Father/Son, Mother/Daughter Camp weekend

We had another amazing weekend at our 4th annual Father/Son, Mother/Daughter weekend up in Tallulah Falls, Ga at the Athens Y Camp! It is a weekend filled with fun and special bonding time with our children. Although we are at the same camp all weekend, the activities for the boys and girls are separate (with the exception of the hike into the gorge on Saturday am). We had so much fun doing things like making smores at a bond fire, swimming, tie dying, movie night, scavenger hunt, and other activities. I think that one of our favorite things was the hike into Tallulah Gorge... it is so much fun! We hiked to "slippery rock" and had a blast sliding down over and over and swimming around at the bottom. The next morning when we woke up we were definitely feeling the results of such an active day... we could barely move! Dave and Mitchell had a great time in their activities and making new friends and Amelia loved spending time with other girls her age. We all loved seeing people we knew from previous camps and meeting new people who were at camp for the first time. Amelia had several friends in our cabin from school, church, etc, so they had a great time together (the moms really enjoyed hanging out together, too!). We are already looking forward to next year!

Welcome to Youth!

Mitchell and youth minister, Hannah



Girls enjoying dinner



The grill master!



Mitchell and friends Owen, Will and Brooks



Playing ball


Last night our family got to be a part of a special night for Mitchell... the "Welcome to Youth Group" party at the Granger's house. The whole youth group at our church had a cookout to welcome the sixth graders and their families to the group. We all had a great time and Mitchell got to know some of the youth better and had fun hanging out with his friends. We can't believe that we have someone in this group! There are many wonderful things planned for the youth this year and Mitchell can't wait to be a part of all of them!

A Great Sunday Treat!

We had a special treat today... some great friends from Duluth called us and wanted to meet for lunch today after church. They had come to Athens to have a small get-away for their family and decided to give us a call! We have not seen these friends in five years (that's what happens when you move even one hour away), but it was so easy to catch up with them over lunch. Mitchell and Walker went to preschool together and Amelia and Dori (Walker's little sister) became good friends just from seeing each other every day while picking up the boys from school. We really missed them when we moved here so it was a nice surprise to get to spend some time with them! While we were eating lunch the Naehers walked in the same restaurant! Luke and Juli are also good friends of ours who moved to Athens from Duluth a few months before we did. Madison also went to preschool with Mitchell and Walker, so it was like a little preschool reunion! It was so sweet to see how all of the kids just picked back up right where they had left off, as if they see each other every day... they didn't stop talking the whole time we were together (and the same was true for the adults)! Thanks to Walker and Susan McGraw for calling us.... we had a great time!!

First Day of School!!

Amelia is ready for her first day!



Amelia and Claire wait for the school bus



getting on the school bus



Mitchell... going to Middle School!!



Millie, Abbey, Clara, Emily and Mitchell wait for their bus


Wow... I can't believe that it is time for school already! This year we have two shifts of waiting for the bus... Amelia's comes at about 7am and Mitchell doesn't have to be ready until about 7:45. I have to admit that it was a little scary putting Mitchell on that bus to Middle School this year! Can you believe that the time has gone by that quickly? It seems like yesterday that we moved here and I was driving him to Oconee Primary for his first day of Kindergarten! Just another HUGE reminder to cherish each moment with your children... I can't wait to see how their day went!

"Seussical"!!!

This weekend Amelia was in her 8th musical with Oconee Youth Playhouse... "Seussical, the Musical". It was so cute! Amelia was a "Who" and looked adorable in her costume. All of the kids worked so hard rehearsing long hours all summer and it all paid off! We all really enjoyed going to see the performance on Friday night followed by a treat at Scoops ice cream parlor. Amelia performed again on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, so they were busy! Then they had a fun cast party after the last show. They had fun socializing, eating, watching their DVD of the performance and autographing each other's t-shirts. Amelia is already looking forward to her next performance!