The Camp Trip

 

This is a special guest post written by preteen son, Jacob. Photos courtesy of Ben Phillips.

For the first time ever, I went to a special camp to learn more about Jesus. This is my story.

Day 1: We got on a bus. It took us 2 hours to get to camp. We had a lot of fun on the bus.

As we were traveling, we got hungry. So, we went to Cici’s Pizza. It was a great place and we were filled up. They had SALAD!!!

We finally arrived at camp. We had to unload our luggage and take them to our cabin. The cabin was cool. It had a lot of beds in it.

The right-top bunk belonged to me, the left-top bunk was my best friend Robby’s. Surprisingly, someone threw a pillow and started a giant pillow fight.

I did not like the pillow fight. Some kids had really hard pillows and it hurt my head. After that, we went to Tabernacle. It was a cool place and really, really, really loud! We sang, they gave us rules, we listened to the preacher. Then, we left and it was time for dinner.

We didn’t choose to go to the cafeteria. The line was dreadful! Instead, we went to the Taqueria.

The line was not as long and they had yummy tacos. We headed back to our cabins for rest, otherwise known as “free time”. We could do whatever we wanted.

We went back to the Tabernacle for more lessons from God’s Word. After we were dismissed, we went to a special church to talk more about God and what we learned. They taught us lots of God’s work. Then, we had free time. My best friend Robby and his dad, Ben, went to dodge ball. I just laid in my bed, and went to sleep. It was raining that night. The rain was nice music that made us sleepy.

 

Day 2: I got up and got my clothes on and we painted our faces green. We had to get up at 6am, we were crabby. But, it was recreation Day! That’s the day we get all dirty

We went to breakfast, then back to the Tabernacle. Afterwards, we went to the mudpit. It was pretty cool. We played tug-of-war. Then we had to pass a sponge filled with water over our heads and hand it over to our teammates to be collected in a bucket.

After that, we got to do a slide. The line was so long, I only ran it once. Next, we had to keep a giant ball in the air.

We went back to the cabins and showered up. After everyone had gone through them, the showers were filthy! Then we had free time. and then back to the Tabernacle.

 

After the Tabernacle was lunch and then some quiet time. Then, we went to small group time. Small group was a place where we could talk about God together. I was with my best friend, Robby.

We headed back to the Tabernacle and then we had dinner. Again, we chose the Taqueria. We had more time in the Tabernacle and more free time. Then, our sponsors told a scary story. The first story was not scary but the second one was, to  me, really scary!

Day 3 highlights: There was more fun to be had. We went to the pool where they had a giant slide. It was so much fun.

We got to play Ga-ga ball, one of my favorites!

That night, we played with “Sad Lion” our camp mascot. There was a starring contest. Sad lion against one of our camp pastors. Sad lion wins again! (this picture was staged)

The day before our last day, we had a big party. We could watch a movie with snacks, or go on a scary walk or stay at the cabin and play board games. I chose to go to the movies because the last scary story I heard scared me too much for a scary walk!

Awards were handed out and I was awarded the “Ghost Buster”. Don’t get any funny ideas about how I got that award!

Day 4, Final Day: Heading back home. We woke up, had breakfast, packed up our things and met at the Tabernacle. Once the buses were ready to go, we headed back home. We watched Madagascar 3 on the way home so it didn’t seem to take very long. Robby and I weren’t that hungry because we brought Cheetos on the bus.

We were home and I told all my family about how exciting the trip was. If you’ve finished 3rd grade and would like to, maybe you could someday go to Epic Life Camp!

I’m glad I went to camp because I let Jesus Christ in my heart. It was lots of fun, I remember finding a cardinal and it was beautiful. Thanks for reading about my Epic Camp story.

The End

Have an Epic Life!

Happy 4th Birthday Austin

Today is my Austin’s 4th birthday. Why does time have to fly by so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I was bringing home my sweet newborn from the birthing center, introducing him to his brothers and holding him in his favorite position.

