Camp Crestridge - 2021

Ryan and I were thrilled the girls were able to return to Camp Crestridge after it was cancelled last summer.  We love everything about this place.  It's set in the beautiful NC mountains, they have awesome counselors to encourage them, they meet interesting people, and they learn some cool skills along the way.  The girls were a little hesitant to go back this year, but we could tell from the letters they wrote us and the pictures we saw each day that they were having an absolute blast.  When we finally picked them up 12 days later, they couldn't stop telling us about all the fun they'd had.  They can't wait for next year!

Mia with her Hawksbill 22 cabinmates.

Lily with her Roan 39 cabinmates.

Here are some pictures that the camp took of the girls in some of their skills.  Mia took riflery, horsemanship, woodworking, sewing, cooking, and rock climbing while Lily took mission skill, riflery, crafts, cooking, grilling, and child & babysitting safety (which gives her a two year certification from the American Safety & Health Institute).

Both girls received their newest honor bands in the Council of Progress.

Here are a few more pictures of the girls around camp.  I don't know the other people or even what they're doing, but they look happy and that's enough for me!

Thank you for another great camp experience Crestridge!  Until next year!

50 Years!

May 29th marked Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary.  How amazing is that?!  I love seeing these pictures from their wedding day.

To celebrate the big day, Wayne rented a big house over on Lake Oconee for his family, our family, and Mom and Dad.  He pulled his boat over too.  The ten of us had a great time hanging out, talking, looking through photo albums, boating, eating, and just enjoying being together.

We enjoyed gorgeous weather all three days.  It was perfect for being out on the water.

Mia enjoyed trying her hand at driving the boat.

Mia, Molly, and Zac had fun climbing up and jumping off the big rock.

We were able to fit Mia, McKayla, Molly, and Zac on the tube behind the boat!

Mia and I took a turn on the tube together and had a blast.  I reminded her that it would be Wayne's mission to throw me off so she needed to hold on tight!  We had a great time bouncing all around and swinging from side to side while holding on for dear life!  We stayed on the entire time until Wayne stopped the boat to pull us in; when he did, the front of the tube dipped into the water which very quickly flipped us over.  I guess he won!

We enjoyed several gorgeous sunset cruises.

We are very thankful for this family.  Wayne had the perfect idea to get us all together for a few days; what better gift could there be?  Mom and Dad have set such a great example for us in what a marriage can look like.  They have a put forward a wonderful legacy, and we look forward to making more memories with them.

Florida, Finally!

A few days after school ended, we flew down to Florida to visit family.  We were all looking forward to going since we hadn't visited with everyone together since Christmas, 2019.  We had two trips cancelled last year due to Covid concerns, so we were anxious to get there.  Finally, we arrived!

I was most looking forward to meeting Nick and Allie's sweet baby boy, River, who was born in December.  Our newest nephew is adorable!

We all enjoyed getting to see Taz again and meeting Pip who joined the family in the Fall.

Mia couldn't wait to get back out on Grandpop's boat and go fishing.  We had absolutely beautiful weather, so they were able to go out a couple of times.  I know they had a ton of fun!

We all went out cruising a couple of times too which is always a good time.

Mia brought her Oculus virtual reality set down with her so she could face off against Nick and Allie in Beat Saber.  I think we had more fun watching them compete!

Lily and I went to Clearwater Marine Aquarium one afternoon which is always a neat experience.  We love seeing Winter and Hope; they are movie stars after all.  They currently have six or seven dolphins here though so we watched all of them for awhile.  They are so beautiful.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching the seat otters too.  These two were cracking us up.  One of them just kept rolling over in the water the whole time.  I don't know how he wasn't incredibly dizzy.  What funny little animals!

We also saw sea turtles, pelicans (like Rufus!), sharks, rays, and fish while were here.  What a cool mission they have here.

Feeding time for a Winter and Hope!

We went upstairs to see a cool whale exhibit.  It focused on how to best save the whales which is good information to know.  They had several life size inflatable whales in the room.  Man, these guys are huge!

They have an awesome street legal electric golf cart.  Lily and I wrote around for a couple hours over our time here, just visiting neighborhoods and chatting.  I loved this time!  I let Lily try her hand at driving it too and she did so well.  It's hard to believe she'll actually start driving this fall!

We are so thankful for Grandpops and Grandma Jan!

What a great visit!  We look forward to next time!