Church Camp for Madee.....

Madeline went to Hilltop last week with some of the other girls from our church. She elected to go on the 'all girls' week. They have really fun themes for each night. The first night was Camo night.

They also had a tropical night. Madee had a hula skirt, but is not wearing it in this pic. Don't they all look cute?Madee's batteries died in her camera so she didn't get as many pics this year. But, the other nights were formal night and retro night. This year's over-all theme was 'Victory is Immanent.' The kids all look forward to going each summer!

Another Beautiful Day at the Pool....

We made our weekly trip to the pool and this time we took Caiti's Boyfriend Preston and my nephew Jacob along. It was a gorgeous day and all of us had a blast!!

The boys seemed to be having too much fun with the water toys! We had a few squirting toys and we also had a ball that we were tossing aound. Caitlin was often the target of attacks. =] It's too bad Madee is at Camp or we would have had a more level playing field! lol

Preston checked out the rock climbing wall. It is a favorite of my boys as well, but it is pretty hard to climb! Especially when you are wet!

Seth is all about the pool and loves this pic because I caught him in mid air! lol

Dinner with Dylan...

Caiti had the chance to hang out with an old friend today. Her friend Dylan moved to Belgium last year before school started. It was sad to see his family go as Caiti and Dylan have been friends since they were in Preschool! Dylan's mom and I became good friends as well, since we later worked at that preschool together for 4 years. =]

His family has been visiting Columbus for a few weeks this summer and we got to see them and catch up! It was a true blessing! We miss them so much!

Slater, Macy, Karen & Caitlin all met Dylan for pizza to catch up and hang out. It was fun for all and I was happy to get to be the chauffeur! =]

Shooting Camp....

Madeline attended another basketball camp at Hanover College this weekend. She went to the Shooting camp. We were a little nervous as she didnt know anyone going to the camp. But, she roomed with 2 great girls and had a good time and made new friends!

She made her free- throws! YAY! I know she always gets really nervous when she has to make a shot like this. But they went in!!

The camp close with a 3 on 3 tournament. Her team won all their games and were names League Champs! Yahoo!

My mom and dad were out riding their Harley, so, they decided to come down for the games. It was a great afternoon!

Caitlin's trip to Pennsylvania and CIY...

Caitlin attended a CIY (Christ In Youth) conference in Pennsylvania last week. She loaded up with our Church's Youth Group and left me standing in the parking lot of our church....all alone....for a whole week!!! Ok, Ok, enough mom misses Caiti stuff right?!
So, anyway, for fun they did a Pirate night. Not the whole convention mind you...just our group. hahaha Jai our fearless Youth Minister brought all the props and the kids tricked themselves out for the festivus! lol Do you think it backfired on him? This years theme is Move. They learned alot about the sad world of people trafficking. It is so sad to think that there are young women and I am sure young men who will be sold into lives of prostitution against their will. I know it is hard for me to believe that things like this still happen. It is so easy to only see what we want to see and not what is happening globally. It makes you think and want to do something..hence the theme...move.

Our kids met a great group of kids from Maryland. They all plan to keep in touch through myspace. I sooooo love this pic of the guys from that group. Don't you think it looks like an album cover?! lol They are all so good looking. lol

There was of course some free time and these pics were taken at the creek. The kids all got in and cooled off. This guy took some of the natural surroundings and made himself a wig. lol As you can see in the pic, Caitlin is like what the crap?! She was like mom...he had SEA-WEED on his head! EWWWW!! I was like I see that....ewww. lol It made a great pic though! They also visited Gettysburg. The pics from there were really blurry though.

I am glad she had a good time and I am even more glad that she made it home safely. =] I will add more pics as they pour in from other attendees.

RAINED OUT...

Thane's team made the final four in his baseball tourney. Tonight was the second game and we were in the second inning when we saw lightning. We were down 5-2. So, after about 20 minutes, there was still only lightning, but the umps called the game. We will replay the game on Thursday night and start completely over. Here are a few pics from tonight though.

Davis was pitching a good game until the storm came. I know we will do just as well on Thursday!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Our family hopes that you have an incredible 4th of July Holiday! We attended the Qmix fireworks event here in town last night and it was great. We loved it. I only wish they would post a playlist of the songs they used in the display, on their website...lol

We will be traveling to Henryville tonight for our annual get together with the Thomas' Family. We have so much food and fun. The kids just love it. I will post pics later if I take any.

