Janelle gets ready for her solo.

...then their two amazing voices joined together.

Some good thrift shop shopping

I had a good workout this morning at the rec center. It's so much better going in the mornings than after school when all the macho men are there grunting and sweating. The new workout room is so much bigger now, so maybe I won't mind those guys so much when I have to start going after the school day when Fall comes.

When we left the rec center I did something I haven't done in the two years since we moved near to this little historic town. I parked my car in town and we walked to several shops. My friend Kati had told me about a good thrift shop, and I decided to look it up. This town has a LOT of little specialty shops, and sometime when I don't have Destiny along I would like to walk around and explore them all. For today I just went to two thrift shops to look for summer clothing for Destiny. Would you believe, I found capris, pants, and shorts at one shop, then went to the other one and found tops to match. I made her try each outfit on when we got home and took pictures of them. Just look at them below and see if you don't think I did a pretty good job for $21.00??!!

I hope this doesn't look too much like pajamas!

I wish the little black dog's face weren't on the shirt. Maybe I could sew a yellow patch or logo or something over top of it.

My favorite outfit. These pants originally come from The Children's Place and have pink embroidery on the back pockets.

Destiny's favorite - a split skirt dress.

Same dress, back view.

Loving the change of schedule

Destiny and I had such a good day being at home today. I think we were both so ready for a change of schedule. I made her summer work chart, just like I used to do for our children, and of course she was eager to do chores today because of the novelty of it. I remember how our children would be so eager to work the first few weeks of summer that I could hardly afford to pay them for all the work they did. But by August it was like pulling hen's teeth to get them to do any work.

When I took Destiny for her last swim lesson this afternoon I took a look at the new workout room at the rec center. It's AWESOME!! There are so many treadmills we don't even have to sign up for them anymore. And get this! Some of them have their own personal TV - you just plug your headset into it and set it for the channel you want! I can hardly wait to go tomorrow morning. Destiny's eager to go to the playroom too -it's been so long since she was there.

If you're interested in seeing pictures from the country of Chile, check out Anthony's wife's blog. Lori is on the faculty at Penn State and does research on childhood obesity, which includes a good bit of traveling. She just got back today from Chile.

Anthony continues to have thought provoking posts on his blog. From there you can get to his band's website and watch videos from their recent gigs. My favorite is No Mojo, in which he showcases each of the instrumentalists in the band.

I got some more pictures from Lisa that I can't resist posting. Enjoy!

Sophie (in the back) and her friends in their "boat!"

Sophie (in the back) and her friend pretending they are mermaids!

Church camping weekend

This weekend we had our annual camping trip with our church. We had a good time most of the time. However, as Destiny gets older and more familiar with the place it gets harder and harder to keep track of her. She captured a frog on Saturday and another one on Sunday. Those frogs were the objects of much attention, affection, and some strife. When we released them back into their habitat before we left for home, it was the cause of great sorrow for Destiny and even greater relief for me! The pictures below will tell the rest of the story.

When we arrived at camp on Friday evening it was raining (as usual!) My dear husband put up a huge tarp first, then proceeded to put up our tent under the tarp. By the time he was finished the rain had stopped!

Our bedroom! I slept sooo good!

This is the building where we gather to eat, play games, and worship.

The favorite activity every year is the water slide. We had a hot, humid day on Saturday, so this was the perfect solution. (I forgot to take pictures, so I used this one from last year!)

On Saturday afternoon there were fun games for all the kids. Here Destiny and Leah were in a relay race. They were only allowed to step on the pieces of paper!

Destiny's final leap!

The youngest member of our church, little Aleese - only 2 weeks old, slept peacefully throughout all the noisy games!

No wonder! She was feeling so secure and content with her adoring Grandpa and Grandma!

Destiny and Joel got to turn Elizabeth into a mummy!

The Jr. High group loved cleaning the shaving cream off these guys with their spray bottles!

The teens had fun feeding each other vanilla pudding!

On Saturday evening we had a lot of crazy fun, all ages together, playing Pictionary.

Destiny loved when it was her turn to draw. Her word was "wagon" and she did a good job. (I think she put herself in the wagon!)

During our worship service this morning we prayed for this group which will be going on a work trip to Lousianna next week. (Dick is in that group - the one in the light blue shirt).

Our last meal together included DELICIOUS barbequed chicken - the best I've had in a long time.