Paigey Pigeon

While I was busy with my TAP girls this weekend Paige had some special time with Patrick. They decided to go out on a Daddy Daughter date downtown. Their first stop was PDQ for some yummy chicken.

Then they headed to the Horseshoe to walk around, see squirrels and learn all about where mom and dad hung out in college. She loved it!

Finally, they stopped by the new Bear Ice Cream where they got ice cream sandwiches the size of Paige's head!

I've loved seeing Paige excel in her final days of school. She had brought home her favorite drawings and is working hard to complete her entire Writing Celebration bag before the end of school. She also decided to do her own performance of the Pigeon from the Pigeon Needs a Bath for her class talent show. When the group of kids was asked if anybody was ready to go first, she shot her hand up like a rocket and marched herself up to the front with gusto. She's getting so big! It's a good thing she still love snuggles.

And just because summer is near...here's some pics of our first slip-n-slide fun.

Memorial Day fun

After sending our house guests home, we relaxed for approximately 30 minutes before heading to a state park with the Currys. This is funny because it was pouring rain and we were essentially crazy. We packed lunch and some extra clothes and off we went.

Langford Canal is located in Catawba about an hour away. Fortunately, about 20 minutes from arriving the rain stopped and we didn't feel another drop. We hiked for 3 miles, found 2 geocache and saw the lilies in the river. It was a beautiful hike even if it was a bit muddy, which was actually fun for the kids. We ended with a picnic lunch and lots of memories.

Our last stop for the day was dinner with the Galloways. They invited us over as a thank you for Patrick's dedication to Will over the last several years. It was super sweet and fun to hang out with them, knowing Will will be off at college next year. It was a fun day and we were definitely ready for bed. Only two more weeks before summer!

TAP testimony and fun

Our weekend church fun continued with a testimony and sleepover. I've been excited for our church to incorporate testimony into our worship service as a way to point to what God is doing through short stories of specific events. I knew I couldn't very well push this idea with our leadership without being willing to volunteer. So I approached the girls in my Bible study group and asked them if we could share how God is working in our TAP group. They have diligently been preparing for a few weeks and I was so proud of them when they shared from their hearts in front of our congregation. Anna specifically talked about how she's read Matthew before, but is learning new things. One of our members even took the time to tell her how well spoken she is which I really appreciated.

That afternoon I had all of the girls back over for a camp out which ended up being a camp in due to rain. We set the tent upstairs in the playroom, played games, ate pizza, watched some fun shows and made indoor s'mores. The girls had a blast and did fairly well going to bed. I didn't hear them after 10pm and before 7am. The only thing I could have had less of was 10 year old girl screaming! I think it was a success for our very first "real" sleepover with more than just Caroline.

Our only sadness is that Abby and Katie will be moving away in just a couple of weeks. Anna and Caroline gave them frames they painted and we sure will miss them. I look forward to filling their spots with some other young ladies at our church, but they sure will be missed.

1st Parish Games

Patrick and I have been excitedly preparing for our first Parish Games at church which happened last nigh. We (re)launched Parishes back in January, hoping to create smaller communities within our growing church body. The goal is to use Parishes to help our congregation discover, live and share the transforming love of Jesus. We do this through intentional gatherings each month, service projects both inside and outside the groups and small group Bible studies. So far we have been encouraged to see people being cared for and connected to each other as well as the Word. It's growing and God is at work!

To continue team building, we decided to throw our first ever Parish Games involving old timey activities, friendly competition, a hot dog cookout and a movie viewing all out side at our pavilion. The weather has been kinda iffy lately with rain every day for the last two weeks, but the radar looked good so we proceeded. Little did we know some pop up storms would occur and provide for some pretty wet fun! Thank goodness for the pavilion.

Patrick was our ringmaster and he organized several games from charades and a scavenger hunt to wheelbarrow and sack races. My contribution was the finale game where we made human ice cream sundaes! The skies opened up on us during the balloon toss (fitting), but other than that we remained relatively dry under our shelter. Even the hot dogs got cooked in time before getting soaked.

While Patrick and I were busy running the games and taking pictures, the girls jumped right on in with our community and participated like they were part of the crew. I love how they are loved by our church family and are so comfortable being themselves. They were also a huge help with setup and cleanup, giving selflessly to help us out. Sweet girls!

Paige can simultaneously volunteer and scratch an itch!

Mr. Adam and Anna killing at the wheelbarrow race

Jonathan and Paige were very cooridnated

impromptu water balloon fight in the rain

Mr. Rusty preparing to be doused in chocolate syrup by Anna

1st date maybe?

Overall it was a huge success with over 100 people participating and having a blast. We're excited to see people come together in a fun environment to build community.

a rainbow!

Splash Day

We have had SO much rain lately. I think it's rained every day for the last two weeks. Fortunately, our grass really needed it, but we've had to adjust outdoor plans too. This afternoon the girls had their annual Splash Day at school. It was the coolest ans cloudiest one we've experiences to date, but the kids sure had fun.

The new addition since we've returned was the fire truck. This thing sprays out a TON of water and the kids run around in a huge mud pit. I'd say it's definitely the favorite.

I loved seeing Paige participate as a student this year. She's always been in tow with me, but this year she got to join her class as a student. Her face was very determines when aiming wet sponges at her teachers!

Unfortunately, a huge storm interrupted the fun about half way through. There were some chilly, wet kiddos, but they ate their popscicles and watched movies to finish out the day. I would say it was a success and perhaps the splashiest Splash Day ever!