discovery camp...25 years later

when i was a little girl (around 7 years old) i went to discovery camp for the very first time.

it was a brand new camp and i remember swimming in the swimming pool, painting rocks, and being completely moved by the church services. i would then return nearly every year, even in my teen years.

 

now, nearly 25 years later, my very own daughters have attended the camp. they have swam in the same pool as mom and attended the same moving services. 

chad, my husband, also attended the same summer camp as a kid and i can't help but wonder if we ever attended at the same time as young children. 

actually, the first time i really met chad was at discovery camp when we were both 12 years old. 20 years later, we volunteered to go as helpers from our church and took our own kids.

i think this could very well be my last time to attend discovery camp, but certainly not my two girls.

over the weekend

over the weekend, after taking our kids to a church summer camp, we visited my brother and sister-in-law.

(i will share more on discovery camp later)

 

some of the girls from our group...my two are the first from the left.

this was chalk talk at the camp (cami, karolee, and cari)

cari's notes from service :)

my husband's sister, sally, and i have been friends for a long time. we were even roommates for awhile before we married each others brothers. we all hung out all the time and this picture brings back great memories.

from the right to left: sally (sister-in-law), chad (husband), crystal (me), mike (my brother), pat (brother-in-law)

they now live in the houston area and we live in the austin area, so between our busy lives, it is hard to get together these days, but we still try.

look at that cute face...she was playing tag with the ducks

our girls are double cousins and get along great. their daughter's name is chloe and she calls my girls by one name, "camicari."

 chloe and cari camping out together

we had a great time catching up this trip and even enjoyed the science museum where the dinosaurs were loved by all 3 girls.

no sew blankets

the girls and i love doing project together in the summer.

i just purchased a sewing machine not to long ago and know nothing about it other than it is hard!

so, we decided to make no sew blankets this time.

we all four (the girls and their american dolls) headed to hobby lobby to pick their fabric. 

(i wish i had taken some pictures of them pushing their dolls around in the shopping carts)

cami's choice...

 cari's choice.

to our surprise, all the felt was 30% off...we bought about a yard each.

 once home, we cut cari's corners 2 inches and then made small 2 inch cuts around the sides.

 on cami's we cut a 5 inch square with 5 inch strips around.

(i probably would have done 3 1/2 if doing it again)

after all the cutting comes all the tying!

 cami did hers all by herself. 

(the longer the strips, the easier it is to tie.)

 you can see that cari's strips were much shorter, but cute still!

(the shorter the cuts then the bigger the blanket)

cami and her new blanket

 cari and her new blanket

they love them both!

they are very cozy and unique!

 we even had enough to make their dolls matching blankets!

 robin and rebecca...

(a new doll is on her way just in time for cari's 6th birthday)

we still have fabric left over, so share with us different ideas you think we should try!

funny friday foto

this was taken of my husband in 2005

this brings a whole new meaning to big blue eyes :)

~he is pretty much this silly 99% of the time~

thankful thursdays

i'm thankful for...

helpful hands.

when my children were younger, they wanted to help mommy all the time.

so i gave them their first official chore...folding washcloths.

that meant, we always had crazy stacks of washcloths on our shelves, and i had to learn to deal with it.

they got to help and contribute and i had to encourage and praise...and leave the messy washcloths alone.

fast forward a couple of years later, they still fold the washcloths, but they are now able to do so much more.

this summer we discovered that my oldest (8) can vacuum! it was a total rite of passage because that was my chore growing up, and i was seeing my daughter follow in my footsteps. 

i was proud, excited, and a little revealed that i was about to get some real help around the house.

i called my mom as cami was vacuuming and held the phone up for her to hear..."this sound is cami vacuuming the house for the first time...woo hooo!" (i'm serious...I really did that!)

they even like cleaning the baseboards for a little cash! i give them huggies wipes (the best) and a small bucket to put their trash in and they finish in warp speed, crawling into small places, and reaching spots i could never get to. they strategically split up to cover the most area all while giggling and bragging at how well they are doing. they then literally thank me for their opportunity...brilliant, i know!

so, today is our normal "cleaning day" at the house. i was sweeping and mopping, cami was vacuuming, and cari was dusting and cleaning the mirrors. i turned the tv on for awhile as they folded their laundry and put it up. with all the help, i was able to clean our fridge out...just in time for the new school year approaching.

i have had to learn early on to let the little hands help and not worry if it is not done perfectly or maybe the way i would do it. I had to learn to praise them for their eagerness and willingness to help and not rob them of the opportunity to contribute and be apart.

the day is coming when those little hands have practiced enough times to get it right and you will appreciate it even more :)

i am so thankful for those (little) helpful hands!

....CHECK!

i happen to love checklists and use them quite often to try and stay organized. 

i came across this one the other day from imom and decided to go ahead and print out. 

i was happy to see that i am right on track...and in some ways ahead of the game :)

http://www.imom.com/tools/seasonal/back-to-school-checklist/

i wanted to share if anyone else was interested.

i think it is really cute and very appropriately on notebook paper, which is something we bought for the first time on our school list. it was a big deal to my oldest!

it is really hard to believe that i have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader this year...

well, happy checking everyone :)

chain gang

 

we are counting down the days until school starts...the whole red section is gone now!

we also have a small, sweet count down jar filled with skittles (cari's favorite candy).

she gets to eat one everyday until her 6th birthday!

we love our summers, but are looking forward to our new school year with great expectation!

28 more days till school...

and

11 more skittles till cari's party!

anyone else like counting down the days?