July?? What Happened to You?

Yes, it's August 28th with everyone back in school, cross country and soccer seasons in full swing, and fall activities starting back up.  I guess that means it's time to get caught up on what happened to the rest of our summer.  The kids had weekly theater activities with the girls rehearsing for 3 different plays and all 3 kids participating in various weekly theater classes.  Staley had cross country practice 3 mornings/week while Adelie attended the HS Distance Camp 2 mornings/week.  But, of course, that's not all that filled our days...

We had a week of VBS.  Briggs attended (and had a lot of fun) while the girls helped on the evenings they were available.

The girls and I went to watch Sofia and McKinley (old NTA friends) perform at the Barn Theatre.

Staley ran with the some of the HS cross country team at Detweiller at Dark.

It was a wild night with crazy storms, sheltering on a random school bus, and long delays...but they ultimately got to run.

We were all wet, muddy, and cold...but lots of memories were made.

Briggs got to help his friend, Freddie, celebrate his birthday at an arcade.

Briggs had a great time playing games and hanging out with his friends.

The girls did lots of performing with their Rising Stars group at nursing homes, parks, festivals, and other community events.

Of course, my girls love all the opportunities to perform for an audience...

whether it's with their dancing...

or their singing.

But more than the performing, they just see it as another chance to hang out with NTA friends.

They enjoyed a State Farm pool day with NTA friends after a Bloomington performance

but also found other opportunities for play dates, hanging out, sleepovers, or just grabbing lunch or ice cream together.

Any opportunity to hang out with NTA friends is a good time!

Briggs participated in the Kids Muddy Madness race with his friend, George, for the second year in row.

The girls performed in the summer Shakespeare show "All the World's a Stage."  It was performing excerpts from some of Shakespeare's most famous plays.

Staley played the part of Juliet's nurse, Rosencrantz, and Narissa while Adelie played the part of Juliet and Quince.

Both girls had lots of Shakespearean lines to learn, and they both did a great job!  I realized that I'm not as cultured as I'd like to think because much of it was very hard to follow.

It is always fun seeing my girls perform on stage, whether or not I totally understand the dialogue or the plot.

The girls were very involved in their theater productions this summer, which primarily filled our last few weeks of July and first weeks of August.  They built sets, rehearsed, performed, teched backstage, and attended after-performance outings to Culvers with friends.

They will have their own posts, but Stage Kids Little Mermaid, Jr. filled many of our late summer evenings.

To increase the craziness, the girls were simultaneously (as in, often racing from a Little Mermaid show to a Frozen show in the same evening) performing in the adult cast Broadway version of Frozen at Eastlight Theater.

Briggs did a week of swim lessons with Ms. Lisa at her pool again this summer.  He made huge strides and moved on to her most advanced class for next summer.

Between the shows and classes and cross country and camps, we also made plenty of time for hanging out with friends...

and cousins (and sometimes both).

We made plenty of trips to State Farm pool...

 but also found time to have friends over to our house to hang out.

And even attending cross country practices and camp was just extra time for fun with friends...especially on slip and slide day!

July was full of fun times...theater and racing and performing and friends and swimming and running...and few relaxing days tossed in there to keep us sane.

Miracle Camp

This year we reached a new summer milestone in our family.  All 3 of our kids went to Miracle Camp.  And to make things extra fun and convenient, they all went on different weeks as Adelie attended the Jr. High camp the week before Pentwater, Staley attended the Sr. High camp the week after Pentwater, and Briggs attended the half-week Grade School camp in the middle of July.

Thankfully all 3 kids had friends that they went with for their week of camp.  With enough friends and other kids from our church going each of the 3 weeks, we were able to figure out carpools so that every family only had to make one trip up to camp and back.

Adelie went with her friends Bristol and Stella.

Staley joined Olivia, Kelsey, and Kaitlyn again this year.

Briggs went with his friend, Freddie, but rode up with Micah, Melanie, and Ember from church as well.

Although Staley and Adelie are well-versed in Miracle Camp and what it entails, this was Briggs' first time going.  Although he was old enough to go to the Jr. High camp, we felt like starting off with the half week grade school camp was probably a better fit for Briggs' first year, as both girls also started off with the half-week option their first time.  The kids all really liked their cabin leaders.

The kids all enjoy a lot of things that camp has to offer.  The zip line and tubing and the water activities are always a hit.  The kids enjoy the coffee shop and mini golf and archery and the group games and chapel.  Briggs said he got a little homesick the second night and all three kids were ready to come home at the end of their time, but it's always a good week full of great memories.  Staley said that the biggest difference between the Jr. High and Sr. High camp was how late they stayed up every night.  She was exhausted after her week of camp!

Although the kids always go with friends, they still spend the week in a cabin with other kids and get to know the other kids at camp throughout the week.  Staley got to see kids that she has met through Quizzing as well as kids she ran against from other schools in cross country and track.  It's a good week to get to know other Christians and just enjoy being together with others.

I love that Miracle Camp is something my kids look forward to every year.  I love that Briggs got to experience (and truly enjoy) it for his first time.  I love that my kids get a taste of freedom, a chance to meet new people, the opportunity to try new things, and a place where they are pushed and encouraged to ask questions, think deeply, and grow in their faith.

Hooray for Miracle Camp!!

She Says...

You'd think as your kids get older, they'd stop saying those funny things that just make you laugh out loud.  That is untrue.  Lately, these little gems from Adelie had us all laughing.

My girls love to listen to songs from musical theater, go see musicals and plays, and talk about plays they would like to be in or roles they would like to play. The other day, as we were driving home from singing lessons, Adelie quipped, "My dream role is to play the Mario plant in Little Shop of Horrors."
#feedmeseymour

It has been Illinois-summer-hot here lately.  The other day Adelie, Staley, and Zach were sitting out on the deck.  Staley and Zach got up to go back inside.  As they were walking in, Adelie cried, "Don't leave me out in the warm."

Adelie and I were going on a walk the other evening.  As we walked by the college, there was a really strong smell of marijuana.  We had this conversation:
Adelie: "Do you know what that smell is?"
Me:  "Yes.  Do you?"
Adelie:  "What does it smell like to you?"
Me:  "It smells like marijuana to me.  What does it smell like to you?"
Adelie:  "It smells like college kids making bad decisions."

This girl always keeps me laughing!