Monday, July 14, 2008

Rest and Relaxation at Last

Lobster boats
Beautiful Northeast Harbor, Maine

Finished castle


Our teenager

Working on a Sandcastle


Papa's campfire

Popcorn cooked over the fire.

Harbor seals
We had a mini-vacation over the Fourth. Terry was miraculously able to get a pulpit supply for that weekend, and we got the very last available campsite in Bar Harbor. Going to Bar Harbor on the Fourth isn't something that we would usually do because it is so crowded with tourists. But, I got a great deal on a fireworks cruise, which was awesome. We went out on the waters of Frenchman's Bay and saw harbor seals, porpoise, puffins, and lots of birds. Then, came back to the harbor for the fireworks which we watched away from the crowds on the boat. We definitely had the best seat available. We also hit the beach and the kids loved the crashing surf. The water on our coast is so very cold, but once you're numb, I guess, you're alright. Facebook users can see the kids playing in the surf.

Spring Recital 2008 and Mikayla's Graduation Party

The Nephew
The cake

The guests


The balloon



One happy kid


Surprise!!!

Our piano teacher


Mikayla receiving her trophy for piano accomplishments.
So, we have been pretty busy this summer so far. We have had our VBS which went well. I didn't get pics of that. Someone else took pics of that. Mikayla and Nathanael had their spring recital for piano. The videos of that didn't come out very well, but Facebbook users can see the kids playing on my profile there. I can't seem to get videos to upload on the blog. Sorry. They did very well. Lanie has just started piano and voice, so she is excited about that.
We threw a surprise eighth grade graduation party for Mikayla. We down-played her graduation for weeks beforehand, telling her that it was not really that big a deal, and it was just eighth grade and so on. Poor kid!! Meanwhile, I sent out invitations and quietly spoke to all her friends. We planned a big barbecue, cake, gifts and all. Then, on the day of the party, we asked her best friend if she could come over until party time. Of course, they called and asked her to come over and played along with the whole surprise thing very nicely. She had no idea, and the picture by the black SUV is worth a thousand words!