Wildflowers

One evening at dinner, Eric mentioned that he had taken Toby, his dog, for a walk on the Gethsemane Trail the day before and was admiring all the flowers blooming. So the next day, we packed a picnic lunch and hit the trail to see for ourselves.

We were not disappointed. It was perfect weather for a walk through the forest, and there were a lot of flowers blooming including a few late azaleas.

Once we reached the falls and had lunch, the kids had fun wading in the water.

Summer Begins

The summer staff arrived and we kicked off O-week on Sunday. It was fun to see so many familiar faces again.

It was also fun to eat breakfast burritos in Sherwood so the Sherwood staff could practice cooking over the fire.

On Wednesday, the kids and I went down to spend a couple days with Dad and Mom. The Trevino kids were there for part of the time, and it was fun to see them too.

At the end of O-week, the kids got some extra staff shirts which were all adult sizes, so I had fun altering them.

 Phoebe let us help color signs to welcome family campers as they drove up the road.

Camping in Sherwood

We took a week of vacation at the end of May and part of the time we camped in Sherwood. We had planned to head down there earlier in the week, but it was cold and rainy, so we waited until Friday to set up camp. It was still pretty cold and misty when we arrived, but it sure was beautiful.

Joshua made grilled cheese, and we were all thankful for a hot lunch.

I felt a little silly telling the kids they needed to bring their snow jackets and boots, but they ended up wearing them almost the whole time, so I was glad I had. 

We wandered around after lunch and did the ropes course.

The kids also climbed on the smaller stump.

Joshua made us dinner, which was delicious.

Then we roasted marshmallows over the fire.

The next morning, Mary helped Joshua cook pancakes over the fire.

 We walked around again before packing up and heading home.

Memorial Day Work Weekend

We enjoyed another good work weekend helping get camp ready for summer. This year they gave people the option of starting work Friday afternoon and having dinner Friday, which we chose to do along with Dad and Mom. Friday we worked on raking pine needles in Mountain View, and Joshua smoked tri tip for dinner for all the volunteers.

Saturday was a big day with more people and lots of raking down in Sherwood. There were also a lot of other projects that got done.

 Hannah found a comfy spot to lie while I raked around the Orangington campfire.

Triple Birthday and Graduation Celebration

We made a quick trip to Visalia to celebrate the May birthday kids and Natalie's graduation. We started with a celebratory brunch.

 Natalie's graduation ceremony was that afternoon. We are so proud of her and glad we could be there to celebrate with her.

Mary's Birthday and Mother's Day

We kicked off Mary's birthday celebration with monkey bread for breakfast.

It was also Mother's Day, so we celebrated that with a special lunch and presents.

Mary requested strawberry shortcake for dessert, so we frosted her cake with whipped cream and served it on Great-Grandma Bushway's china.

Eight Years Old

Our sweet girl is eight years old.

Mary is a good helper and loves toddlers and babies. She learned cursive in school this year and that's now her favorite way to write. 

She loves to play all sorts of games, including chess with Daddy and variations of chess with David that often involve small toys moving around the chess board. Reading also continues to be a favorite pastime, and she is always excited to discover new books.

She often sings and tells stories, usually extraordinary adventures of Mary, David, and Hannah. The stories often involve them being tiny, flying up into the clouds, or taking giant ziplines to visit their cousins.

Mary is a pleasure to know, and we are so thankful for her.

Camping at Bass Lake

We spent a night camping at Bass Lake and had a great time. The week we had reservations, we opened up the trailer to discover that the mice had not only visited our trailer during the winter, but lived in it. Without enough time to clean all that up, we borrowed a tent from our neighbors. The kids thought it was pretty fun to camp in a tent since they hadn't ever done that before.

We sat around an old grill for dinner since the picnic table was in the hot sun.

After dinner, we went to Miller's for milkshakes then walked out on the dam.

Back at our campsite, we had a campfire.

The next day, we met up with friends and hiked the Angel's Falls trail. It was beautiful.

We enjoyed a view of the lake on the way back, then got a well-earned dinner together at the Forks.

Fifty Years

We got to celebrate Dad and Mom's fiftieth anniversary with them. I made a cake and Heather organized a basket with things that remind us of family memories.

Mary made a banner.

 

Happy anniversary!