S is for ...

Six Flags

Slumber Parties

Shopping {at our favorite store IKEA}

S is for Summer ... spent with good friends!

Happy Birthday to my Husband!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!! We had such a great time celebrating his birthday this weekend ...

{My husband with his new iPhone 4 ... kids had a hard time keeping that a secret}

{Celebrating at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants}

{Also enjoyed cupcakes from our favorite cupcake bakery}

{On Saturday night, we got a babysitter and headed out for a date night - first stop was an Irish Pub where we enjoyed traditional fish and chips}

{Then a mini-drum circle at the Square ... this was supposed to be a symphony but, I think someone got it wrong on the Square's calendar}

{This guy was hilarious to watch with his dancing bird}

{We watched the sun set on the Square while listening to the drums}

{Love how the Square looks at night ... }

Fun Summer Nails

I saw this fun nail polish technique on a couple of blogs right before vacation. I knew my sister Cassie would totally be game to giving it a go as she loves doing nails and always has tons of nail polish. We decided to do tie dyed - red, white, and blue nails.

{Step 1 - Tape all around fingernails so that nail polish will not get on your hands. Then add red, white, and blue nail polish to a cup of water.}

{Step 2 - Swirl with a tooth pick to make a random design.}

{Step 3 - This is what your cup should look like.}

{Step 4 - Swirl fingers around the cup making sure to not put your fingers in past the tape. Unlike my daughter's hand above - she got a little excited and stuck her whole hand in the cup.}

{Step 5 - Peel off tape and clean up any excess nail polish with a paint brush dipped in nail polish remover}

This was such a fun activity and though the prep can take a little time (taping around all the nails) the nail polish dry super quick after your fingers come out of the water. I think this is the perfect rainy day summer activity.

A Summer Break

We are home from a wonderful week in Asheville, North Carolina! It was so nice to spend time with family and enjoy daily excursions in this great mountain city. It was also great to have a break from summer temps ...

{River Arts District ... could have spent days here - amazingly talented artists}

{Family Pic on my parent's front porch}

{Flat Iron Building in downtown Asheville}

{Devin in one of the windows of the Grove Park Inn}

{Devin, Lexi and Ava Mae were invited to be part of the drum circle - they loved every minute of it!!}

{Lexi and Ava Mae loved the white statue man who sang for us}

{Dinner out at the LAB - Lexington Avenue Brewery}

{A view of Wall Street through the Flat Iron}

{Devin outside of the Grove Park Inn}

Lexi and Ava Mae enjoyed their week week long summer workshop at Ballet Conservatory Asheville. They were so nervous the first day but, after just a few minutes at the studio they fit right in and made some wonderful new friendships! I will post more on their experience later this week.

Camp Winshape - Play, See, Become

Another amazing week at Camp Winshape C3 has come to a close. This was Devin's 4th year and he again had a wonderful time. With all the components of a sleep away camp without the actual sleep away part it is the best of both worlds!

This year's theme was i2i ~ Play, See, Become - they used various board games to help teach their "big idea" of the day that speaks to our identity in Christ and how we live in intimacy with Him. It was amazing to me that by the end of the week Devin could tell me what each "big idea" was and what it meant.

These are our highlights from Chick-Fil-A Family Fun Day ...

{Devin and his friend, Clarke - what camp experience would be complete without a friend}

{Safari Village getting warmed up for their morning cheer off}

{Wake Up Dance Attack time}

{Village Town Hall Line Dancing}

{First Skill Class for Devin this year was Digital Photography - above he taught me one of the tricks he learned - shrinking Lexi and having her stand on his head}

{Quick family pic by Devin's photography teacher}

{In Drama - Devin played the part of a disciple in their play}

{Group hug in Drama Class}

{Devin in his Secret Ops spy glasses}

{Secret Ops Group Picture}

{Devin with his beautiful and amazing camp counselor, Bailey. We will be praying for you Bailey as you move on to eight more C3 locations here in the south!}

Thanks once again for all the wonderful memories Camp Winshape!!

Triangulation

Devin is back for his 4th year at Camp Winshape, this week. Today is the big tribal competition {Triangulation} between all three tribes at the camp.

During morning drop off cars are judged on their spirit for their camper's tribe. My kids love this part of the camp ... even the ones who don't attend. In fact, it is so much fun, even our friends came over to help decorate my husband's SUV.

I did the basic wording on the car and the kids took it from there.

The winner receives points for their tribe and a gift card to Chick-Fil-A.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to Chick-Fil-A Family Fun Day at Camp ...

Beauty Outweighs Burdens

This weekend my heart ached ... for a friend with a new cancer diagnosis, another friend who recently found out her husband was having an affair, and yet, another friend who lives daily with the loss of her precious daughter. This morning during my quiet time I read this quote by Ann Voskamp ...

For those who can see, the world’s beauty outweighs its burdens, its grace greater than its grime. ~ Ann Voskamp

As I lift up my dear friends in prayer, and as my heart continues to ache for each one of them, I remind myself that through all this grime their is still beauty in this fallen world.