Calvin Crest Week 1

FPC sent a number of kids to Calvin Crest for camp this summer. Since part of Joshua's pastoral responsibilities include working with the youth, he reserved a room in Cedar Lodge for part of each week that we had kids up at camp. Mary, David, and I were excited to go up with him on Tuesday. We enjoyed all the lupine blooming.

The kids loved hiking around and especially enjoyed finding bridges and checking to see if there was water flowing underneath.

Wednesday morning, we enjoyed some time at the playground.

Then we set off on a hike.

We hiked all the way to Gethsemane Falls where Mary and David got to take their shoes off and play in the water.

They liked throwing sticks in the river.

After lunch, we met up with Joshua to have a treat.

Then we stopped by the craft condo and strung beads on lanyard to make fishing poles.

Another morning hike Thursday.

Photo: CC

We had a grape snack on the pad in the afternoon.

 Camp wrapped up Friday, so we got in one more hike before packing up, having lunch, and heading down the mountain.

Fourth of July

We had fun celebrating the Fourth of July, starting on the third with watching fireworks from the Nickells' front yard.

We let the kids stay up late to see the fireworks, and Mary loved them.

David liked them too, but didn't manage to stay awake for the whole show.

The next day, we returned to the Nickell house for swimming, dinner, and festive desserts. David enjoyed eating most of the tomatoes that Michelle picked from Heather's plants.

 We decided one late night was enough for the kids, so we returned home before they set off fireworks, but the neighbors across the street had already started when we got home. They shared a box of Pop-Its, and the kids had fun throwing them in the street.

Pregnancy So Far

This pregnancy has been different than my previous two. For one, it's the most anticipated and in that sense very exciting, but I'm also the most impatient to be done and holding our new baby. That's probably partly because it's been harder than the others. The normal first trimester symptoms started much earlier, around five and a half weeks, and lasted the rest of the trimester and into the beginning of the second. Thankfully, those have mostly cleared up by now since I'm in the happy and mostly comfortable second trimester, although I still occasionally have periods where my heart pounds and races and it makes me lightheaded almost to the point of passing out (but I haven't, whew).

When I was pregnant with Mary and David, I wanted noodles all the time. This time noodles haven't had the same draw and at times sound unappealing. During the first trimester, I wanted peanut butter and applesauce all the time. The applesauce has waned a bit now, but peanut butter still sounds good all the time.

We have also had more ultrasounds than before, which has been fun since it's exciting to see the baby. With both the kids being older than Mary was when I was pregnant with David, there's a lot more anticipation from them as well. Mary is very interested in the baby growing inside me and when and how it's going to be born and what it will do once it is born. She and David spend hours taking care of baby dolls, including fake crying so they can comfort them. It's fun to see them share in our excitement of welcoming this new baby into our family.

Mary's Spiritual Birthday

 Mary wanted a cake with sprinkles inside and on top to celebrate her spiritual birthday. She helped me frost it and was pleased with the results.

Happy Father's Day

We started off Father's Day with Doughnuts with Dads at church.

 The celebration continued when the kids gave Joshua their gift after lunch and then we headed out to my parents' house for Sunday dinner and to wish my dad a happy father's day.

Introducing

 Baby Kerr, due November 5!

Strawberry Jamming

The price of strawberries came down to 98 cents per pound, so we've been stocking up and drying them, freezing them, and making jam.

And, of course, eating a lot along the way.

Party Shopping

Photo: Micah

 We often try to shop around the same time on Tuesdays so we can run into each other at the store. Mary likes to ride with everyone.

Harvest Fun

We harvested some basil and made pesto.

 Mary got a new animal stacking game.

First Canning of the Season

We've been enjoying harvesting from the backyard; the kids love to come out and look for things to pick with me. Our beans have been producing nicely, and we've gotten a few other things as well.

 We managed to collect enough beans and dill for the first canning project of the season. I was particularly excited about it since I didn't do much canning at all last year.

Floats and Fun

I found Mary and David sitting and playing a game together.

We went out for root beer floats after dinner on Monday.

 Ice on a tray kept these two entertained for a solid hour plus while I baked up a storm.

Tenth Anniversary

Joshua and I celebrated our tenth anniversary on June 2. We had dinner at the Vintage Press that evening and started things off by trying escargot for the first time. Then we split an amazing salmon entrée, got a complimentary sparkling beverage, and accidently ordered three desserts. We asked for a dessert sampler, and I guess that's what we got but they were full sized desserts. Needless to say, we weren't able to finish all three.

The following day we took a day trip to the coast. It was lovely and foggy when we got there, and we enjoyed a walk along the bluffs.

It was relaxing to walk along the ocean admiring the view and chatting about everything and anything.

We had seafood for lunch of course, and it was good.

We took another short walk along the ocean.

 We also walked down to the beach. It was such a nice way to celebrate a big milestone.