VBS and VGF

VBS--Vacation Bible School

This summer Joshua went to two different Vacation Bible Schools. The first one was at our church, and the theme was Sea Quest. He did a great job memorizing verses, bringing friends, and raising money for the offering, which went to a camp in Guatemala.

Every evening he was on the edge of his seat for all the fun and excitement!

This week he went to a Bible School at another church nearby. This VBS was HUGE. 435 kids were registered! He was invited by his good friend, Sammy, and we were so proud of him because he decided to go even though he and Sammy weren't in the same age group and never even got to see each other all week. He had a great time every day and today we all went to see the performance they put on for the families. Fun!

Can you spot Joshua?

Alyson had her favorite little 2 year old on her lap to enjoy the show.

VGF--Very Good Friends

This week we also got to have some of our best friends over to swim. These are some cute kids, I tell you. And those of you who are reading this and run in the same circle better give us a call and drop on by, too!

Parade Slideshow

The parade today was arranged by decades for the 100 years since the beginning of Boy Scouts.

Each decade began with either a president or a vehicle from that era and as the various elements passed by we also got to see reenactors dressed in the period garb and sometimes even dancing.

Justin Guarrini (remember American Idol Season 1??) was there, too. He used to be a Cub Scout and he sang and worked the crowd pretty well.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

1 DEGREE FOR EVERY YEAR!!!

That was what one of the marchers yelled while we watched the Boy Scouts' 100th anniversary parade. And he was just about right! At the time he yelled that, the temperature was 98 degrees with a heat index of 104! Whew!

What a wonderful memory-making day we had in DC! The parade was incredible and it was so amazing that the entire Mall was filled with Boy Scouts of every age. It was awesome.

Here are some pics of our day and I am going to post a slideshow in a bit with more pictures of the parade. Check it out--this is the only time this will happen EVER and we were so thrilled to get to be a part of it.
These misty pictures are terrible, I know. I wanted to give you an idea of just how hot it was. When I took my camera out of the air-conditioned van to take the picture, it got instantly covered with condensation! Thankfully I can get copies from another parent.

The parents set up in a great location in front of the Washington Monument. It was one of the less-packed places along the route and for a long time we even had shade. There was construction across from us so when the parade came through we got all their attention.
Here comes Dave carrying our Pack's flag ahead of the contingent:

Right when I found Joshua, he waved at me! Way to keep yourself internet-safe, Joshie! :)

Our boys were toward the front of the parade, which was 2 hours long. 10,000 Scouts takes a long time to get through! After they were done marching, they came and sat with us to watch the rest of the parade.

This very hot boy had a very loose tooth!

After the parade was over we walked back to the Reagan building where we had parked to cool off and get a drink. By the time we left the cafeteria we had

A COOLED OFF BOY WITH NO TOOTH!

Joshua lost his first tooth today--the day he has now christened his "best day ever." (They just keep coming...)

Boy Scout Grand Centennial Parade

Watch your news tomorrow because Dave and Joshua will be marching in the Boy Scout's Grand Centennial Parade in Washington DC! This is the first time the Boy Scouts have marched in DC since 1937. DC normally sanctions 4 parades annually (St Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and the Cherry Blossom parade)--they made an exception this year for the Boy Scouts for a 5th. There will be over 10,000 Scouts marching, representing 100 years of Scouting. There will be floats and big balloons, too, just like Macy's.
Dave and Joshua are marching with the 1920's element--in the first third of the 166 parade elements. Keep your eye out on the news and check back here tomorrow night for photos.

p.s. It will be HOT for them tomorrow....9 am here now and it's 86 with a heat index of 92. High tomorrow of 97 with a chance of thunderstorms. Time to hydrate!

Last Chance!

Today is the first day of our 30-day challenge! There are 13 participants so far--if you want to join us, weigh yourself and email me so I can send you the blog address!
We have people wanting to finish off those last 5-10 pounds, and people using this as a kick-start to a greater weight loss goal. Either way, you win! Email me!

Need Motivation?

My good friend Lori recently wrote about a weight-loss challenge she and her husband came up with. They are trying to lose 15 pounds in 30 days and the winner gets to chose the location for a weekend getaway this winter. What a great way to keep motivated to get healthy!

I need some motivation, too. And I bet some of you out there could use a little! So here is what I am proposing:

30-Day Weight Loss Challenge

Beginning this Wednesday, July 21, I will be starting a 30-day weight loss challenge. For those of you who want to join me, you can lose the weight any way you want, EXCEPT starving yourself. We will all weigh in at the beginning of the challenge and the winner will be decided by total percentage of body weight lost.
Once a week you will weigh yourself and I will let the participants know the standings. Just the percentages, not the weight if you don't want yours published.
I am thinking about starting a separate blog for this if anyone does decide to join me. I will include some workout and fitness tips and ideas, maybe some recipes, and personal thoughts. You will all be able to share your own thoughts/tips in the comments section of the blog.
If you do want to join me, email me at pikle5@aol.com and I will send you the information.

Did I mention there will be a prize for the winner??? :)

And this is 21

Rounding out the boys' birthdays this month was Jarrett's 21st birthday. It was a bit more subdued than some of you might have thought--Darth Vader, a 7 year old, and a fun shopping spree. Just the things he likes! :)

We finished off the day with our cake outside by the fire and the boys enjoyed a late-night swim. Jarrett heads back to North Carolina this morning and we'll see him again down there when we head to the beach in August!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, J!

