Shanan and Alyssa go to Colorado for Summer Camp!

Mom's Perspective

Steve & I were super excited to be able to send our big girls to summer camp this year. Attending SEP, both as campers & as workers was definitely a highlight for both of us. Getting the chance to provide a similar experience for our kids has been really important to us!  Having moved from Utah to Florida since making plans for them to go definitely complicated the process of figuring out the logistics of getting them to SEP Rockies in Colorado. Our initial plan of just flying them turned out to not be so awesome either because of the escort fees required since Alyssa is still eleven. Steve's persistence paid off though, and we were able to secure a spot for them on a van leaving from East Texas.  Still, we are living a looong way from East Texas!  Steve had the genius idea of seeing if someone might be willing to come pick them up from the Welcome Center in Mississippi at Vicksburg & drive them to East Texas to catch the van. Soooooo....despite my initial misgivings, we found the perfect couple to grant them safe journey from Vicksburg to Big Sandy....all I had to do was drive 330+ miles with all 5 kids to drop them off & another 330+ with the remaining three littles back to Florida. After 2,000 miles from Utah to Alabama, that should be nothing, right??  

I think they missed each other

It was a little crazy getting them all packed up, & I know they (& I) were both excited & nervous! The drive to Vicksburg was uneventful, and we met up with Doug & Bonnie Strub without incident. It was kind of hard to say goodbye, but I knew we all had a lot of miles yet to cover!  I have to be honest & admit that I missed the help of my bigs every time I had to stop for gas & bathrooms on the way home! See that picture of little feet dangling off the toilet?? Yeah, this happened while I was in the middle of changing Katie's diaper, and of course, he locked the door....it was a bit of an adventure getting him out & cleaned up & such, but hey, we managed!!

This was what he was up to when I was changing Katie's diaper

Shanan's Perspective

The reality that we were actually leaving home first hit me after Mom dropped Alyssa and I off at the welcome center with Mr. Doug and Mrs. Bonnie Strub. Until then, the whole camp thing seemed a distant event, but I realized that it was really happening during the drive to Texas. This was the first time I had ever been away from home for such an extended period of time, so I didn't know quite what to expect. Alyssa and I stayed the night with Mr. George and Mrs. Sarah Strub. It turned out that we really got along well with their daughter Rebecca. 

The crazy boys on the van...

The next day we got up at 4:30 am and drove to the Strub's church, where we then left in a van to make the journey to Colorado. I will admit I was a bit taken aback at the large quantity of boys aboard the van, but I managed to survive ;) After a full day of car time, we finally arrived in the Denver area, where we stayed a few days before the camp started. We had a whole Saturday of free time, so we took the opportunity to go to the mall where we played glow-in-the-dark mini golf. 

Girls Tea Party

The next day we drove to Conifer, Colorado, the home of SEP Rockies. Naturally, I was intimidated by the large crowd, but it didn't take too long for me to acclimate myself to my surroundings. I didn't even have time to be homesick because of all the activites! The camp sported riflery (one of my favorites), dance, tracks, volleyball, soccer (another of my favorites), ultimate frisbee, drama, and more. Alyssa and I both had Miss Brittany Egbert as our counselor, which was an adventure in it of itself :) I think camp was a great experience and I can't wait for next year! I feel like I grew my relationship with God and I enjoyed spending some time around quality people and some great kids, too!         

Alyssa's Perspective

When I think back on camp three emotions come to mind:

 #1. Apprehensive -- I was overwhelmed by the fact that I would be staying with and spending time around so many strangers. I also felt unsure about the fact that I was an "exception" and everyone else would be twelve (or older), while I was still eleven.

The girls' crazy counselor

#2. Awestruck -- I don't think that it's very easy to describe this emotion in one word, but this is the closest one I came up with. At camp they devoted one of the nights completely to worship. One of my new friends was telling me how powerful it had been to her and how you could just feel God in the room. She also told me that everyone was crying and hugging each other. At that point I thought she was slightly crazy, but I so happened to be one of "those people" who were crying. It really was truly amazing, and she was totally right. I could just feel God's presence. I've never felt so secure and yet so torn up at the same time. It was a great experience and I think everyone was slightly shocked at themselves when it was all said and done.

Alyssa and her counselor Ms. Egbert (Brittany)

#3. Melancholy -- I've never experienced real depression (the mental illness kind, you know), but this was as close as I've ever been. I was glad to see my family and all, but I had been none too impressed with our current situation when we left Utah, and now it seemed twice as bad. After the inital joy & good feelings of being reunited with my family subsided, I had to come to terms with my real life again. As amazing & awesome as summer camp is, it's just one week, and my whole life can't be like summer camp all the time!  I really missed my friends from camp and I was constantly lusting after  the way things used to be in Utah. It's kind of odd, but at this point I began to miss *all* of the friends I've ever had. It occurred to me that I really love spending time with other girls my age, and I was really disappointed when none of my friends from camp responded to my emails and contact requests.

