Warren's Birthday

July 20 was Warren's Birthday. The kids were a little bit worried that we weren't having company for the party so they each got a present for him. Jayce, Alectra, and Alexis got him two new screwdriver sets, one for the tool box and one for the workbench in the shop. Emerald bought him a Stanley thermos for hot coco in the winter. I got him a new stainless steel popcorn popper. Then the girls made him some fancy stone paperweights and a crown.
Notice the crown and the cape, he was king for the day, Emerald said.
I made a triple fruit pie with Raspberries, rhubarb, and blueberries and an apple pie instead of a cake. The girls enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast.

Family Camp

July 17th and 18 was our church Family Camp. I started camp three years ago and it is a lot of fun. It takes up a chunk of my time in the summer but the benefit for our church body is sooo good. This year I didn't have much planning help but everyone helped out when I asked and it was one of the best. Of course after 70 plus days of sunshine, it decided to rain Friday night and all day Saturday. It didn't seem to bother anyone to much, other than the tarp had holes in it that dripped and you had to be careful where you sat.

Warren and Kevin Cooley organized the shooting, 22's and BB Guns. It is always the most popular activity of the weekend. They did a great job setting the rules and making sure everyone had fun safely. Warren is helping Silas Jones, age 2, shoot his first BB gun. When he was done, Warren got the 22 and made some holes in his target for him. He was very proud of his "shootin'".
We have chapel Friday night and this year the Flory's did an excellent job leading worship and Jerry Uligh gave a message on not living in fear. As God's adopted children, his love for us is unmeasurable, we are his chosen.

There was lots of time for stories and talking around the campfire.
The kids played on the tire swing and in the river. We did tie dying and swirl stones which are always popular. Everyone was ready to go home by 4pm on Sat. I just about have all the supplies put away and everything cleaned up, now that it's almost August.
"Can I go home yet?"

Clamming

Clam tides called the end of June and we had promised Steve and Stacey Veldstra that we were going to take them. Stacey went a few times as a child but Steve and the kids had never been. We had enough waders to outfit almost everyone and those that didn't have waders, duck taped their boots and rain pants together to keep out the sand and water. Here Steve and Kailee are taping gloves on as well.
Ethan and Jayce made a good team and had a great time trying to get the biggest one.
We had a beautiful day, sunshine and a light breeze. Kailee and I worked together, I'd dig and she would grab. Tyler is resting, looking for his next show.
The three little girls, Alexis, Alyssum, and Alectra, spent the morning exploring and throwing clams into buckets. Baby crabs, clams and little fish were so cute. Here they are showing Jayce and Ethan some treasure.
I have no idea who this person is but take a look at the beach and all the people! It always amazes me that there are clams there year after year, and when the tide goes back out, the beach will be smooth and there will be no trace of all those holes. We went to Veldstra's to clean clams and with all the hands it went fairly quickly. We had to wait for a few rain squalls to pass but the sun came out in between. Stacey thought maybe it was cheeper to buy clams at the store after spending all day working on clams. But who really goes claming to save money? It is just a hard way of having fun!

Swimming lessons

We started the month of July with the second week of swimming lessons. The kids had great instructors this year and really made a big jump in their abilities. Jayce practiced diving and is getting much better at the different stokes and kicks.
Emerald moved up a group and is doing very well learning all the strokes and just having fun in the water. She used to try and swim without getting her neck wet.
Alectra and Alexis moved between two different groups depending on where there was room. They have no fear of the water and love to pop under and swim around. They can just touch the bottom of the pool and get their noses out of the water. The instructor had to keep an close eye on them so they didn't get over their heads.We got to swim with some of our friends, Katelyn and Bethany Engebretsen, and eat lunch together. What a fun two weeks!