Rite of Passage

Little kid...

Big kid....

Murphy, NC and Brasstown Valley, GA

The week following soccer camp was vacation week. Roger's dad and his wife invited all of us; Roger's brother, Micah, and his wife, Alisha; plus Shirley's children and grandchildren to spend a few days at their home in Murphy, NC, then on to Brasstown Valley Resort in Georgia for a few days. 18 of us in all! It was great to meet Shirley and her children and grandchildren. And my new (and only!) sister-in-law, Alisha. Our kids had a lot of fun playing with new friends, and 2 months later they are still asking when we can see them again!

In NC, we spent time at Gary and Shirley's houseboat on the lake watching the kids swim, jump off the top of a pontoon boat, ride the jet ski, fish a little, and Shirley's son, JR, brought his boat so the kids were able to tube and wake board a little, too. I hadn't been able to get into lake water since the end of April because of some dermatological surgery I'd had on my back. But by the 4th week of June, I was cleared to expose my skin to whatever funk the lake had to offer, so I tried the wake board myself. Surprisingly, I was able to do it! I even had more success than I'd had before the 8-week hiatus. Lots of fun!

Brasstown Valley was a super nice resort. Every night there we had a fabulous family dinner, all 18 of us, all arranged by Gary and Shirley. The men all played golf one day while us girls hung out at the pool with the kids. Erin even learned to swim there! She overcame her fear of going underwater and she was jumping in and swimming all over that pool. The next day, a bunch of us went for a long trail ride through the northern Georgia mountains. It was beautiful. Carrie was thrown from her horse, but that didn't stop my girl! She got right back on and finished the ride back to the stables. The entire trip was truly fabulous. A big thank you to Pa Pa and Grandma Shirley for having us! Incidentally, today is Pa Pa's birthday. Happy birthday, Pa Pa!

Victory...(tweet! tweet!)...Soccer Camp! Whoop, Whoop!

On to week 2 of summer...Victory Soccer Camp. Our church has a soccer camp every summer rather than a VBS. What would you expect in a church where both the pastor and his wife are soccer players?! There are character lessons taught daily as well as soccer skills and an elaborate World Cup tournament. They also do a cheer to rally all the campers, but I bet you can't guess what it is.

The 100 campers are divided into teams by age and each team represents a different country. They play a few mini games each day plus a World Cup game where they get points for the final World Cup games. At the end of the week, the teams with the least points play each other and the teams with the most points play each other to determine the World Cup Champion. Alec, Carrie, and Erin all played and Haley was an assistant coach. Carrie's team, Ireland, went on to win the World Cup in her age range, as did Haley's team, Italy.



This embedded slideshow is pretty small, but if you click on it, you will be taken to Picasa's website where a larger version can be seen.

Erin was quite the little soccer champ. She and Carrie and Landon are all signed up with the local Parks and Rec to play in the fall. Which is next week. But, Erin...pray for her. The child is in danger of losing her new love. She is slacking off at school and at home with her chores. If there isn't a huge improvement by the time practice starts next week, I'll have to revoke her privilege of playing. Pray for her. She needs it. And so do I.

Let's Dance!

With all the trips, camps, and summer activites done, and school back in full swing for Alec, Carrie, and Erin, it's time to share what we've been up to all this time. As soon as the '08-'09 school year ended, Carrie and Erin's dance recital was the first order of business. The girls did well and the show was excellent. What I saw of it was excellent, that is. I was the backstage mom for both girls' classes and wasn't able to watch all the performances. What I did see was excellent, and as soon as I pick up my DVD of the entire recital, I'll see just how excellent the rest of it was. Here are some pictures from dress rehearsal the night before the recital...

Erin's Tap Dance - Lullaby of Broadway

Carrie's Tap Dance - Little Shop from Little Shop of Horrors

Erin's Ballet dance - Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music

More of our summer coming soon. Next up...Victory Soccer Camp! Bet you can't guess who's the best soccer player?!