I feel like I've finally made peace with my life right now.  I miss the camp experience & the friends I made there, and I can't wait to go again next year, but I'm learning to choose contentment in the place God has for me right now. Now I understand why my parents told me that camp had the potential to impact me for always. Some things that I've learned and experienced there will be with me for the rest of my life.

And back again!!! (By Mom)

I have to admit that it was a wee bit nerve-wracking to not hear anything from our girls all week!  I knew that no news was good news, but still...  I was praying for them, and the other campers & staff, for the week. I know how life-changing camp can be, & I was praying that for all involved! Steve & I were excited to see how Shanan & Alyssa were impacted. I was admittedly a bit afraid that they would be quiet as a mouse when I picked them up, & information would filter out slowly.

It was so awesome seeing them come running across the parking lot when I picked them up! Watching Katie's reaction, especially, was so cool! She was clearly enchanted with them, and it was so obvious that she'd missed them...& the feeling was mutual! And...they were bubbling over with all sorts of tidbits about things that happened!  It was awesome to see how good the whole experience had been for *both* girls! Totally worth all the complexities of figuring out how to get them there! And, we're happy to make it all happen again next summer, complexities & all! :)  A big thank you to all of you who helped make SEP possible for Shanan & Alyssa this summer -- you know who you are! :)  

Visiting the Crestview Zoo

We decided to take the Littles to the zoo while our big girls were at summer camp. Zoos never seem to be cheap, and the zoo here in Crestview isn't big, but we still had a lot of fun. It was a hot, sticky day, typical for this area in the summer. Nonetheless, the zoo is pretty well shaded, so it wasn't so bad. The mosquitos were kinda vicious though, at least for Katie who gets big welts when she's bitten.

Our favorites from this day would have to be the tiger, Koda, and the baby patas monkey in the gift shop. Steve was drawn in by Koda's interactive self, but the kids & I were enchanted with the baby monkey who was so animated & putting on a great show for us in her pack'n play!

They never seemed to grow tired of the goats, and vice versa

As soon as he saw us, he came over and kept rubbing his scent on the fence

It was unusual to see one of the big cats so active and friendly

He then sat down and acted like he wanted to be petted

This is a Korean golden pheasant

Katie tried to put her foot on the goats head

The baby pig was friendly

Genna was liking the attention

The little seven week old monkey was lots of fun

Steve's Birthday & the second annual Shipman visit

The good times before our Jake joined them at the table & spontaneously fell headfirst off his chair in an attempt to avoid eating "food I don't like."

Well, Steve is getting older.  It's evidenced by the increase in gray hair as well as his age. ;)  That's right, he had another birthday!  We celebrated early as a family since our big girls were going to be en route to camp on his actual birthday.  As we were getting ready to head out for dinner, Jake asked, "Are we going to eat Dad's birthday??"  I responded, "Yes, we are going out to eat for Dad's birthday."  He came back with, "Weelllllll, I had a drinking birthday!!"  Whattt???!!  I guess he starts young, LOL.  Then I remembered, we were in California for his last birthday, and he had a milkshake for his birthday dessert, hence a "drinking birthday"!

On Steve's actual 45th birthday, we spent the day driving around, scouting out RV parks to see if we could find a better place for our family than our current spot, and also just getting a feel for what's in the area.  It was an altogether peaceful day with just our three littles.  Amazing how the family dynamics change when you remove a kid or two!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that we got a chance to see the Shipman's the day after Steve's birthday.  We got to spend Steve's birthday with them last year when they drove through Utah on their way back to Texas from Oregon.  Who knew they'd be vacationing in Destin for Steve's birthday this year, and we'd be less than an hour away??? Kinda crazy!  We had a great time hanging with Joe & Emily & company, as well as Mike & Corinne & crew, and Andrew & Stephanie & kids, too!  Now the question is...where will we be on Steve's birthday next year??!!? :)

Genna and Ashley had so much fun together!

Grilled peaches--so incredibly simple & sooo good!

Johnny's Lakeside RV Resort, Foley, Alabama

This place Rocks!!  Seriously, such an awesome place. Originally, Steve had booked two months here, then changed it to one month because there were rumblings of being moved for work, and then sadly, we had to change it to less than a week because those rumblings were turning out to be true. Although we were bummed we couldn't stay longer, all of us were so glad we were able to stay here for the time we did. The waterpark? In a word, fantastic. This place has a lazy river, three big slides, and a super shallow play area for littles. There are few rules, so Genna & even Jake were able to slide, and they had oh-so-much fun!! And...there was even a day camp for Jake & Genna compliments of http://barefootbelievers.com/  Jake flipped out on the first day & didn't stay, but he had a blast after that.  It was such a great thing for the both of them, a little bit VBS-like.

Our short site that was a little tricky to get into

They had free facepainting

Not sure why the little man is so glum

This place is wildly popular, for good reason. If you ever get a chance to stay here, go for it! You won't regret it. The people here were friendly, the amenities were great, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It would make a great place to have a family reunion, a rally, or just have a family vacation!