This is 16

We had a great time at the movies yesterday--why did I tear up AGAIN when those darn animated toys grasped hands?? Thankfully this time we had the 3-D glasses to hide my watery eyes.

After the movies we came home and had Nick's favorite dinner (lasagna) and opened presents.

Joshua, Alyson, and I headed off to VBS while the other boys stayed home and played with the new toys. And after VBS we had cake! Nick has had the dream of moving to Alaska for awhile (as has Dave--a duty station that I've so far avoided...) so we decided to compromise and had basked alaska for his birthday cake! I'd never made it before and I thought it would be harder--it wasn't very hard at all--just time consuming. Apparently my plan backfired, though, because while we were eating he informed us that he's moving to Alaska "in 2 years."

Delicious!

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Happy Birthday Nick!

Today is Nick's 16th birthday!!! We are going to see Toy Story 3 again--this time in 3-D. Afterwards we will come home and have lasagna for dinner and open presents. After VBS it's time for cake--he chose Baked Alaska this year. It's a first for me, so stay tuned for pictures! :)

I took a picture of him this morning when he got up but he made me promise not to put it on the blog. Instead, enjoy some sweet baby pictures. :) (He may wish he had never made me promise that...)

Brothers

I just like this picture. There is one little boy who is the happiest when his brothers are around....

On Their Own

On Monday Jarrett and Alyson took the Metro into DC to do some sight-seeing. They hadn't seen much of each other since Jarrett got here (Alyson was at camp--pictures below) and he had to go back to North Carolina on Tuesday. They had a good time--visited some of their old favorites and got to check out the Library of Congress, which neither of them had visited before. They had hoped to go to the National Archives, but the line was waayyyyy long. Here's their day in pictures:

Library of Congress:

Contemplating:

Although we consider the Smithsonian Museum of American History to be a big disappointment (they display so little of what they have in their archives) no trip to DC is complete without a stop there to say hello to C3-PO.

The price of fashion:

Time to come home.

the Wilds

Alyson got to go to camp here with the youth from our church. It was an incredible week in a beautiful setting. We missed her but so glad she had a great time!

All Means All

The following is an excerpt I read in my devotional time this morning. It's from a collection of writings by Amy Carmichael.  It touched my heart particularly since I've been dragging out that old whiny question, "Why?" a lot lately. I know many of you are walking your own difficult paths-illness, deployment, uncertainty--I pray this will be meaningful to you as well.

All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful. Psalm 25:10

All the paths...."
I have pondered this verse lately, and have found that it feeds my spirit.
All does not mean "all--except this especially difficult and painful path." All must mean all.
So, your path with its unexplained sorrow or turmoil, and mine with its sharp flints and briers-and both our paths, with their unexplained perplexity, their sheer mystery-they are His paths, on which he will show himself loving and faithful. Nothing else; nothing less.
I am resting my heart on this word. It bears me up on eagle's wings. It gives courage and song and sweetness, too--that sweetness of spirit which is death to lose even for a half-hour.
I remember in times past almost desperately repeating to myself these lines, written as though spoken from the lips of our Lord:

Am I not enough, My own-

not enough for you?

Am I not enough, My own?

I, forever and alone, 

I, needing you?

 It was a long time before I could honestly answer, "Yes, you alone are enough for me.:" I remember the turmoil of soul I experienced before committing myself to follow Him on whatever path He would lead--remember as if it were yesterday. But at last-oh, the rest that came to me when I lifted my head and followed. For in acceptance there lies peace.

God bless you and utterly satisfy your heart...with himself.

My Father, you alone...you yourself....are enough for me. No matter what path you lead me on today, it is not strange and unknown to you.

Only let me go with your presence!

Scientifically Super 7th and Fabulous 4th

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Joshua's birthday (again!) with a Scientist Party. We made invitations and passed them out to our 4 guests: Dad, Jarrett, Alyson, and Nick. Joshua was adamant about having a family party--complete with all the fun party things. :)

All the guests showed up promptly at 2:00 bearing gifts and excited for the festivities to begin.

We performed some awesome science experiments like making slime,

exploding mentos and diet coke,

and Joshua even took his guests out into the woods to show them a cool and disgusting goop he found in a tree recently.

There was swimming too (something scientific about water molecules?) and when all the outside fun was finished we headed back inside for cake and presents.

After the presents were opened, we headed BACK outside to try some of them out.

It was a great party!

After the birthday party was over we moved into the Independence Day celebration! Ribeye steaks, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes on the grill, an ENORMOUS watermelon given to me earlier at church from my Secret Sister, and more birthday cake.

Fireworks when it got dark. I don't have any pictures, but we had a sweet set up in the front yard with the specators in comfy chairs in the viewing area (the sidewalk) and the explosive ordinance experts (Dave and Jarrett) lighting and jumping out of the way in the yard.

Fun, fun day. We anticipate spending quite a bit more time indoors today as the temps are supposed to be at or close to 100 degrees the next couple of days and Nick has reached his limit of heat tolerance for awhile.

Hope you all enjoyed your Fourth just as much!