I like to look for rainbows

It's not often, for me at least, that I see the rainbows around here. It is usually a surprise when I do see one because I'm not expecting it. It's like a gift from Heavenly Father and I treasure each one.

Lake Deibel all to ourselves.

Kevin had the weekend off so we decided to go camping. Lots of our friends went to Lake Michigan but we didn't act quickly enough so we decided Lake Deibel would do just fine. The kids and I went out after lunch and Kevin met us out there when he was done with work. We had lots of fun! The kids enjoyed swimming, kayaking, rides on the paddle boat, building in the sand, and even caught a few baby fish with the nets. I would say it was very successful!

 

Harmonie was the first one to get cold. Poor little thing.

Camdilyn spent most of the time in the stroller. Poor little thing.

At least they had each other.

Domonique decided not to get into deep water.

Kemiah

Xiomara

She was convinced she had a fish in the bucket.

I wanted them to stand next to each other but Harmonie wasn't getting the idea.

Entertaining herself... and me.

What's that?

Taste it and see.

We had hot dogs and chips and grapes and pickles for dinner. Of course I didn't get any pictures of roasting marshmallows and eating Smores - they would have been great pictures! I was trying to nurse the baby and get her to bed so the older kids were roasting marshmallows for me. They were so sweet (the kids and the Smores)!

The kids woke up not too early and wanted to go swimming. We let Kevin sleep in and they had so much fun playing again. We had blueberry pancakes and sausages for breakfast. Yummy goodness! Our day was cut short because of some rain but we worked together to get everything packed up. So much fun! Thank you to our friends for sharing their little lake with us!

Camdilyn is getting around!

11 months old! She cruisin', and starting to walk on her own. She loves to get about on her own and has gotten really fast at her "crawl" and it is so fun to watch her go!

 

Another one enters double digits!

Emily turned 10! What a sweet girl! She helped make fun pancakes for breakfast and we enjoyed strawberry and cookies and cream ice cream! Double treat!

She chose crepes for dinner so we had strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream to go in/on them. Ben made his look so nice that we took a picture! I have gotten to where I just lay them flat on the plate, put the topping on and cut them up. They are just too hard for the little kids to eat rolled up. Delicious either way!

Party time! Since she chose to have ice cream sundaes instead of a cake, Kevin put the candles in her strawberry ice cream. I had loads of toppings again but didn't make the fudge sauce. Bummer, but they were still delicious.

Not sure how I caught her twice with her eyes shut... oh well. She got a set of classic musical movies: The King and I, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music.

She really enjoys these poems. We all do but she seems extra fond of them, so now she has A Light in the Attic to go with Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Memere and Pepere sent her a birthstone necklace. It is very pretty. We also gave her a small copy of The Children's Songbook because she has always liked to sing.

She asked for a Harry Potter Lego set but they were in the hundreds of dollars so we decided to get a couple cheaper sets. She was still excited to get them.

Shh, don't tell, but Ben gave her a basket that he made at Scout camp. He wanted to remain anonymous but it didn't work.

Finally we have a kickball! We play it with some of our friends but since we don't ever practice we aren't very good. Now we can practice, have fun together, and get some exercise!

Love the Calvin and Hobbes books! Now I just need to take some time and read them myself! Oh wait, they are for the kids...

Yes, we got her a po-go stick. A little while ago she off-handly mentioned wanting one so I put it in my iPod so I would remember. It worked and everyone was excited. Ben said it was hard and she said, "We'll just have to learn how." What a great attitude!

Harmonie wanted to see everything.

Had to have bases to go with the kickball! Now we will really rock the backyard with loads of fun!

Marissa wrote her a poem and drew her a picture. (I need to get a picture of the picture because it was very well done.)

Art set. I guess we should do a little more artsy things.

Camdilyn was having her own sort of fun!

She asked for a blanket kit - soft squares that she ties together in whatever pattern she wants. Should be fun!

Yummy sundaes! Strawberry ice cream, strawberries, blueberries, butterscotch sauce, nuts, sprinkles, and whipped cream! Did I already say they were yummy?

I either didn't check the mailbox or it actually arrived late. Here she is reading the card from Grammy and Gaffa (which actually happened on the 26th).

What a load of fun we will have! Emily is sweet, kind, generous, loving and helpful. She is smart, hard working, dedicated and fun!