Katie had a blast on the swings

The waterslides were crazy fast for adults

Major cuteness

The lazy river was a big hit

They never said 'No Hanging from Bridge"

We must have gone around 100 times

Exploring Mobile, Alabama

Once we knew we would be leaving Alabama & moving to Florida, we decided to explore Mobile.  We went low-key, starting at the tourist information place and Fort Conde.  Jake & Genna were completely fascinated with the battle display, studying it forever. Then we took the free shuttle & stopped off at Panini Pete's for lunch. We discovered the Fairhope location was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. It's definitely worth a stop. The sandwiches we had were good, and the beignets were awesome! Everyone enjoyed themselves!

Panini Pete's

The beignets were incredible

No need to go all the way to New Orleans

After lunch, we walked to the park nearby on Dauphin Street, & Jake & Genna tried their hand at catching squirrels & birds. They never succeeded, but they were convinced that was only because we left too soon! As we wandered down the street, we stopped for coffee. It seems that the coffee-loving gene has been successfully passed to most of our children. ;) As we continued our walk, Steve spontaneously popped into the Renaissance hotel. After a fun ride up the escalator, we relaxed and cooled off in the upstairs conference area. The littles thought it was a super cool playground. We managed to leave on our own before being asked to leave by security :)

Since it was free, we stopped at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which was beautiful & reminiscent of European cathedrals. It was delightfully cool and quiet, at least until we arrived & Katie discovered that any small noise she made sounded very loud. As we left, Alyssa asked about the confession booths, which inspired some interesting discussions about the Catholic church & the practice of confession.

Inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

We cooled off in the lobby of a fancy hotel

Although both Katie & Jake were asleep, we stopped at the Botanical Gardens. The offices were closed, so the bathrooms were, too. Although it was a pleasant stop, it's not worth the price of admission, in my opinion. We left quickly in search of bathrooms & found them at a nearby playground. Although it was ridiculously hot & humid, the kids had a great time playing. I was sitting in the pavilion feeding Katie in the shade, so it was heartwarming to see another dad help Jake down from some of the playground equipment. And, we also saw a little boy give Alyssa a very sincere hug. Apparently, he asked her if she would be his friend, and when she told him we were about to leave, he told her goodbye and hugged her. :) It was definitely one of those, "we're not in Utah anymore" experiences.

The gardens were nothing special so we didn't stay long

On our way back home, we stopped at a Farmer's Market and a Seafood market to gather some good, local food for dinner. It was a "grill dinner," as Jake would say--grilled corn, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, shrimp, and a first for me, grilled peaches for dessert! Yummy! A great ending to a great day together as a family.

Wilderness RV Park, Robertsdale, Alabama

When the kids & I arrived from Utah, our first "home" was Wilderness RV Park.  The owner was nice, & he didn't charge the offensive "kid tax."  The pool was the highlight of our stay here, for sure.  Not only was it useful for keeping the kids happy, I even taught Genna how to swim!!  Yay!! (And thank you, Miss Jayne, for faithfully teaching our big girls to swim...your methods of instruction do indeed work!)

What a huge change of pace from our time in suburbia!  The kids & I were unprepared really for how far away we were from town.  It seems that this area is a good place to go when you just want to get away from it all and mostly just disappear. I can't say that the other camper/residents at the campground were very welcoming or friendly. Many avoided eye contact & ignored our presence while others would be friendly once & then never again...it was a bit strange, honestly. There were other kids in the campground, but they didn't really want anything to do with our kids. But...there was a pool which helped wear the kids out & cooled us off on hot, humid summer days.

Fun at the Railroad Museum in Foley

Besides the pool, the kids & I took advantage of the free attractions in Foley.  Jake was enchanted with the trains at the Railroad Museum.   The older kids especially enjoyed the Holmes Medical Museum, housed in south Baldwin County's first hospital.   It has quite the interesting array of instruments of torture, I mean medicine. ;)  We also scored a couple interesting books at the used bookstore at the corner.  Who knew How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less would make such an interesting read-aloud for school??

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Derailed Diner which was at our exit off of I-10. It's definitely worth the stop for the interest factor.

We don't have photos of the RV park. These are from a park in Robertsdale where we stopped after church.

It was a warm and sticky Gulf coast day

This is a really good book for teaching effective communication

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Even though Steve had arrived nearly two months prior, he decided to wait until we arrived to go to the beach altogether as a family.  We went twice to the beach pavilion of Gulf Shores State Park in Alabama. We did pay $5 to park, but it was worth it for the bathrooms and showers.  It was indeed crowded, but it was still pleasant. There were lots of fish to see in the clear waters, even several rays, and a small shark??  I can't vouch for the shark myself, but Steve is convinced he saw one!  I can see why so many Texans drive here for vacation as the beach is a much "prettier" beach than Texas beaches.

It was truly great to be together & having fun!  On our way back, we checked our the popular, local Shrimp Basket, but really, save your money & go to something better.  We just weren't that impressed.