fish mobile at the consignment store and we are both enjoying it.

A little dark, but I like this picture.

I helped him sit up. I hope you enjoyed the new pictures. He really is SO sweet. He has a marvelous temperament. I probably say that about all of my babies. It's probably partly the age he's at. Boy, are we enjoying him.