The Accidental Boilermaker

We got to go to a 4th of July party last night and see some fireworks.  The town just north of us does a big early Independence Day celebration and Nate has a friend from the bike team who lives right where they set off the fireworks. They basically set them off in his backyard. So every year he throws a big cook-out. We have never been because Evelyn and Jameson were too little.  We brought to share red, white, and blue fruit kabobs. There were a ton of kids at the party including Evelyn and Jameson’s friend Miles so they just ran around the time. Evelyn loved the swing.  Jameson had fun catching fireflies.  The fireworks were really cool. 

VBS is over.  Last night was the family fun night.  Of the three VBS I've volunteered for at our church this one was probably the best in terms of organization.  Everything was well structured; very little down time which is great when you're in charge of 18 preschoolers. The theme was Roar; life is wild, God is good.  Nate and I joked that all Fort Wayne churches must have gotten a Groupon for this VBS because you drive around town and everyone is doing this program.  My biggest issue with VBS this year was the time.  It ran from 6-8:30 for 5 nights.  Most evenings we arrived to church and Jameson looked like this.  The church did provide dinner for all volunteers which was incredibly helpful. There were fun crafts, catchy songs, and lots of time to play outside.  I wasn't in charge of 18 kids by myself.  The other adult leader is friend of mine and a preschool teacher so that was awesome.  She had all sorts of trick...

Yesterday we made triple berry jam. Evelyn and Jameson helped crush the berries but I think their favorite part was listening for the pops as the cans sealed. We made 9 jars and used up the last of our strawberries. In the morning we were at church for the moms coffee break and they had brought in a small petting zoo. They got to feed and touch goats, sheep, a calf, a miniature horse, two pigs, and a bunny.  And of course play on the playground. 

We picked strawberries yesterday. I wondered with all the rain we’ve had if we’d ever make it out, but the farm had u-pick hours yesterday afternoon. And since it was Saturday Nate could come too. Everyone did a good job and we picked two Halloween buckets full of strawberries. It’s crazy how small they are compared to the ones you buy from the store, but so much sweeter.  Every strawberry Jameson would pick, he’d ask is this a good one?  So far we’ve just had strawberries and ice cream but I’m thinking of making a crisp tomorrow.

We had a nice Father’s Day yesterday. Nate played guitar in church and Evelyn and Jameson gave him coffee, beer, and nerds. On Saturday he wanted to go get ice cream so we did. Today Evelyn started farm day camp. She only does a half day, but it sounded like she had lots of fun.   After we dropped Evelyn off, Jameson and I got donuts.  Then this afternoon it was meet Pete the cat at the library. 

Another day at the zoo but this time with Bella and Millie.

Monday morning Evelyn, Jameson, and I headed to Illinois to go camping at White Pines State Park.  White Pines is about 2 hours west of Chicago and my dad has many memories driving out to the park as kid a for picnic lunches with his family.  My mom said the last time I was there, I was about 15 months old. In addition to the campground, there is a resort with cabins and a restaurant.  My mom and Mimi stayed in one of the cabins. Our campsite was really nice and since we were camping during the week there were only a few other campers around. Evelyn and Jameson loved the hammock and they only fell out of it a handful of times. My dad planned all kinds of yummy camp food.  We had hot dogs, hobo pies, chili, french toast, and pancakes. For dessert of course s'mores and monkey bread. We went for a nice hike on Tuesday.   A creek runs through the park and when the water is low enough you just drive over the fo...

A few pictures from our trip to the zoo yesterday.