Science and gardening

Jay is about to plant some organic :) cucumber seeds!!

Kiki is working hard in the garden!

Anne and a friend are finishing up their physical science course and are getting together once a week to do experiments. This is a fun way to visit with friends and learn a little as well!

We are doing a bit of gardening this year. It is not as lush and beautiful as last year, but hopefully we will have a few homegrown veggies to enjoy! We planted some brocolli and cabbage earlier in the year and it did fairly well. These pics are from early on in the garden. I will try to post some pics of the progress soon.

Swimming at the Blackburns

The Blackburns are a sweet couple we met a couple of years ago and they are so generous with their beautiful pool. They live close by us and we enjoy spending time at their pool!







Claire is having great fun splashing in the pool.

Cathy is enjoying the poolside.

Bailey does not want to be photographed

Here is Anne

Jay and Mom having fun!

Having fun on the diving board.

John is still not swimming very much. Although today when we went with Scott, he put on goggles and blew bubbles with his nose and put his face under the water several times.

Ben is all smiles when we go swimming!

We are thankful to our friends who invite us swimming! It is a treat that we really enjoy.

Father's Day

Here is Scott in action. He is always doing things with the kids: cooking, wrestling, playing bull, working outside, swimming, reading, teaching them about God... and the list goes on and on....
He is a wonderful Dad!

Pa EJ and the Blassingames

My Sweet Dwa Van!

I am thankful for my dear Daddy and how he always made me feel loved and special as I was growing up.

Daddy and his boys!

I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for Scott and the love he has for our children.

Happy Father's Day to one of the best fathers in the world!

fun weekend at Leigh Anne's

Penny and sweet Loudon.

Claire had a great time on the slip and slide and the bouncer tent.

Melanie and Daily at the pink party.

Here is the birthday girl, Emory, having her pink party in the boat house.

Anna, Amy, Granny, Cathy and Claire at Emory's 4th birthday 'pink' party

Allison, Lori and Claire

Leigh Anne, Mom and Cathy

fun family weekend

Claire had a lot of fun playing with her cousin Allie!

We enjoyed sitting on the pontoon boat out on the resevior.

Aunt Joyce and Aunt Judy

Mom and her sister Patsy

Aunt Joyce and Loudon, Anna and Cathy

Last weekend, Mom, Cathy, my sis, Anna, Claire and I all loaded up and headed to Brandon for a "ladies" weekend with aunts and cousins. We passed through about 5 thunderstorms and torrential rain but we finally arrived. The skies were blue and the weather was fine in that part of the state.

We enjoyed delicious food and wonderful fellowship with family that we do not see very often. My sweet cousin, Leigh Anne opened her home to us and we had a delightful time enjoying her place on the resevior. I am thankful for all my family and hope that this event becomes an annual one.

last pics of running camp

The guys came to camp from Sunday night until Wed. at lunch and then the girls were there from Wed. at lunch until Sat. morning. They started the day with a light snack and then went out for a run. Then breakfast and outside for strength training with weights. They did a good bit of swimming and water workouts throughout the day as well. Night time was spent in sessions about cross country and devotions and fun team building exercises. I was there on Wed. night and Katie's testimony of the Lord's kindness and work of grace in her life was very good. I was glad the girls got to hear of the working of the Lord in an older teenager's life. I pray that her testimony inspired them to seek after God in a more serious way.

Here is a group picture of all the girls at camp.

A fun team building exercise.

This was a fun and scary team building exercise where one girl would stand on the picnic table and the others would catch her as she fell straight back. They did not drop a single one :)

The girls were put in teams and had to come up with a top ten list of why you should do cross country. Each team did a good job coming up with serious and funny reasons.

They also split into teams and came up with a commercial. They were hilarious as well!

more pics

The girls did weight training out on the pier each day. Hot and difficult!

Strength training.

This is a team building exercise where the girls had to switch places on a board without touching the ground.

On the run.

This is one of the many hills they trekked up and down.

This is a shallow spot where the girls got to play without their lifejackets.

Flipping off the pier.

Anna is working hard!