What a true blessing it is to live in this country and to be able to enjoy all of the freedoms we have. Please remember to pray for our troops as they are serving us well. God bless you all!

FUN AT THE POOL...

We have been chillin by the pool, or trying to...once a week this summer. I thought I'd post some pics for you to check out...

Mia has been 'faweezing' everytime. lol. She is so tiny and the water is a bit chilly, so it is no surprise! She is always ready to pose for the camera though. What a ham!

Seth loves to go down the water slide. As soon as he gets off it, he is right back in line to do it again! He also likes to bring his squirt guns to the pool and attack the girls while they are resting in the sun! Such a boy....right?!

Thane loves the pool too. He is all about wearing his goggles and swimming around. He is getting better at swimming and could probably pass the diving board swim test if he'd take it. But for now, he is happy just messin around. =]

The girls are in and out and in and out and...well you know what I mean. It's too hot, I'm gonna get in now, and then, the water's too cold so we're gonna get out... lol. I feel them though. The water was pretty chilly and I was quite the 'girl' in that repect myself! hahaha

Grandma Roxie has been with us most of the times and we have to give a shout out to her and a big thanks for the packed meals that she brings! =] We have had a mini picnic each time! YUM!

Maybe we will see you at the pool soon...

HANOVER BASKETBALL CAMP

Madeline just got back from the basketball camp at Hanover College. She had so much fun and learned alot! This was her first time to go to a camp like this and to be this far from home on her own. There were 7 girls total from her team who attended and she was able to room with one of them. I was glad to hear about that.

Here she is laughing it up during half time with her team mates. lol

Go Madee Go! She did a great job in her position. She is a post player and is considering attending the post camp that is coming up. We'll see.....

Now these next few pics are funny because this girl who is in Madee's grill used to be a girl scout in our sister troop, back in the day...lol and anyway...madee was all over her like white on rice as you can see.....
and again, this time knocking the ball out of her hands......

and again........

until this hapened...(*@^#*^!).... ouch... Madee got an elbow to the left temple. It hurt just a bit and she tried her best to shake it off, but I think all the emotions of being away all week over took her. She cried a little bit with mom in the audience. I think she was more mad about that...lol. So here she is nursing the wound with some ice. We are still so very proud of her and all her hard work this week!

As you can see in the top pic Madeline received the 'Most Improved Player' ribbon. I am partial to this ribbon because the only true competition you ever have is the person that you were! You should always strive to beat your own personal best! =]

Columbus Flooding....

We have gotten numerous calls from all of you asking if we were effected by the recent flooding in Columbus. The GOOD NEWS is we were not. It didn't get withing a mile of us. We were shocked as we live in a pretty flood prone area. Most of the flooding happened on the North side of town as levys broke and wreaked havoc on the middle of town. (This photo is of Washington Street downtown by the Coca-Cola bottling plant.)

Our hearts ache as we drive through town and see the devestation that we once experienced when our home did flood in 1998. I remember all too well being loaded into a boat from my front door 6 months pregnant with my 2 daughters who were 5 & 2 at the time. It was so scary and we lost alot. Just the smell brings back memories that I was happy to forget.

My friend Diana had water in her house, but is doing great things in her neighborhood for others-and I am so proud of her! My friend Karen had water under her house, but praise GOD it did not get in! Her brother was not as fortunate and basically lost everything he owned. We know of several others who are in this same situation.

These are shots of Gavin's work. He works at Cummins Tech Center and it was hit pretty hard. The building had 5 feet of water standing in the basement. There has been no power and employees could not report to work. I am so relieved for all the families of the employees, as Cummins has continued to pay their salaries! They have allowed them to particpate in the cleaning phase and rebuilding process! Could you imagine losing all your posessions and your income too? What a blessing that they can do this.

This is Columbus East High School, where Gavin graduated from. It is a mess as the lower levels were completely flooded. They were holding Summer School there this summer, but now it has been switched to North High School. Who even knows if the school will be ready for students in the fall. This may pose a serious problem when school starts as you can imagine... Caitlin was scheduled to attend East but we switched her to North last Semester so she could particpate in their band program.

Our hospital and several shopping centers were completely washed out. They had to close the hospital and evacuate all of the patients to nearby hospitals in other cities. We currently do not have a hospital-which is sort of scary. If we have a serious emergency we would have to drive to Franklin or Seymour for assistance. We will pray we do not need to make a trip to either of them. =]

This truly is a time to reflect and to re-adjust your priorities. Please keep our city in your prayers as it will take years I am sure to get back to any sense of normal around here.