Family Camp 2011

We had a blast at Family Camp this year. It was a fun-filled, memory-making, high adventure week. Enjoy a photo narration of our good times.

Catching Creatures




Kayaking



Fishing

Trevor caught about 6 fish! His biggest was as 12 inch Rainbow Trout. He learned how to clean it, prep it, and cook it in the fire. He was so excited to eat his catch, "It tastes like chicken!" he said.


Skit Nite



Lounging on the beach



Hanging out with the teeny-boppers



Playing games in camp



We had 2 boats this year! The Sanger and the Malibu Skier



Talent Nite
Zachary kicked things off with the Star Spangled Banner and Jackson favored us with his sword fighting talent.





Celebrating the 4th





Eating!



Rafting



Water balloon fight!



Rock Jumping






Trying to go home

There is always a challenge when trying to pack up and leave camp. This year was no exception. Pulling the boat out of the water posed a challenge for our oversize trucks. Getting stuck in the mud is never fun. How many guys does it take to push a 2 ton truck out of the lake?

We are proud to announce that there wasn't one single trip to the ER this year. Woo hoo! That was a first. We were so spoiled to hang out with good friends and family for a whole week. The Minnicks came all the way from Montana to be with us! It was a fantastic week of good times, dirty fingernails, blue hands, HOT and/or COLD showers, card games, ghost town exploration, scary stories, staying up late, adult conversation at the late night campfire, and excellent dinners. We are already looking forward to Family Camp 2012!

End of the year Awards

The kids all finished off the year with some great awards. Mom and Dad got to attend several award ceremonies to honor these fantastic kids.

Trevor earned his Block R Award for the 2nd year in a row. To earn this award he had to be involved with a bunch of extra-curricular activities while maintaining good grades. He soared in his academics this year! He earned High Honor Roll all 4 quarters! That is a HUGE accomplishment for our boy!

Logan had a great year in athletics. His coaches were so impressed with him after each season for being consistent as one of the top performing athletes on his team. He was awarded with the Outstanding Runner trophy at the sports awards ceremony. Way to go Logan!

Lizzie had a great year in first grade. In fact, she liked it so much that she never missed a day! We were all so surprised to learn that she had earned Perfect Attendance for ALL 4 QUARTERS. Wow! Good Job Lizzie!

Jackson (and Mommy's) last day of Joy School

Jackson has successfully finished his preschool years. He had a fun year learning his ABC's, 123's, and making lots of cute crafts. Here he is on his last and final day as a preschooler. Goodness! That boys is full of spit and vinegar! Of course, with a little sprinkling of sweetness and sugar on the side... :)

Jackson and all of his siblings participated in 2 years of Joy School. The moms of all the kids would take turns hosting Joy School at their house once or twice a week throughout the school year. That means that I (ME, the Mama) have also successfully completed 8 YEARS of Joy School! (Yay me!) It is a bittersweet moment to say goodbye to those years - the years when kids were still babies. These kids are all growing up on me. Too fast, I say. 'Stop growing up' has been our motto around here for the last several months. But since there is nothing I can do to slow time or force them to stay young we will instead look to the looming future...

Jackson looks forward to starting kindergarten this fall and is in for quite a surprise... ALL DAY kindergarten! None of our other kids experienced a full day of school during their first year in public school. Another school in our area has had huge success with their trial of an all day kindergarten program and now our school has decided to follow their example. I'm sure there will be a Jackson update at the start of the school year. We cross our fingers and toes to get a loving, patient teacher for our squirrely boy!

For now, Jackson is happy to run wild in the backyard and soak up the long days of summer with all his backyard pals.