Summer friend activities

I have been lacking on my picture-taking this summer, but have had my trusty iphone with me during many key moments and snapped some pictures of our summer adventures.  

First, our dear friends and old neighbors moved to Wamego, in July.  We spent many many hours in each others yards and houses over the years and we were so blessed to have them as neighbors.  We moved a couple of weeks before they did.  While we were sad to see them go, we are so happy for them in this new path they are headed down since it is exactly what they have desired for years.

One last neighbor pic with our buddies Tripp and Charlie at our neighborhood park, Pirate Ship park!  We hope to see them at many K-State games and other friendly visits!

The first "camp" the kids did this summer was Vacation Bible School at LUMC.  They LOVED it!  There were fun activities and games and on the last day there was a musical performance where the kids all sang the songs they learned.  It was adorable.  :)  The picture above

 is from Ernie Miller Nature Park.  They did a "nature camp" through JCPRD and loved this one as well.  Each day I doused them in sunscreen and they brought their water bottles, prepared to learn about all sorts of animals and insects.  In the middle of the week they went on a creek hike and had to bring an extra change of clothes.  They literally hiked through a creek in their socks and shoes!  They had a friend, Lia, who did this one with them and I think it is one we'd like to do again next year as well.

On a side note, it is so wonderful and amazing how many fantastic (and enthusiastic) teachers there are out there who teach these various camps.  I am always a bit sad and nervous to drop my kids off at a new place or with new people, but each time the teachers I meet are warm and friendly instantly make me and my kids feel comfortable.  I am so grateful to those wonderful ladies (and male helpers) who take such good care of my babies.  :)

Later in the summer the kids did a camp through Blue Valley Rec called "Safety City."  They learned about all types of safety:  fire safety, bike riding safety, how to call 911, water safety, etc.  They were safety experts by the end.  (And insisted on wearing their helmets on our daily scooter rides around the apartment complex.  "Helmet safety, Mom!")  This camp was with our friend Cole, but some other tee-ball buddies were in class too.  Maya was the only girl in her group and while she was a bit sad/nervous the first day without a girl buddy, the female teachers held her hand and after a few minutes, she was all smiles (or so I hear!).  She was excited to go back on day 2, so I know she had fun.

Another fun day was when we met our friends Emily, Luke, Perkins and baby Leo at Antioch park.  We had developed this fun routine of meeting them there on nice days now and then and walking around the pond, playing on the playground and sometimes having a picnic.  On this day, Nolan decided to tackle this huge rock wall.  It is tricky because there aren't any great foot or hand holds so mostly bigger kids find success climbing it.

This time, Nolan did!

Victory!  He did need some help getting back down though.  :)

Another fun adventure we had was going to the Farmer's Market one Wednesday morning and then stopping in at Kookiedoodle for an art project with our buddies Cole and Max.  Cole, Max, and Maya all painted cardboard creations and Nolan chose sand painting.

Maya loves to do art projects and she was so excited to make this special box.  She has many of these types of boxes to hold "special treasures" she finds.  (They are all full of course, hence the new box.)

Nolan's sand art turned out to be quite a neat project.  We copied the sample they had on display and with some folding help from me to get the sticky parts of the shapes just right, he made quite a neat picture!

Voila! An alien and his spaceship on Mars.  That is one happy guy.  :)  When we got home both kids wanted to give their projects to Daddy as a "look what I made for you" type of thing.  It's pretty sweet when they want to share their excitement and are so generous with their treasures.  Love my babes!