Mount Hermon 2011

In The Fountain Ice Cream Shop this week, Ella found a new favorite flavor-- heaven.  It's actually called heaven and is vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirls and chunks of brownies.  Ordering even just a kiddie scoop of this was a tremendous treat. 

At our end of the week communion service, we were encouraged to reflect on how God has worked in our lives during our week at Mount Hermon.  I thought of Ella's kiddie scoop of heaven.  Mount Hermon is as close to heaven as I can imagine-- breathtaking creation, sharing meals with brothers and sisters, total security that my kids are safe and happy even when they run around without my supervision, hearing sermons and singing hymns that make me cry at the depth of God's grace, meeting fellow believers, sharing our stories, laughing, hugging, feeling so connected to one another and God.  The week flies by, but the kiddie scoop of heaven that Mount Hermon gives me, Ella and Delia leaves us longing for next year and eventually for eternity when we'll get to enjoy more than just a taste of this.

So, here are some pictures and favorite memories that were part of our scoop of heaven this week:

At the carnival and BBQ the first night, Ella had the "I heart Mount Hermon" painted on her face that she decided on a long time ago.  This year, Delia was "brave of bouncy houses!" and kept returning to jump without fear.

This was my most different year at Mount Hermon.  A lot of Mount Hermon in the past has been about juggling the girls' needs on my own and surviving the inevitable fatigue.  But, the girls' older ages and 4 years of experience brought them so much more independence and new opportunities this year.  Ella was old enough to try the Discovery Grove Ropes Course, about 20 feet off the ground in the Redwoods.  She didn't make it all the way across the 6 dangling obstacles, but I'm proud of her for giving it a try.

Ella also graduated from Child Care to Day Camp.  Day camp is a separate program for 1st-6th graders. The counselors are wackier, the Bible studies are more intense and the activities are for big kids.  She especially loved the giant slip and slide.

Delia moved up too, from the toddler room (which was very nursery like) to a preschool class.  She also had her best year yet of letting go and joyfully dancing into class each day.  She loved playing dress up and singing silly songs.  There was one counselor, Lizard, who she totally bonded with.

The girls did a lot more walking on their own and a lot less napping.  They ate with their friends at the kids' table and needed me a lot less, in general.  It made me happy to see how comfortable they are at Mount Hermon and how much they love being there.  Even so, there were times I missed having them so attached to me, so I really treasured the down time we got to spend in our little cabin, playing cards, coloring and snuggling up with stories.

Of course, a favorite part of family camp is getting a few windows of time to spend with Dave.  On his day off from counseling high schoolers at HiCamp, he was able to join us for some time in the pool.  Again, a difference this year was watching big girl Delia paddle around with just her floaties and big girl Ella practice her underwater swimming.

Another highlight is always the night we have a whole camp singalong and bonfire.  I was delighted that one of the goofy songs they taught us this year was about Mrs. O'Leary and her lantern-kicking cow-- a song we grew up singing in Chicago! 

One difference in this year's end of the week program was that Delia finally got on stage!  She was so excited to say her Bible verse and sing "Our God is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY!"  One thing that was actually the same as last year was that Ella was picked to be interviewed again.  This year she shared what she learned about God ("That no matter where we are, or where we go, God goes with us.")

On our last night, we had a birthday in our group, so we planned a little surprise party at The Fountain.  The kids dove into a Mudslide-- a sundae with 8 scoops of ice cream!

For me, the best part of Mount Hermon is the fellowship.  Each year, I fall in love with all the good friends I get to share this experience with, all over again.  These are amazing people!  The kids get along so great and the older ones are so wonderful with the younger ones.

Last night Ella prayed with tears, "Dear God, please let this next year go super fast so we can be at Mount Hermon again soon."  Our week of heaven is sadly over, but the stories are not.  I have a few more to share, so stay tuned!

Summer's First Swim

I couldn't be more in a summer state of mind after the 5 hours we spent at Phil and Jetta's yesterday!  Peter and Cora turned 4 and some of their family, as well as some other 3-4 year olds from our church (and their families), got together to celebrate.  There were a LOT of kids and we all had a LOT of fun.

The kids spent a long time swimming.  I was happy to see how quickly Ella and Delia felt comfortable in the water after so many months off.  Ella's new thing was the diving board.  She'd run off the edge then hop out and repeat over and over.

Delia, Brittany and Cora kicked and bobbed around all the parts of the pool, holding hands and demanding their moms watch how they swim like fish.

The pool was super fun, but when the kids started shivering, we moved onto other things.  Bunnies were held, bikes and scooters we ridden, sand cakes were made, dress up was worn, volleyball was played and a game of tag was held in the dirt.

I know it's wrong to have favorites, but Peter and Cora do have my heart.  They share a lot with my youngest-- an age and similar spunky personalities.  I just love them and feel so thankful that Delia has had such good little buddies since birth.

After a BBQ dinner and ice cream cake, the presents were opened.  I laugh at these pictures I caught of hugs for the birthday twins.  Phil built us a giant bonfire to warm up, so our night ended with some laughs around the fire.  I got to take home worn out girls and that wonderful, summery, smokey scent.

Happy summer to us and happy birthday to Peter and Cora!

Goodbye Sunshine

Though Ella has been out of school for a week now, just tonight Delia completed her first year of preschool.  And this girl, who tolerates school, but doesn't love it, is READY for summer!

The end of the year program was just as cute and amazing as always.  I think because I had a squirmier daughter, whose dress came dangerously close to going over her head several times, it seemed to drag a bit more than usual.  But, Delia was super proud to show off the songs she's been belting out for the past few weeks.  After all the songs, the Sunshine (3 year old) Class was awarded certificates of completion.  Next year, Delia is excited to be a Star and enjoy all the big-kid perks that go with being a 4 year old-- a move to a new classroom, sitting on the bench instead of the rug and being allowed to use the monkey bars.

