Welcome Home

Hubby came home tonight after being gone for a month. The kids wanted to celebrate his homecoming, so they made him banners.

I surprised hubby in a different way. With something he couldn't resist...cherry cobbler

Start Your Engines

We found a new summer activity!  The inline racing center is air conditioned.

It is harder to stay off the track rails than I would have thought.

A Good Start To Summer

This week the kids and I had a blast at camp! A new church recently opened up in our diocese. As they are still building their staff, several people from our church are helping in the interim. I was running their vacation bible school camp this week. It was a great experience for the kids and I.

This church is in the lowest income area of our city. Many of the children don't have enough to eat during the summer months, when school is out. Most of the kids in this area receive breakfast and lunch at school during the year. These are the only meals some of them get. So, we fed them both breakfast and lunch. After lunch on the first day, some of them came up to me and the other volunteers and told us that this is the most they had ever eaten and that the now knew what being full felt like. To say hearing those words was heartbreaking is an understatement.

We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful staff of volunteers, who went above and beyond every day. Most of them were in high school, with some adults and two jr. volunteers that happen to live in my house.

I was very proud of how seriously the kids took their "jobs" and all work they did. The girl and boy helped out in prepping and feeding the kids breakfast and lunch. The girl worked in the pre-k and 1st grade classes as a helper and in the craft room with all of the kids all week. The high school boys and girls took the boy under their wing and he helped out with the outside games and activities. They had so much fun working with the kids and volunteers. When hubby would call in the morning the boy would tell him "daddy, I can't talk, I have to go to work and volunteer today".
The boy playing a game with the camp kids. They were playing four squares. He was the caller, so he had to be blindfolded.

The kids singing the songs they learned today for their parents. If you look closely, you can see the girl on one end and the boy on the other.

Today, after it was all over the kids asked if they could do it again.

A dip in the pool at their Aunt's house. A fun ending to a good week.

Will You Share?

Deacon is ever hopeful that he will get Boscoe to share his cat food and play with him. Of course, the cat views Deacon with the appropriate amount of disdain and ignores him whenever possible.

Deacon had been sneaking up on the cat for the last few minutes crawling inch by inch to within striking range. He then would paw at the cat's tail whenever it was swooshed his way. Obviously, the cat didn't find this game amusing and ignored Deacon and continued to eat...very, very slowly.

Whose Spoiled?

In my defense, it is very hot here.

The Beginning of Summer

The girl and her friends saying "goodbye". Since they have camp together next week and a sleep over after that, it isn't a long goodbye.

Since it is now the official beginning of summer for us, we decided the best way to celebrate it was at the beach. Because of the way I took the picture, you can't see them, but this is the boy, the girl and her friend S playing in the surf.

Since he will be 7 this summer, the boy informed me he was old enough to go boogie boarding. So, with equal amounts of pride that my little one was going off to do things he wouldn't have done last year and wistfulness because he was going off to do things he wouldn't have done a year ago and is no longer a little boy, I watched him wade out to find a wave to ride.

Riding the wave into shore. He loved it and continued to board until it was time to go home. I guess I now know what to get him for his birthday.

For Bob

The kids and I took a day trip over the weekend. We stopped at a diner on the way home. It was a fun.

Bob, these pics are for you!