Summer 2014

The school year ended and we looked forward to the change of pace summer brings.

Still losing teeth... even on the last day of school!

Summer time means more play time at parks!

Days of dress up and silliness around the house...

Morning Cartoons... This sister was so tickled that baby brother would actually crawl into her lap!

Water fun!

Helping out in the Community Garden.

Lots of baths!

 More help cooking in the kitchen!

Fancy Nancy Spa Day with the girls.

Back yard fun!

At summer camp the younger kids were able to chose different "electives" for the afternoons.  I had the opportunity to teach the sewing elective one week. It went really well although a bit chaotic at times. The electives allowed the Hope for Augusta kids to be exposed to new activities and other adults in the community.  From an elective teacher view point, it allowed me to have a chance to really interact with a smaller group of kids and share with them something I enjoy doing.  They seemed to enjoy it and a few really got into it and I think they actually learned some basic sewing skills. The girls and I enjoyed having the kids come and sew at our house, even Caileigh and Emma did the sewing projects.

The older youth participated in what we called the Urban Leadership Project (ULP).

Visit http://hopeforaugusta.org/summer/
to watch to videos highlighting both the Summer 2014 College for Kids Camp and the Urban Leadership Project.

The girls were both able to take swim lessons this summer.  Caileigh has learned so much and has become such a confident swimmer.  Emma became much more comfortable in the water and we were so proud of her for trying new things her teachers taught her.  She is definitely another fish and even jumped off the diving board!  I feel much better knowing that in the water she knows how to swim enough to get to the side if needed.  She does think she's as good of a swimmer as Caileigh now, so that is something we have to really watch.

Thankful for little brother who just goes with the flow and who was fairly easily entertained during swim lessons!

We enjoyed the week King's Chapel, from Carrollton was able to come and serve alongside us.  I felt really old this trip as at least 80% of the group I had babysat in the past. The girls loved participating with the group as much as possible and enjoyed playing with some of the kids that came on the trip.

Father's Day we took Stephen to a Brave's Game.  We were disappointed as the game was originally suppose to be a day game and was changed to be a night game with no refunds.  We decided to go anyway and just leave early if needed.  The kids lasted the whole time!  Connor LOVED it! The girls liked it when we went up top to "run the bases." They did of course immediately fall asleep in their seats on the way home.

Exhausted!!!

At a friend's birthday party in July, with lots and lots of kids, Connor finally decided he was going to walk and just started taking steps in their backyard, carrying of course a ball or two.  I guess he figured it was much easier to carry your toys with you while walking than trying to crawl on your elbows while clutching toys! There has been no turning back and now that he has mastered walking, he now officially climbs onto chairs, couches, etc.

We celebrated 4th of July in Columbia with Stephen's family.  It was so much fun and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins.  We enjoyed time in their neighborhood pool and then this year the guys put together our own firework show.  It was way better than any other show possible! :-) Very fun to watch them get excited then run quickly away when a firework started going off.  Made for lots of good laughs.  Last year Connor slept the whole time so we weren't sure what he would think.  He liked some and then others he clung tightly to my arm.