Little Man Turns Eight

Yesterday was Jackson's 8th birthday and it was fun-filled day.  This was his year for a friend party so he chose to take three friends with him to White Water for the day.  They met at our house and we went to Krispy Kreme first for a donut, then on to White Water for a while.  

Everyone had a good time.  

Opening a few gifts that afternoon.

And at dinner with the family.

Rachel went over to Nannette's Sunday/Monday and they made this cake for Jackson from scratch.  It says "H8BDJ" which stands for Happy 8th Birthday Jackson.  It was delicious!!  

We love our Mexican place!  Jackson had a very good birthday!  Happy 8th birthday, buddy!

Camp Gideon

Both kids attended a sleep-away camp this summer.  This was Jackson's first time at that.  And it was a new camp to us - not through the church.  They both had a good time.  It was closer to us, so we took them to the camp and got them set up before leaving.  

Rachel knew several girls from school that were there.

And Jackson knew Jake and they both got top bunks.

Already having fun before we even left.

You can see the lake in the background.  They loved swimming in it and paddle-boarding.  They also got to canoe, do archery, and many other things.  Paddle-boarding seemed to be their favorite - even though Rachel got hit in the cheek with a paddle on Tuesday - leaving a bruise on her face. 

Walking to their cabins after saying goodbye to us on Monday.  No tears from any of us!  

This was Rachel's group while they were there.

And this was Jackson's group.  

Here they are when we picked them up on Friday.

Overall, they really enjoyed it and want to go back again next year.  

Throughout the Summer...

An update on our summer so far...

The annual Memorial Day Party - Watermelon Eating Contest... Rachel even participated this year - and she won that group.  

We went out for our 17th wedding anniversary and sat at the bar to the kitchen and watched everything be prepared.  That was neat.

Jackson got a super-short haircut for the summer.

Michael took Jackson rock climbing again.  He does it for about 2 hours straight and goes up to the top of the extremely high walls... 

We went to Charlotte for a weekend - didn't get many pictures though.  This was at dinner with Nana.

And Jackson still loves Fred and Ted... I think this is Fred. 

Fourth of July Celebration at church included this guy jumping out of a helicopter and parachuting down and landing right in front of us. 

Our actual 4th of July was quiet because the kids were at camp for the week.  This is Michael and two of his friends in the pool...it was dead.

And we went to see the new Jurassic World movie for Michael's birthday...

And out to dinner after the movie.

Post on camp is next.  And Jackson's birthday is coming up...then we'll be back to school!

Swim Team - 2018

The kids both swam on the swim team again this year.  Rachel has moved up to the 11-12's which makes her swims a little longer (no longer swims the 25's...only 50's and 100's).  She and Jackson both did an excellent job this year.  Here are a few pictures from their season - in no particular order.

Double rainbow over practice one evening.

The team.

And awards night.  This is the 11-12 group of boys and girls.

Not all of her group was there.

And the 7-8's.