Bible Camp 2013

Brody, Claire and Max are heading in to Hosanna for Bible Camp!                    

This year, Claire and Brody are "big kids" and go to the big kid class (together).  Omi has to leave them at the door with their teacher (Miss Lisa).  However, I did get a peek at them during our Celebration time at the beginning of each day.  They were holding hands and doing all the singing and dancing and following the directions of the leaders, so cute.  Claire was showing Brody the moves!

So - it's Max and me this week - and lots of pictures of him!

He spent the first morning exploring each play station.

The kitchen had lots of things our kitchens don't have!

He really enjoyed this little rider, it moves like an inchworm.

The water table...

Playdoh - we spent a LOT of time at this table.

This was a Swiss Army Knife tool and he really liked it.  Note the tongue!

Rice table, note the stance!

Once he got the hang of these tubes, he did it over and over and over and...

Selfie with Max during Celebration time, he was a little scared of the dark.

Max especially liked snack time!  Yum yum!
When I picked up Claire and Brody, their teacher raved at how sweet they are, and how much she enjoys them.  She said Brody really was a caretaker of Claire and made sure she was comfortable.  He helped her with her hair clip, which seemed to be giving her problems!  Miss Lisa thought he was very mature for his age and had a great vocabulary (sounded like he did a lot of talking)!

Some of the moms have been chatting with us as Max and I play together.  They comment on his great vocabulary as well!  Huh - guess these kids are geniuses!!

Happy Father's Day

Papa sure does love ya....

Brody and Papa went on a peaceful paddleboat ride at the lake.

Maverick was showing off his smile (and seasoning lunch).

Max shares a Father's Day snuggle with Papa.  It was a good day!

Maverick's Birth Day

We celebrated Maverick's 1st birth day at daycare with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

Then at snack time, we had birthday mini muffins with a real candle.

We helped him blow it out, he was impressed!

Everyone is enjoying the muffins.

Especially Maverick!  For this special occasion, I sprinkled them with powdered sugar!

And everyone got four or five of them, unheard of!  (even though they are healthy)

Just a few more...

After all those muffins, Auntie Heather led us in exercises.

Claire and Max are wearing their birthday masks - boo, scary!

Fun at Daycare

GG comes to play and do projects with us on Farm Days.  They had a lot of fun on this project - putting the foam ABCs into their places.

Maverick is learning to walk behind this push toy, over and over again.

Claire and Max are watching and helping Maverick.

Brody is working on puzzles all by his quiet self.  So proud.

Maverick is learning to sit by himself at the snack table.  As I was taking his picture, Mara peeked out from where she was playing on the floor!  Ham!

When Auntie Heather is with us, we take on bigger projects.  This day we did a lot of painting!

And painting some more!

Max loves to pick on Maverick.  Now that Maverick is a little bigger and able to interact with Max, they have learned to wrestle!!  It is not the same kind of wrestling that Max and Brody do, much gentler, but they do have fun.

Maverick is laughing in this shot!

Max is thinking this whole thing is very funny!

Beading is a new project.  Brody has created a masterpiece necklace!!

June Happenings

Max and Mara are quite a pair.  He actually plays with her quite often when nobody is looking.  They have similar features and build as well, which makes it extra cute.  I caught them this morning with Max laying on her lap and Mara slapping his head and pinching him on the cheek.  They even amazed me by letting me snap this photo.  (Coincidentally, Mara's shirt says Peas in a Pod!)

Maverick gave everyone an animal mask at his birthday this weekend.  They were a hit (later that day).  Here's Claire sporting her pig mask (pink, of course) on the way to the farm.

One of the rare days when we had warmth, we headed outside.  Claire is busy feeding babydoll Abby.  She often does this when I am feeding Mara.

On our Zoo Day, Mara decided she wanted a ham sandwich instead of the puffs her mom was giving her!                                                                        

A Shout Out to My Team

     I had the flu on Monday.  Kinda hit me in the middle of the night - didn't know what to do about the kids.  In my old life, I would have called in sick and spent the day on the couch!  I plowed ahead, got ready and headed up to pick up Max and Claire at their house.  Got home with them and I felt worse.  They had Alpha Bits for breakfast with a glass of milk!!  I wondered how I would manage when baby Mara and Maverick arrived (figured Brody would be good with ABCDs (as they call them)).  Luckily PAPA hung around to help out.  Barry dropped off the boys and Heather arrived a little later with Mara.  Thankfully AUNTIE HEATHER decided to work from my house for the morning, so she helped out with the babies and keeping C, B, and M busy.  I got Maverick and Max down for a nap and Heather put Mara down and then I rested on the couch while GG took Claire and Brody to her house to fill the birdfeeders, then Claire went with PAPA in the tractor for the rest of the morning.  Then AUNT BONNIE arrived early to help out and play with the kids as well!!  She entertained Brody and Max, Maverick and Mara while I worked on getting lunch ready.  They were able to spend a lot of time outside, it was a beautiful day!
     I sure do appreciate my team of loving helpers.  I made it through the day, the kids had a good time, everyone ate and slept, all is well with our little world!