Hello Muddah Hello Faddah

We wrapped up another great season of "Chain Reaction 222" by celebrating at Camp Chandler. We normally do longer trips at the end of our season, but I wasn't quite ready to leave Bennett overnight, so we took a day long trip to a nearby camp. Bennett was awesome. I think she has been grumpy the past two days because she misses camp. Well, I am sure she misses the attention she received when she was with 30 adoring kids all day. It was incredibly hot and we were all tired and sweaty, but it was a wonderful way to celebrate a fabulous year. And really, Bennett is like my 31st child. I have 30 other kids who came before her that I love tremendously. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing kids use the talents that the Lord blessed them with to glorify Him.



Waiting to jump in the lake


Getting a diaper change in the woods. Hey- we're flexible.


Hey Mom, camp totally rocks!


Yep, that's me on the top of that pole. I am about to jump off of it and attempt to grab a trapeze before falling to the ground. Considering the fact that I was in a wheelchair 5 months ago, I am pretty proud of this picture.


Rob gave a great devotional to the kids about why we do this TV show and what it means to live a life that honors and pleases the Lord.


And finally, me with my three blue plate winners- Sam, Christopher, and Kelsey. The kids get paper plate awards every year and these three got blue plates (replacing the oh so boring blue ribbons) for being such awesome cast members. Have I mentioned that I love these kids?

Memorial Day Fun

We spent our day hanging out with our family. Bennett loves to see her cousins as much as possible- and Maggie the dog, of course. Rob batted 0 for 3 with the nieces. During the course of the day he made one cry because he accidentally ran into her, one cry because he dunked her too violently in the pool, and the other cry because he got on to her for unbuckling her seat belt. I, however, managed to escape scott free and remain the aunt in good graces.

We had it coming

I finally got sick of sweeping up dog hair every day, so Meg went in for her summer shave. The nice lady held up a board for me to look at and told me that I needed to pick a blade size. Really? You can't just shave the dog? No, I had to pick a blade. So I went for Blade #1. It sounded like a reasonable number to go with. I went about my day and picked up Meg a few hours later. However, it wasn't Meg. It was a rat with a furry head. Apparently, blade #1 means to skin the dog, not shave them. And unbeknownst to me, they don't really shave heads or tails. So, instead of a beautiful golden lab, we now have a rodent of unusual size. I must admit I laughed at her. All day. When she brought me her toy, I laughed. When she needed to go outside, I laughed. When she rolled over repeatedly wondering where her fur went, I laughed. The next day, the rest of our plants in the backyard were dug up. She looked at me as if to say, "Who's laughing now?"

I would post a picture of Meg to go along with this post, but I will spare her that indignity even though she deserves it in return for our gone but not forgotten hydrangeas. So, instead, I will post a picture of our happy smiling baby. She is bald like Meg, but for different reasons.

Beautiful

We have a funny kid

Bennett has such a great personality. I know she is only 10 weeks old, but her facial expressions crack us up. She has the best smile that we are completely unable to capture on camera. We can catch the sort of half grin, but not the light up your face smile that we love. But here are a few pics of Bennett that capture her at this age perfectly.

This is her, "So, what are we doing today?" face

I know I should be comforting her rather than taking pictures, but this is my favorite face that she makes. We see it several times a day and it cracks me up every time. This is her, "I am so not in the mood for you right now" face.

And this is how our little girl sleeps. We call this her "conductor" pose. For some reason she loves to sleep with her arms straight up in the air. Hey, whatever works.