And A New School Year Has Begun

So Bekah is now a big First Grader.  She was so looking forward to starting school and seeing her  friends again.  She was nervous about a new teacher though.  Her teacher is wonderful and Bekah loves her already.  That is such a blessing.

Gotta get those pictures in front of the house before school.

I love Bekah's nervous face and Hannah's excited one.

I was too busy to help her write out First Grade, so she did it by herself.  I love how she spelled it!

Hannah loves going to the playground with Bekah before school starts.

The teacher called the kids, gave them instructions to sit at their desks and then went into the classroom with the kids.  We weren't sure if the parents should go into the classroom or not.  I loved how the parents ran over to the window to get pictures.

Mrs. Koch saw all the parents, laughed and then had us come in and take pictures with the kids before they started their day.  

Bekah got to sit next to her friend Luke.  However, by the second day, his seat got moved with another.  Perhaps a bit too much chit chat going on.

I had to get a few pictures from the second day of school too.  Bekah was more relaxed and it was fun.

Showing off her new (clearance from last year) backpack.

We threw in a salute to the flag before heading off to school.  

Glad that she learned that last year and hasn't forgotten it.

Looking forward to another fun year.  I so enjoy the time we get with Hannah at home.  

It is wonderful seeing Bekah learning so many new things

Family Camp at Hartstone

Our family looks forward to our churches Family Camp every year.  Families from our church drive up to Potter Valley to Hartstone Family Camp.   We each have our own little cabin to sleep in and make our home for the four days we are there.

Can I just say, "I LOVE FAMILY CAMP!!!"  This is my favorite vacation all year.  What is not to love?  So many of my friends are there and I get to spend tons of time with them.  We sit and talk for hours.  People I am close with and people that I have just met or barely know.   I have gotten to know so many people just because we have time to talk and get to know one another.  It is wonderful!

 My friend Stephanie and her family came from Kansas to attend family camp.  It was so nice to have them there and spend time with them.  Our kids got to play together and we were able to reconnect.  What a special time!

I love getting to spend so much time one on one with my kids.  We wake up each morning and enjoy hot chocolate around the camp fire.  I play in the sand with them, ride the rapids with them, push them on the swings and play gutter-ball with them.  

The rope swings are one of my favorite things to go on.  You can swing super high and it is so fun.  The kids spend lots of time on the swings, but my friends and I do as well.  One night after the kids were put to bed, a bunch of my friends and I went out to swing in the dark with the stars overhead.  It was great!

The kids were worn out all every day and took great naps.  We let them stay up late every night if they took a nap.  They loved every minute of it.

Every day we played fun games in teams. 

 We did a photo scavenger hunt one night and got awesome pictures.

Down at the river, Christine's dad, Bill, put on way to much sun screen.  I have never laughed so hard.   You never know what fun you will have at camp.

I love this photo.  One of my favorites!  

I took Hannah and four other little girls to the zip line.  They had fun climbing up the ladder and zipping down to the end of the zip line.  I had to catch them every time since they were little, but they loved it.  

Each day we went down to the river.  It is beautiful there and the water is so refreshing.  We spent hours playing in the water, tubing down the rapids, talking with friends and swimming.

On the last night of camp, Hannah and I walked to the top of the mountain.  The sun was setting and the forest was beautiful.  We sat on this log and listened to the wind blow through the trees.  Hannah and I walked hand in hand finding things that God made: a baby pine tree, ferns, birds on the path, sun shine pouring through the trees.  We had a great time together.

Then we came back to camp to watch the wiffle ball game and talk to friends.  I caught Lilly giving kisses to her little cousin.  So darling!

One night we enjoyed s'more's around the fire. 

 Hannah toasted her own marshmallows and ate every bite of her s'more.

One of the rope swings at Hartstone.

My sweet family!

There is a new water slide for the kids (and me too).  They loved it!

Everyone loved the movie night and slide show one night.  We enjoyed popcorn and juice while spending time with our families.

Shuffle board game among friends.

I worked out with my friends each day.  It was fun working out with the girls.