Birthday Girl!

Hard to believe another year has passed with our little Ess. She recently turned 3 and was even able to say "bir-day". She understood this year that the celebration was all about her and enjoyed opening her presents. Here are some photos of the special day:

This would be the yummy reeses pieces cake make by Ruthie and her cuz A. Now every time we light a candle, Esther asks "bir-day"?


This is Ess donning her birthday crown and necklace and holding her favorite present...the puppy that makes noise.


I love my puppy!!!


All worn out at the end of the day...birthday girl and big sissy are ready for bedtime. Do you notice Ru's new glasses too? She got them for reading only. Now we have two glasses girls!!

Recap IV...the perfect ending

So, our summer of adventure and fun ended with a bang. Our dear friends the W family came to our fair cities for a week of visiting and escaping to the mountains. I did not include any pictures of the mountains as I enjoyed the relationship time much more...so my pics are of moments savored together. It is hard to have close friends move away...and far away at that. It was so sweet to reunite and parting held such sweet sorrow. Until next time W family...we had an awesome time...thanks for coming all that way to share time with us!!!

The J family...also our close friends with whom we shared our lovely mountain lodge.
The lodge was so perfect for three families with many kiddos. Can you believe we survived with 15 bodies, 2 toilets, and only 1 shower? Now that's what I call roughing it!!


Hanging out in the morning before we got going on the days adventure...


Guys in party shirts! Need any more be said?


Ice cream bonding at its best! Our two daughters and theirs had such fun together...pollies, Barbies, and dress up...doesn't get any better than girly girl fun:)


So, off to celebrate some young person's birthday together...a little spicy fun and a night on the town! All our love to you W fam...we miss you all ready!!

Recap III...the lands of the north

So, while other members of the family were in different portions of the globe...Ru and I headed north to visit family for a gathering of a loved one. It had been many years since I had visited this childhood family gathering place. It was a first to be able to share it with Ruthie. This visit was truly blessed with many memories, smells, sights, and sounds that I was able to share with my daughter and revisit from my own childhood. We also made new memories with family and friends and had a blast sharing time with P.P.Grandpa and Grandmama!

This is on the "rocks" with Ru at sunset. I climbed up here at least twice a day, rain or shine, and refreshed my soul gazing atop the 1 square mile island high spot to blue green water and many pines and lush greenery...not to mention listening to the variety of birds sing their lovely tunes.


So, the fishing...it was exceptional...especially for one young fishergirl...who caught more than her Grandpa or I...and razzed us daily with her counts of fish caught and the variety.


Conquering fears was part of the adventure too. One young lady had never really spent much time swimming in weed infested waters...especially those filled with fish. She overcame her fears and worked up to this rock jumping episode...made her Mama proud!!


So, I had to learn to clean fish again and Ru was kind enough to document it on camera for me. PPGrandpa was kind enough to guide me through. We caught enough to have a yummy fish dinner one of the nights. Between the fun fishing, catching and almost catching, and then cleaning...my fishing license surely paid for itself. Yum!


Had to document PPGrandpa and Ru on a place commonly known as "swimming rock". This is where one experiences "sludge sliding". This is where you step on the edge of the rock underwater that is covered in sludgy slime and you gently slide down the incline of the rock into the ice cold water. The trick is to do it gracefully enough so you don't land painfully on your hiney. By the end...Ru was a pro! Thanks PPGrandpa and Grandmama and all the kin Up North for such a wonderful time!!

Recap II...the Japan Experience

So, as many of you know...CJ was part of a Japanese exchange this summer. These photos only touch the surface of the many experiences he had. He stayed with the families of the boys we hosted back in the spring. He had things he did with his host family every day and things he did with the travel group every other day. He had such a wonderful, life changing experience and so enjoyed himself and the Japanese people. I am so happy he was able to have this opportunity! Thank-you to his many sponsors out there who helped him get there!!

His host family took CJ and roomate Mr. G to a Karate studio to learn the basic moves. CJ said he worked up such a sweat by the end that he was just dripping.


These are the American tempermental chefs in the Japanese kitchen getting ready to whip up some Kraft Macs and Cheese carried in their suitcases to treat their host families to a loved American dish. CJ said it was a great hit and his host family just loved it!


