Strong Rock Camp

Strong Rock Camp rocks!! Karina has been given the opportunity to go to a wonderful camp for the last 4 years. It is in Cleveland, GA and I highly recommend it to any parent who would like for their child to have a great camp experience. Some friends of ours, James and Corie Himstedt, started a camp 4 years ago and it is the best summer experiences Karina has had. If interested, go to http://www.strongrockcamp.com/ . It is awesome! Karina has taken a variety of classes while there including: archery, riflery, horseback riding, swimming, cooking, dance and canoeing.

This is Kooper supporting his big sissy and wearing her tribe's colors. She is an Awahili. There are two tribes at camp and they have tribal competitions. Karina comes home every year singing the new tribal cheers.

As the kids march in, they have show their tribe's sign and be very solemn. I told Jason this year that if I didn't know better, I would think that none of them had fun. But I know so much better than that!!!

Her camp counselors this year were "Shug" and "Button". Karina says that they were the best counselors ever!! Of course, I think that she has said this every year when she comes home.
"Shug" was one of her counselors last year and Karina was so excited that she got to have her again!
(Button on left and Shug on right)

This year, she stayed a week. They also have two week camps and she has gone to those two times. It is a wonderful experience beyond anything that we could ask for. Thank you James and Corie for the chance to come and enjoy it! While Karina was there this year, James and Corie had an addition to their family. Elizabeth Joy Himstedt was born. What an exciting time for their whole family!

Thank you so much again James and Corie for not only allowing her to come but also that you guys truly want her to come. She really wants to be a counselor as soon as she can!!! Although this year, some friends of ours from church brought their two kids and their youngest is 6 (I think). Karina took her under her wing even though she was from the other tribe (Boooo Waya Tribe) and helped her many times. As I was checking the pictures that they posted daily on the website, I kept seeing Karina and Maggie together. It was very sweet. Karina just loves to help other people. I just pray that the same sweet spirit continues through teenage years. I'm not asking for much, am I?

Happy Fathers Day!!

Happy Father's Day! We have had a wonderful weekend! It was Kooper's first Father's Day and he definitely seemed to enjoy it along with Karina. We went to church and then came to Mom's and had lunch with Nathan, April, Abigail and Andrew. The guys grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs and we all enjoyed eating them. A nice nap in the middle of the day and then we were ready to go swimming. This was Kooper's first time in the pool and he loved it. It was a nice big bath for him!

Wonderful Weekend

Last week, Jason and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. It's hard to believe in many ways that it's already been 3 years. In others, it seems like it's been at least 10! We were able to go to a cabin in Ellijay for our anniversary. It was beyond wonderful! Thank you Ed and Judy! Jason and I headed up to the cabin on Friday afternoon. We got to the cabin and felt like we had walked into our home but it was SO much better than our home! We spent Friday and most of Saturday up there. Then, on Saturday, Mom brought up the kids. We all got to spend the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday together. We had so much fun! We played games and just hung out. It was my kind of getaway. We had nothing planned! So many times, we go on vacation and we're constantly "going". This was so nice because we just kind of stopped and enjoyed being a family. The cabin had a big jacuzzi tub and because of the water drought, we couldn't fill it up but we let the kids take a bath together with a little water. Of course, I had to put a swim diaper on Kooper or Karina wouldn't have dared to get into the tub!!! Even with it on, she was worried that the germs still might leak out of the diaper. Here's a short video of them playing together.

She managed to get over worrying about it too much! It was a wonderful weekend and we all had so much fun. There are a few more pictures for you to enjoy.

Kooper is 9 months old today!!

Today is June 10 and Kooper is 9 months old. He started crawling this weekend. He's definitely not a speed racer but he gets where he wants to go for sure! I wanted you to see him crawl. He's so cute!

Well, I told you that he's not a speed racer but I think he's doing great!