Pirates, Fireworks, and lots in between

Even in the midst of sabbatical, we have managed to have lots of fun this summer. What have we been up to?

-Swimming Lessons – we signed the girls up for swimming lessons at Raleigh Swim Association with a lady named Mrs. Ann. After a disappointing swim lesson experience at a YMCA a few years ago, I knew that if we were going to pay, we wanted someone good. I heard rave reviews about Mrs. Ann and decided it was worth the gamble. She is no nonsense and doesn’t baby the kids, but yet teaches them really well. We had heard that kids would be swimming after just 4 days with her, and while it was true with Kinsley, Emerson isn’t swimming completely but she is pretty close. The first day, she had Emerson’s class diving for rings. We will definitely use her again!

-Upgrading our Bikes – Emerson graduated from riding a tricycle to riding a big girl bike with training wheels. We taught Kinsley how to ride a bike without training wheels and man, was it a job. It didn’t help that we picked one of the hottest weeks of the year to do it. Let me tell you, there was more drama involved than at a Broadway play. I didn’t think it would ever happen, but she kept trying and finally caught on. So proud of her!

-Vacation Bible School – Kinsley attended a week of Vacation Bible School with the church that she went to for preschool. The theme was Mount Everest and she had a blast making crafts, singing songs, and learning about Jesus. We are still listening to the CD they sent home with them – EVERY DAY, as a matter of fact.

-Pool Time – and lots of it! The girls have loved going to the pool at our gym, the pool at our church friend’s farm, and of course, Gammy and Pop Pop’s pool. We are almost pooled out…almost.

-Beach time – We traveled to my parent’s house one last time before starting school. The girls had a blast playing in the creek and the ocean, and we built a sandcastle. Okay, seriously, this is a huge feat. We try every time and one of the kids ends up smashing the sandcastles before we can even get three up. So, this momentous occasion deserved a picture. And what’s a castle without Ariel in the middle?

-Pirate’s Voyage – While at my parents, we went to the Pirates Voyage dinner show. The girls LOVED it (like couldn’t take their eyes off the show long enough to eat), but the best part for them was dressing up like pirates and mermaids. They are still talking about it to this day. Thanks Gammy and Pop Pop for such a fun time!

-4th of July fun – the kids had a blast celebrating the holiday at my parents! We had a fun pool party with our family (including Blake getting to meet an aunt and cousins for the first time!) and topped the night off lighting sparklers (sprinklers, as Emerson called them) and watching the fireworks. We put Blake to bed, but he didn’t want to miss the fireworks either, so we let him wake up and watch them. He was too cute “talking” to them…he was amazed and not scared one bit.

-Watching Little Man grow up – Blake will be 6 months old this week and he is growing so fast! He is sitting up (pretty well, anyways), blowing bubbles, eating solid foods, “talking” like crazy, laughing lots and lots, and is such a sweet chunk of love! I can’t wait to see how big he is at his 6 month appointment.

-Visiting Ministry Partners – we have had the opportunity this summer to visit with quite a few ministry partners, both individual and churches. We snapped these pictures this past weekend as we were visiting a partnering church.