Here are Ken and Kou with the guys in front of one of the boys homes. CJ and Mr. G were able to share their time between the two host boy's homes. That was great as they were able to experience two different homes and those family's lifestyles. They had daily touring, lots of eating, and nightly Nintendo tournaments:) As CJ told me "those women really know how to whip up amazing food in their small kitchens."


The guys spent a day at the Buddist temple. There were many more pictures with many more buddhas, but we'll suffice with this one at the temple entrance. There were water hand washing and purification areas throughout the temple to purify one's self before entering different areas. They guys even got to take part in a purification ceremony with purification water at one of the host families' future home sites. It was a very eye opening experience for CJ to experience the beliefs and traditions of a different culture.


Finally, our two heroe's adventure would not be complete without traditional Japanese apparel. The guys purchased these kimonos and donned their wares for this photo opp. CJ also purchased the traditional wooden sword he is holding, but had to pay more for shipping it home than the sword itself cost. He said his host family teased him quite a bit about that one..."oh CJ has no money left...he spend all to get sword home."

Recap I of the many lands we visited...

Rob, Ess, and Ev went to the very warm lands to visit Papaw and Grandma and the awesome Uncle G. They had a wonderful time just hanging out and spending time together.

Here is Ess with her favorite Uncle G!


Here is Ev hangin' with Grandma...aren't they sweet!


Here is Papaw doing his water aerobics...go Papaw!


Here are the two sun bathers getting some rays after a refreshing dip!


Traveling buddies...Evan was such a big helper according to Rob...way to go Evan...especially since it took 19 hours to get home!

Off to Japan...

Back in April, I shared photos of our Japanese exchange students Kou and Ken coming to spend a couple of weeks with us. Well it was now CJ's turn with 30 other high school students to make the trek to Japan and spend a couple weeks there. He was so excited! We had to rise very early to drive him to a large international airport. What awesome adventures are in store for him. We have received 2 emails to date and he is having the time of his life and so enjoying the people and culture.

Here is the traveling group ranging from freshman to seniors with a couple chaperones. They will all stay with different host families to really experience the culture.


I snagged this picture because it really tickled my funny bone! CJ and his two buddies sat away from the group for a time and chose a spot right in front of this ironic sign;o) For any of you who have or are raising teenagers...you would agree that "special needs" totally fills the bill!! Or maybe the parents have extra special needs to be able to deal with them? Either way...it made me chuckle:O)


Our excited adventurer...he makes this mama very proud! We are praying for great things for him as he steps out in new ways over these next several weeks. We love you Bud!

Camping...

We have had a couple of opportunities to go camping this summer. One in the mountains and one at a baseball tourney. Both turned out to be very fun adventures breaking Esther into the habit of sleeping away from home and knowing it was still OK. I chose to share pics from the mountain camping since they were prettier than camping at the Fair Grounds. Both adventures had blessings that were sweet hugs from the Lord with details He arranged to make it just perfect for our family...thank you Lord!

This pic has nothing to do with camping...but I was excited to find matching dresses for the girls on the return of one of our camping trips. The girls vary in sizes from very big girl to finally entering toddler...so here they are modeling their new outfits.


This is on one of our hikes exiting a cast of a fallen tree in lava. It was pretty cool in that the print of the bark was still intact and you could crawl through it like a cave. It was slightly claustrophobic...but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel!


This is on another of our day hikes exploring a famous volcanic peak and the regrowth that has occurred. I am thinking on taking my students on a field trip here in the fall since we are studying volcanoes. It sure was a beautiful day to visit!


So, our camping spot turned out to be one of God's blessings for us. We arrived too late for the camp grounds and ended up on Forest Service lands on an old clear cut that was partially regrown. Because of the clear cut...we had the most beautiful view of the volcanic peak right in front of us...it was amazing! The girls enjoyed this mound immensely and played in this silty, ashlike, debris until I had to bag their clothes at the end of each play session as it covered everything. As you can see, Esther doesn't quite get the knack of roasting her marshmallow over the fire...she just holds it on her stick and then eats it after it has bounced around on enough debris to add a little fiber;o) You gotta love camping!!


This would be Esther in a somewhat fresh outfit enjoying the feel of what Ruthie called "cake mix". The sediments were so fine grain...it really did feel like powder! I'm glad they didn't try tasting any of it:O)