Holden's Horse Camp Demonstration

Holden wrapped up a great week at Horse Camp at Ridge Riders in Covina. He learned so much, until this week the only experience he had with horses is riding a pony at a street fair! His horses' name was Pepper and the biggest horse there. He learned to ride her, tack the horse, clean up the stable, groom her, etc. It was a really great experience for him. He won the "most improved rider" award, he looked like the cutest lil jockey~

Holden's horse camp

Holden is LOVING horse camp. It is such a great program. He is fearless with the horses, and is riding every day and learning all kinds of riding terms. His horses' name is "Pepper". He grooms her everyday. He is so darn cute in his black cowboy boots. It is worth the hour drive every day to see how much fun he's having and how happy he is. The camp is so great, they do games, crafts, clean the stables, grooming, riding, feeding, you name it! What a great experience for our Holdie. Hopefully we will see you all at the demo on Friday.

Griffin is home!

Griff is back home and safe & sound. I'm sure he will be driving me crazy in a few days again but for now I am so happy to hug him and have him back! He has a small cold and he was filthy from head to toe, the bottom of his feet were black as can be, but other then that he is just fine! He cried when he saw us, so sweet, he really missed his home and his family. Thanks so much to everyone who sent him packages and letters, he saved them all, I was touched by them. He kept a journal all about how he didn't like camp and that the food and water were"tasteless"-lol! No matter what it was a growing experience for all of us and he was exposed to new things. I think he has a better appreciation for the comforts of home for sure!

sea world

We had a great time spending the day at Sea World with Shannon and Linda on Wed. It was fun to have some special time with just Holdie!

guasti park

We've been having so much fun this summer with our Wed. playgroup. Here are some pics from Guasti park...

Griffin's first camp- Indian Village at Forest Home

Sunday we dropped our big guy Griffin off for his first stay away church camp at Forest Home. He will be gone for 6 nights!! He was not so happy at first but seemed to like his counselor and once we started unpacking his things he chippered up. I felt so bad when he layed down on his cot- he was way too long for it! So sad, that's all I keep thinking about at night, praying he's not too uncomfortable. He sleeps in an actual tepee with his tribe! It was harder then I thought to leave him, he is smack in the middle of a forest, makes me so nervous. I've been tossing and turning at night worrying. We got to stay for about an hour and get him all settled and see the place, it's great! He was fine when we left, another mom advised me to say goodbye quickly and not drag it on, so we did. He started to tear up a little when he hugged Holden. I know he is going to have a great time while he's there and I hope he will grow in the Lord, and from the experience, but it is VERY hard to not have any contact with him for this long. I'm not going to send Holden until he's 17!!!!! He is with his friends Noah and Dyllan, since he's known since they were babies, so that is comferting. We are sending him letters and packages every day as well as his immediate family, so I know he will really enjoy getting the mail. Holden surprisingly is doing fine and except for the 1st day hasn't mentioned missing Griff at all! I thought nights would be hard for him because they sleep together but he's been fine. Must be enjoying all the attention and spending 24/7 with Shannon! These are the photos I took when we got there. Please say a prayer for Griffin and that he's having fun and has a safe return on Saturday, thanks...

newport dunes

We had a great time camping with our friends at Newport Dunes. The kids love hanging out together and having some independence. We grown ups have a good time relaxing and catching up when we aren't chasing kids or dogs! Dixie did great, I was so nervous but she loved taking walks around the marina, chasing pigeons and slept perfect in our tiny camper. Laura's dog Tat was a major attraction, he is famous now. Unfortunately the water was infested with sting rays and jellyfish, but some of our kids braved the sea. Our first day Jeff and Nolan caught a jellyfish in a pail and the second day Philip and Mike caught a sting ray while fishing! It was crazy!! Cooper and Mikey played so cute together, they are getting so big! The kids played all day and all night. They fished, swam, rode bikes, played glow stick tag at night, family Bingo, took a boat ride, had campfires, and Holden even entered a guitar hero contest and won the 1st round. We ventured once out of the campground to go enjoy a famous Balboa ice cream bar. I guess I was enjoying myself too much, I only took pics on the 2nd day. It was fun...