Jumping June

Immediately after getting back from Europe - literally landing on Friday and then heading out on Sunday - the boys went to summer camp.  Kaleb went for the first time, so it was a momentous occasion.  Maybe Mom worried more than he did as he went with his friends Kieran and Lucas.  The house was super quiet without them for that week - although little sister Addi-cakes said she was quite happy to have all the attention to herself "because they are loud and bossy!" :)

Amy took the boys up on Sunday and Karis went the following Sunday to get them - so we each had some quality time with the kids.  Amy and Heather went up the first Sunday and then when it was Karis' turn he went with William - so at least we had some friend bonding time on the long drive there and back.

Love his face - gonna miss you kiddo!

Zachary was with his friend Cristian and they ended up being in Cristian's brother Luke's cabin - we love Luke, such a great kid so we felt really comfortable

Lucas, Kaleb and Kieran stayed in the Gopher cabin

He at least gave a smile when getting his kiss!

Proof of life picture halfway through the week - he lives!  We had some of Kaleb as well on the camp website, but as Luke was the counsellor he actually texted Amy a picture of the two boys

While the boys were gone, the ladies went out on a few outings in the evenings, including a date night to Panera.  Good times!  Addison also went to a VBS at one of our churches that week

This church has the most amazing decorations for VBS - this tree went all the way to the ceiling and the "knot hole" was functional, where people went up and looked out at the audience to talk as part of the church program! 

See the people up there?

The Markham Woods VBS program is always a highlight for us, so we were happy to be able to attend the Friday night program in which the kids sing and do the motions to the songs with gusto!  It is always so sweet!

She is three rows up from the bottom in the middle of the picture

Hanging with her brother - love the relationship these two have (when they aren't bickering...)

The week that the boys got home from camp, Amy's cousin Scott came to visit for a cruise with our cousin Jeff.  We were excited to see him - he lives in Abu Dhabi so it isn't often that we can catch up with him.   Taking a deep breath, Amy is going to admit on this blog that we were supposed to go on the cruise as well for Jeff's 40th birthday, but Amy in the craziness of the Europe trip managed to accidentally book the cruise for the wrong week.  Yep - booked the cruise for June 27th instead of June 13th.....so we were not able to join them.  Who would have thought that the entire boat would have been completely sold out, and that every single person would show up (because yes, we drove all the way down to Tampa to wait at the terminal in the hopes that someone wouldn't show up).  It must have been a God thing, because we tried everything other than stowing away to get on that boat!  We're sorry Jeff :(  And proving yet again why Amy has the best husband ever in the history of mankind, Karis did not kill her for booking the wrong date and wasting a bunch of money.  Amy is blessed beyond measure for her amazing husband!

So with the fact that we ended up being here for the weekend, we decided to put our time to good use and we filled it up with lots of things that we just never have time to get done.....so Amy did 24 credits of continuing education to finish out her yearly requirement while Karis painted one of our rental houses.  We also went to the Vacation Bible School program for Addison (her second program this year) and had some friends over that weekend.  And because that Sunday was Father's Day, Karis ended up joining a group to go skeet shooting as well!  Both boys went with him and they each got 4 clay pigeons - getting a little better each time! While not a cruise, it definitely was productive.

Finished panting the main part of the house - just the trim remained!

A lot of fun on the boat together!

Taking aim

 When they got back from the cruise, we were able to visit with them that Monday when we had them over for supper.  It was great to catch up, and Scott stayed with us until Thursday when he flew up to New York City before catching the flight Friday back to his home.

A funny story while Scott was here is that he decided he would like to go to the Trump campaign announcement in Orlando (the day after he got back from the cruise) (even though he is Canadian and lives in another country, so this election has no bearing on him - he said it was a fun social experiment to watch!). Anyway, he used Amy's phone number to sign up unknowingly, and Amy deleted the text before he could tell her ..... so then he used Karis' number (with our blessing) to get his tickets.  So now Karis is on Trump's "supporter" list so we get all kinds of texts :(

In other events, Zachary went to his very first paint ball birthday party.  Welts galore, but he had fun!

A major event in June as a surprise 40th birthday party that two other ladies planned with Amy for Jennifer.  We did it at the Goblin Market which was a very quaint restaurant up in Mt. Dora.  Ashley, Corey and Amy planned for months, and managed to pull it off without her finding out!  There were about 16 people there, so it was really fun to celebrate such a special person!  Happy birthday Jennifer! 

Flowers and placecards that had a picture of each person attending with Jennifer....along with a blessing for each underneath the picture 

And delicious "nothing but bundt cakes" for the treat! 

The whole group of celebrants!

The party planners with Jennifer

Speaking of birthdays, we also had a chance to celebrate Lyle's birthday - Amy's step-father.  He is such a great addition to the family - we have really enjoyed getting to know him.  Happy birthday - may this next year be amazing!

After Jennifer's birthday party, Amy took Addison to get a mani/pedi - this girl loves to have some pampering done, so she was all in for that!

 Jennifer is in charge of the Family Ministries at our church and is doing a fantastic job.  She has lots of fun events for families to come to - and one of them recently was a rescue animal foundation - and they brought all kinds of exotic animals to share and teach the kids about.  It was a super fun event!

 Random pictures:

London and Addison - sisters of the heart for sure!  So sweet these two girls!

Take your child to work day.....Addison cam and hung out with Karis for a while one day when Jennifer couldn't keep her.  Give her electronics and she is quiet as a mouse! :)

After camp, there were a few friends that all got together from Zachary's class to go boating at her house.....at the request of the really sweet girl in the middle top row....it is a brand new world in middle school for us as parents!

Jennifer took the kids one day down to Splitsville in Disney for a fun diversion

Who is this bubble monster? :)