Shaking What His Mama Gave Him...

So Jake was a very good sport at club one evening...take a look. Abby was so proud. (PS- When I turned the camera to a landscape orientation the video screen adjusted, so I thought the recorded video was adjusting too... apparently, I was wrong... so you have to turn your screen or head sideways a little... it's worth the effort!)

First Family Vacation

We got to spend a week at Young Life Family Camp last week. Not only was it our first experience at Family Camp, it was our first family vacation with two kiddos. We have tons of good memories and photos to share. These just scratch the surface.

First dining hall meal at camp (don't get me wrong-- this is not typical dining hall slop... pretty yummy stuff)! Cheers to a week-long vacation from cooking and dishes!!!

Abby's first club! It is a part-goofy and part-serious time where the love of God is shared and celebrated in ways that we don't experience everyday. Stay tuned for footage of Jake on stage at club! Abby had no idea what club was before that night, but after lots of laughter and a late night surprise ice cream Sunday, she was hooked! We took her to club in her jammies the first night, since it was so much after her Texas bedtime...but, as the week progressed, we loosened up. Katie did go to bed every night before club... we just took a baby monitor with us so that we could hear in case she woke up. Note the "quiet please" sign. Our room was right outside the club room, and I don't think anyone even noticed the quiet signs in the hall, but we went prepared with plenty of white noise, so it was no problem. Next morning was a rodeo and petting zoo...

We did have a little hiccup in our vacation. Katie went on a fluid strike and got altitude sickness, so we ended up in the ER to get her hydrated. Boy did we celebrate when she decided to start drinking again finally. Drink it, baby, drink it!! It's like she is thinking, "ha, ha, ha... I could have taken a swig days ago, but I was holding out for the entertainment's sake..." Fly fishing...in a kid-sized trout pond, not exactly an idyllic mountain stream, but still it was much needed outdoor quiet time for Daddy. Here's our first all-family hike... er, perhaps I should say, all-family hike-n-ride. Jake was revered by all as he hoofed it up the mountain with two girls strapped on.

We made it to the top in pretty good time! Jake, you're still "the man"!

We did not stay at the peak with the rest of the campers for too long, because it was way past Katie's naptime, and she was letting the entire mountain know. She finally fell asleep in the B'jorn as we hiked down ahead of the pack.

Abby & Katie even received their first camp care package from Mimi!

Fashionista! What little girl can resist a pair of Dora sunglasses? Amazingly, she has not lost them yet!

Abby immediately used her new bling phone to call Mimi to thank her for the package... she listed every single item in her thank you on that phone. When we picked up the real phone to call Mimi, she would simply say "thank you for all the stuff in the box, Mimi." Hilarious.

While Abby was busying calling Mimi, Katie was busy scoping out the loot. She's thinking, "that package had my name on it too, didn't it?" Abby did share all of the snacks and freely allows Katie to use the phone for all of her calls too.

One afternoon, Jake and I went horseback riding through the mountains... one of my favorite memories at camp. My horse was "Slick" and he was a little challenged in the multitasking department... how appropriate! Jake's horse was "Cracker Barrel" and he liked to make frequent snack stops... once again, how appropriate! Wrangler Breakfast in front of beautiful Mt. Princeton. Omelets, french toast, coffee...all cooked out on the range... fun experience! Abby had her own little breakfast date going on...making friends, as usual. Making new friends was probably her favorite part of the week. Several nights, as we poured her into bed, she would be deliriously saying, "no, I want to go make more friends..." Flipping the world's largest pancake... ha! The cowboys make you catch your own french toast at the Wrangler Breakfast...thankfully, mine ended up on my plate, not the ground! Abby watched, and then quietly said, "no thank you" to french toast that morning. Ahhhh, the ropes course. Most of you would probably guess that ropes courses are not my favorite activity... well, I wanted to give ropes a try because I thought it would be a fun experience to share with Jake. I almost chickened out at the top, but in the end, was glad I made myself do it! I was pretty enthusiastic until we got to the platform. There we are "discussing" whether I was going to give it a try... Jake wizzed across, as I gave it more "thought" Oh, what's the worst that could happen... alright, I'm going!

Phew! We made it across the ropes to the zipline. I spent more than my share of time on this platform. All my instincts told me not to let go and push off. I considered turning back, but I was told my only option was to walk back across the ropes course. That did it! I would rather passively scream my way down the zipline than go back across the ropes.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Piece 'a cake...Katie's first swim was in the hot spring fed pool at Frontier Young Life Camp. Abby's first big curvy water slide ride was at Frontier. Fun!

So much fun, so little time to sleep! So, when they did sleep, the girls did a knock-out job! No amount of noise in the hallway could keep 'em up!

Oh, my eyelids seem to have gotten heavier with the altitude... is that possible?

Here's a Kids Klub wrangler whose job seems to have gotten the best of him... 

Little sleep, but lots of good memories at camp! 

And we could always find time for a good swing down in the Aspen grove...

And, Abby made plenty of time for making new friends!!!

And there was plenty of goofing around too...

And contemplating life while basking in the beauty of the mountains...

Even the littlest campers took time out to ponder God's creation.... or, in this case, perhaps wonder, "I wonder where I left my blankie?"

Sweet Katie grew up a little every day at camp. Here is a series of photos of her sweet-talking her Daddy...

Looks like he is smitten...

Daddy's little girl...

Last night was a BBQ and square dance in the Aspen grove. So fun! We thought Katie was surely going to have night terrors about the zillions of people passing us by in the huge square dance line... talk about sensory overload!

Here is the "I Don't Care Bear"...who became the "I Care Bear" on the last night of camp when he had his first real friend love him... Abby still talks about him everyday.

So hard to leave this wonderful place, but it is just a small taste of the good stuff to come one day!

And the fun we had is even sweeter knowing that it has eternal purpose...