Family Camp 2008: Dwell on These Things is but a memory now. It was a great week of spiritual renewal, rekindling relationships and making new memories with family and friends. Some of the highlights included watching the girls have a great time with their cousins Gabe and Lauryn. (2nd cousins actually....or is it first cousins once removed??) Gabe and Kaitlyn are 3 weeks apart and Lauryn and Renee are 3 months apart. Renee was Lauryn's little baby; she loved pushing her in the stroller and Renee loved it too. Kaitlyn loved playing with both Gabe and Lauryn.
Dirk and I celebrated our 8th. wedding anniversary during Family Camp. Dana kept the girls and Dirk and I headed to Medina and had a great lunch at an Italian pizza place. I can't remeber the name of it but they had great calzones. Then we found a quaint little coffee shop down the street and enjoyed some chai latte and tea. It was a cool, rainy day so the warm beverages tasted great. The kids didn't even seem to notice that we had been gone.
A highlight of camp for me is always the 4th. of July Patriotic Service. My favorite part is when the servicemen and women go to the front of the tabernacle. I was always so proud to see my dad representing the Navy. I don't think I'll ever be able to get through that service without a few tears.
Another highlight is the baptismal service. In 2006 Dirk and I were both baptized. This year Dana and Anthony were. I remember as a kid watching the service on Sunday afternoon. Now they do it on the 4th. in the evening. Once again it was a beautiful evening and the lake wasn't rough.
A favorite thing for the kids is the 4th. of July Bike parade. They decorated their bikes and were at the starting line ready to go. Last year we were a bit late so they had to join the parade already in progress. We made sure we were on time this year. Kaitlyn was raring to go. But Renee was a bit more hesitant so I had to walk alongside of her, holding her hand. Just when she was feeling more comfortable and let go of my hand, some little girl came out of nowhere and rear-ended her, causing her to fall flat on her bottom on the gravel road. OUCH!! She immediately started crying and I rushed to her, scooped her up and loved on her. But the poor little thing was traumatized. When she finally stopped crying she said, "She didn't even stop and say sorry!" The next day she was still talking about it and said that the girl probably got a spank for doing that. At the end of the parade the kids have a Fun Fair, complete with cotton candy, popcorn, snowcones and jumping houses. It took Renee a while but she finally forgot about her sore bottom and had fun. Kaitlyn was much more independent this year and could do most of the games on her own. They loved it. Kaitlyn doesn't like cotton candy so I got to enjoy that.
Here are a bunch of pictures. There was a smudge on my camera lense which I didn't discover for a few days. Sorry about that. Hopefully you can still enjoy them.
Talk about attitude.....Renee has got one for sure in that picture! Kaitlyn looks like a biker-babe with that headband on.
