Camping at Waldo Lake, cont'd.

We woke up after our first night of camping and the boys were anxious to take the canoe out!  We ate breakfast and lathered up with sunscreen & bug spray, then headed out.

I'm so glad we were able to bring the canoe (Thank you, Memaw & Papa!)!  Waldo Lake is so clear and beautiful!  We really had fun exploring and floating around the lake.

The four of us:

Pretty Views:

We parked the canoe at an island that had shallow water all around it.  We saw some baby birds, dragonflies, and frogs!

Ronan

 bright blue dragonflies:

a frog!

Ronan took a turn rowing:

We could see the shadow of the boat on the bottom of the lake--40 feet below!

The Creager Cousins: Dylan, Lydia, & Audrey

Uncle Josh had fun taking groups of kids out in the canoe.
Ronan & Griffin are sitting on the ends and the three cousins are in the middle: (:

Griffin & Daddy

GCF Family Campout

The weekend of August 13-15th was an all-church family campout at Waldo Lake.  It ended up only being a small group of people, but we still had a lot of fun!  Josh's family was there (except for the Greens, who unfortunately got sick right before that weekend...it was such a bummer!), and I think there were around six other families there (including the Bensons!!).   We had a group of campsites that were near each other in a loop, and the lake was just a short walk away.

We loaded up our car with four bikes and my parent's canoe!
After setting up our campsite we walked down to the lake with the Benson family to watch the sunset.
Ben, Ryan, Ronan, and Luke:

I had a lot of fun hanging out with my friend Robin!

Such a  beautiful lake!

Ryan & Ronan

We spent the rest of the evening roasting marshmallows at the Benson's campfire.  Josh's mom joined us with the Creager kids (Josh's dad and sister, Erin, were coming later that night).

Ben & Griffin

Our Newest Biker!

August 10, 2010~ We were invited to a birthday party for my friend Katie at her parent's farm, where they had a bouncy castle and lots of space for the kids to ride bikes. While we were there Josh started working with Griffin on how to ride a bike without training wheels.  At first I didn't think much of it and figured that Griffin would be too scared to try by himself.  But, we soon saw Griffin riding down the driveway with Josh running next to him!  It was pretty crazy!  He needed quite a bit of help that first night, but even in the last few weeks he has gotten so much more confident and can use his brakes now. (:

Here are some videos from that evening.  You might want to keep the volume low and try to ignore my high-pitched excited "mom voice". (:  (Griffin's little commentary at the end of the 1st video is cute.) 

 This video was taken at our house a few days later:

Biking Brothers!

Griffin (3 3/4) & Ronan (6)

VBS

Ronan and Griffin went to their first ever Vacation Bible School at our church during the week of August 2nd-6th!  They both had so much fun, especially because they got to be there with their cousins!  Griffin, Cohen, and Finn were all in the same class!  They did fun crafts (thanks to Aunt Amy!), had yummy snacks, and learned some great stories and songs.  At the end of the week they put on a performance for the families--and it was the first time that either of our boys had ever been on the big church stage to sing!  We were so proud of them!

Griffin walking in with his class:

You can see Finn, Griffin, and Cohen sitting as close as they can to each other. (:
We were so proud of Griffin for even being on stage!  He kept a very serious expression on his face the whole time and didn't sing or do any hand motions until the very last song.  You could tell that he was way out of his comfort zone (thankfully he was surrounded by his "posse").

Ronan is in the back row wearing a brown shirt with orange drums on it.  He was so cute to watch!  He did all the motions and sang his little heart out! 

Macey and Ethan are right behind Griffin in this picture:

Griffin exiting hand-in-hand with Cohen and Finley.

Proud daddy with his sons:

Ronan & Sadie

Ronan & Tyler

Happy Birthday, Becca!

August 6th~ We celebrated Becca's 35th Birthday at their house--in their cute backyard!  We had yummy desserts and just enjoyed hanging out together.

Such a cute couple!

Cedar was busy exploring and trying out all the fun toys.

I caught Ronan & Tyler just hanging out and talking up in the cherry tree. (: They both love to climb trees!

Ice cream cones!
(I'm not sure if Griffin was waiting for his cone or had already finished it, but he doesn't look too happy.)

Death by Chocolate Trifle, by Becca! 
Sooo delicious!

Becca got some cute clothes and fun outdoor decorations.

the birthday girl surrounded by her little helpers

Happy Birthday, Kenton!

August 3rd~ Katrina & Kenton invited friends and family over for a BBQ to celebrate Kenton's 29th Birthday!  They have such a great yard (mini-farm!) with plenty of space for the kids to play & explore.  It was a fun evening!

Finn, Macey, & Ethan

Griff, Cohen, Sadie, & Macey squished together on a bench.

We all gathered around to watch Kenton open his presents.  He is a fun one to shop for because he always gets SO excited about his presents. (: 

We got him a hat like Russell wore on Survivor--Kenton can totally pull off the look!

Legos from the Chases!

Cedar sneaking bites of dessert. (:

Emma eating her cake (:

the chicken coop

the growing garden

Happy Birthday, Grammie!

August 1st~ Summertime is full of birthdays in our family, but each one is special and we all love getting together to celebrate!  We met up with Josh's family after church at Emerald Park to celebrate his mom's birthday:

Grammie & Grandpa with all the grandkids!

We had to get one with baby Tate (in my tummy)

All the kids with "Lovey Dovey"

Make a wish, Grammie!

sweet cards & gifts

A few quick poses with my boys:

Miss Macey

Ronan & Dylan- such big boys!