Now, he’s 4, and about to start preschool. He’s learned how to swim, build with Legos, play video games with his brothers, ride a bike and so much more. We love this little guy and all his crazy energy. He has joy for days, unless you’re asking him to take a nap. I can’t imagine our family without this little man in it. We love you son and happy 4th birthday!

Miss Kitty

 

Ever since our beloved Shadow cat went away, there’s been an empty place in our hearts. It’s no surprise that the kids have been asking when can we get another cat but it was amazing when Ian said one day “we should think about getting another cat”. He has not always been a cat-lover but had his mind changed with our first cat and her gentle nature.

A sister of a friend’s was looking for a good home for a few kitties she had. So we called her up to meet. This is what we came home with, (because no one ever goes to “just look” at kitties)

Our little kitty, Tejas (pronounced Te-ha-s, and is spanish for Texas). We don’t know if she is a she or a he yet. Frankly, we don’t know how to tell either. Either way, she’s super cute!

She and Daisy are already getting along famously.

Of course all the boys love her, but Austin perhaps loves her the most. He’s still confused and calls her Shadow sometimes but he also likes to call her Baby. “I’m going to feed my Baby” he’ll say.

She’s a funny little thing. She likes to sleep in weird positions. She likes to pretend she’s a lion hunting prey in the grasslands. And while she’s super snuggly and loves human affection, she can be really feisty and playful with your toes!

It’s been a lot of fun having a kitty in the house again. The boys are anxious for the day she can sleep with them. I on the other hand, am waiting for her to start catching those pesky mice that keep coming in the house!

What We’ve Been Up To This Summer

 

Summertime is for fun-time and our 2013 summer is no exception. Everything seemed more fun this summer, having my sister and her family here. Trips to the park, pool and beach are always better with family!

We made our annual trek up to the blueberry farm. This year, the farm was only open on the weekends so it was super busy, but our crew didn’t have any trouble finding lots of juicy ones.

We made lots of trips to the beach, and the boys loved finding as many creatures as they could, jellyfish, hermit crabs and ugly fish skeletons.

Speaking of the beach, my good friend Joelyn, took me out for my first trip surfing. She has her own board and I’ve been anxious to go out with her. We went down on a Friday night, without our dear children! It was so much fun and much easier than I thought it would be. Of  course, the waves in Galveston are not anything to boast about but its better than nothing!

Ever since then, I’ve been on the look out for my own longboard, I’m hooked!

Austin took swim lessons this summer. He learned a lot and his confidence in the water really grew. We take lessons from Ms. Shanna. She has the most incredible piece of property and teaches in her backyard pool. While Austin was swimming, the other boys were chasing lizards, reading books and playing card games under the big trees. It was a fun couple of weeks with them.

In July, the big boys had a blast at VBS. They learned,

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” 2 Timothy 1:7-9

Of course we also celebrated the Fourth of July. Mike and Lindsey, and family, joined us for our favorite tradition, dinner and fireworks on the beach. We headed down to Galveston for dinner, watched the parade on the Seawall and sat on the beach while we watched the fireworks. It was a blast. Austin was hysterical at the parade this year. We told him he had to wave and get attention for the people on the floats to toss him goodies. He got everyone’s attention as he raised his hands in the arm and screamed a loud, happy scream in hopes that some beads or candy might be thrown his way. He was a hoot. But, it worked, he scored a ton of beads and candy!

 

It’s only the end of July and I’m sure there’s still more summer fun to be had but I can’t help but feel the impending workload of school right around the corner. We cherish these fun times and the memories we make. I hear many mothers say “ I can’t wait till school starts again”. But I can’t help but sit back, and thank God for the privilege to share joy and laughter with my children. To thank Him for making them and making me their mother.

Kids Triathlon 2013

 

For three years now, Jacob has enjoyed competing in the Kids Kiwanas Triathlon here in Pearland. This year, he was determined to train well and run hard. It was an exceptionally fun year to have his cousin, Aiden and his best friend, Robby, competing with him!

Since Nathan turned 7 this year, he was also eligible to compete! He’s watched Jacob run the course for a few years now and he’s been chomping at the bits to get out on it. We trained hard this summer and he was ready to go!

I’m so proud of all of my boys who competed today. They rocked it.