Camp Briarwood

Sam went to Camp Briarwood last week. I have SO MANY fond memories of Camp Briarwood. Set in the beautiful scenery at Hargis Retreat in Chelsea, there's canoeing, bb guns, bow and arrows, crafts, swimming, and much more. I loved camp! Sam loved it too. Since we moved to Birmingham, it's been his favorite activity. He was on the red team...

The name tags aren't like the ones we used to have, but they'll do. I was SO looking forward to seeing Sam in one of those old school Camp Briarwood name tags. I guess "old" is the operative word. They don't even make them any more...

When the kids get back to the church, they run in the gym with their team and shout like crazy. This picture was taken on the first day. I should have taken one on the last day for comparison's sake; the change was drastic. Sam was a screaming fool... ☺

iPhone images

I caught the tail end of Laney's nap the other day... sweet feet.
She discovered toothpicks. Loves them and showing her stink eye at the same time.

Loves showing other looks as well.

I didn't intend for this post to be about Laney, but looks like I've been taking a lot of pictures of her on my phone. She loves getting on Ron's shoulders during our walks and running her fingers through his hair.

Luke enjoyed watching Sam recite his Bible verse during the VBS closing ceremony.

Our roof has been fixed. Our dining room has been patched and repainted. Most everything is back to normal.

Laney'sBirthday Shirt

It was a day late, but I finished Laney's birthday shirt. After cutting lots of strips, gathering them, and attaching them to the bodice, we have an adorable shirt that is quite snug. Whoops... She'll get to wear it once or twice at least. And I'll definitely make the next one with a little more wiggle room. Here's the tutorial from Sewing in No Man's Land in case you decide to make one. My recommendation is to add 4 inches instead of the 2 mentioned...

I asked her to stand still so I could take a picture. She surprised me and actually did it!

I don't know what she's doing exactly in the next picture. She was rubbing her hair and it made for a sweet pose

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Then Ron took a picture of us together. Love it!

out on the deck

for some reason, the boys were in the mood to take off some clothes. (probably because it's so stinkin' hot) they strapped on their boots and hung out on the deck. luke helped a bit with some sweeping while sam played with cars. both of these pictures were candid, my boys just doing their thing.

Laney is Two

Our little Laney bug turned two on Friday. She seems to wake up every day with a little more spunk and a few more opinions than the day before. We love what she brings to our crazy household!

She couldn't blow out the candle from her cinnamon muffin, so Sam and Luke helped her out.

The boys insisted that she have a Barbie Doll, so they gave her one after naptime.

Friday was also Anne Madison's birthday, so we met up for a family dinner at O'Charley's.

The cousins gave Laney a diaper bag full of goodies for her baby doll. She loved it!

Ron and I gave her some mini-Tupperware items: the cake-taker, plates, cups, and old-fashioned pitcher. She served everyone mini-cupcakes using her new set. Luke even got in on the action...

Happy Birthday Laney... We love you!

VBS

We had VBS the first week of June and it was too much fun!

Sam was registered since he is entering K5 in the fall. Luke and Laney were able to go since I was a volunteer. I was a money counter, along with my mom and a few other ladies. We counted $11, 848.61 for the week, which meant we purchased 1,184 mosquito nets for the children in Africa. Even Sam got excited about protecting the kids from malaria!

The kids met in the sanctuary every day for their own assembly. Some teenagers helped lead worship, they learned Bible verses, watched skits daily, and more.

When I was leaving the sanctuary, I noticed music coming from the chapel. I had no idea that Luke's age group was having their own worship service as well. As you can tell by the pictures, Luke was mesmerized by the music and musicians. He's watching the girls in every picture I took, even tapping his foot in one of the photos.

The decorations were great. (Big shout-out to Lauren Ervin!)


It was a great week and we all learned a lot. Thanks to all you VBS teachers!

Swim Lessons

Sam and Luke had swim lessons this week. Three 30 minutes sessions with Abby, a recent Briarwood grad, and they are on their way to being swimmers. I've especially seen great progress with Sam. Since Laney's birthday was on Friday, and it was the last day of swim lessons for the week, she had a little lesson of her own. She enjoyed splashing, Luke enjoyed jumping from the side, and Sam bravely swam a few strokes all on his own, even without the "noodle".

just a swingin'

Luke's Birthday

One gift that Luke loved to death was this microphone. It got used so much, that it quit working after a week. I'm hoping Pops can fix it since he can fix anything...

The six grandkids had fun... redneck style. Pops hooked up a board to his truck and pulled everyone around our yard for a while. It was really entertaining.

The best part? Laney never let go of her pop corn!

My SIL and her kids came over to meet Pickles the other day. Have I mentioned how much I love her photography? She always shoots from such good angles. She got some pretty adorable shots of Pickles, but then again, he's an adorable puppy.

My neice Anne Madison has hopes of being a veterinarian some day. So of course she couldn't get enough...

And she caught Laney playing on the tire swing. What a sweet and still face.

Pickles!!!

We got our new addition on Monday. B tagged along with me and the kids on our drive to Cullman. We met Nancy in the McDonald's parking lot and the kids immediately fell in love.

Sam has especially taken to Pickles. He takes him outside for me and helps out as much as he can.

B was even a little smitten.

Sam noticed Pickles resting in the kitchen. He went over and gave him his blanket (ba) and stuffed animal (Buddy) to help him nap even better.