Though the Sunshines aren't given solos, there's a bit of time where the Stars change into their caps and gowns and the 3 year olds must entertain the waiting audience.  Miss Jenny always asks who wants to try singing in the microphone.  Delia was the first to charge at it and could hardly be dragged away from it!  Maybe Delia didn't stand as perfectly still as we know her teachers like, but she was still just Delia and she still made us smile and feel proud!

Delia's favorite part of preschool this year was playing with her best friend Brittany.  I'd love picking her up and seeing these two girls hug goodbye.  When she'd talk about other kids, I'd ask, "Oh is Lauren...or Lucas...or Trent your friend?" She'd always say, "No, Brittany is my friend."  I guess she's only allowed to have one. :)

As is tradition for us after a preschool program well done, we had to celebrate with some ice cream.  Beautiful breezes, an outside table and a shared banana split were a perfect way to officially start our whole family's summer!
.

On Her Way...to the FIRST Grade!

So, we officially have a first grader in the house.  Today Ella had her kindergarten celebration, which was totally adorable.  The 3 classes of kindergarten stood on stage at church in their matching shirts.  They performed a program of songs and poems and showed us a slide show of fun pictures.  Songs like "Kindergarten Holla!" or "Kindergarten Days" (to the tune of Greace's "Summer Nights") had us cracking up.  Ella had a short speaking part and she did great.  

 

The kids put on these sunglasses to sing, "We're on our way...to the first grade!", but Ella's didn't stay on her little face.  Here they scream, "We learned reading, we learned writing, kindergarten was EXCITING!"

After the program, there was some good fellowship.  Ella and I have been secretly collecting letters from each student in her class to put together in a book for their wonderful teacher.  The kids did a great job writing sentences about the things they loved about Mrs. H. and kindergarten and she was happy when we presented her with this gift from all her students.

Gramma Jean was kind enough to come and see Ella!  She was too sweet listing Ella among her other grandchildren graduating this week.  We're constantly blessed to be included in her family!

Though Ella has a hard time with goodbyes, she did great when it was time to give each of her classmates a hug goodbye for the summer.  I have tons of cute pictures of her with each friend (which Dave told me to hang on to for future high school graduation and wedding slide shows!), but I'll share just this one with two of her best friends from the
year-- Chloe and David. 

As this school year comes to a close, I reflect on how we've been tremendously blessed! 
Thank you, Lord, for all that Ella learned this year.  For her loving teacher and for sweet little friends.  Thank you that she came home most days happy, singing and repeating her silly teacher's jokes.  Thank you for drawing her closer to you through Bible memory work and passionate and creative Bible lessons.  Thank you for safety every single day as we made the  journey to her school.  Thank you, God, that even in the little details of the everyday school schedule, you were with us and smiling on us!

The Friends Who Made the Trip Extra Special

One of the best parts of a vacation in Southern California is that we drive right past so many of our favorite people on the way there and back.  We tacked extra days onto our vacation schedule and really treasured the time we got to spend with these dear friends.

On our drive down to Disneyland, we met Anna in LA for dinner.  She picked out a cool restaurant called Fred 62, where we tried to blend in with the hipsters while enjoying delicious food and good conversation.  This visit was short, but kicked off our vacation with some smiles.

We were so blessed to have a stop over at Phil and Teri's house on our way home.  We actually planned this one to be an overnight so we could spend more time with them.  After several exhausting days in the parks and probably over 20 miles walked, we basked in their hospitality!  I'll forever remember the Disneyland vacation concluding with long conversations while sitting in the sun on their patio furniture and Phil's amazing grilled tri-tip for dinner and monkey bread for breakfast.  As always, the kids played together wonderfully.  It was so good to just be still for a while and let our good friends spoil us!

Our last stop was another quick, but lovely, one.  Dorina and Ericlee move out of their house and to Haiti in just a few days.  We had a couple hours to sit down with them and share the good food and conversation that we always find in their company.  Granted, the kids were very worn out and tired of saying goodbye to good things at this point, but they love Meilani and Giada, so there was some serious wailing as we drove away. 

We love you, Anna, Teri and Dorina!  All the love and good food and conversation you showed us made an already awesome vacation that much better!

Disney, Day Three

Our final day at the Disneyland Resort was a Saturday, which was waaaay busier than the previous two days we'd spent in the park.  Lines were much longer, so we did much less.  But, it worked perfectly since our plan was to take things slow on this last day, go back and revisit our favorites and even spend some time off park property enjoying lunch and taking afternoon naps.

At park open we visited Toon Town and saw a short program featuring all the classic characters.  Then we got to meet Minnie Mouse and tour her house.

This was the day Ella had her "Disney Birthday", but it was also the day Dave and I got married 12 years ago!  There was no better way to celebrate an anniversary than being in such a magical place, having a blast with the family we made together.  Ella was kind enough to take a few pictures of her parents, the old married couple.

We caught the incredible parade for the second time, this time with a better view.  Another favorite memory of mine is looking up at the girls, riding high on our shoulders to see, and watching them excitedly wave to the characters and sing their little hearts out to the songs they know so well from their favorite movies.  Of course, the Rapunzel tower float with all the princesses riding on it was a hit with the girls.  I loved the Mary Poppins float, complete with a whole street of dancing chimney sweeps.

I was so happy that Ella was excited to try all the big rides with us. Favorites on her list were Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Each time she'd try a new ride, we'd worry that it was too much for her, but when we exited our vehicle she'd yell, "THAT WAS AWESOME!" and hop right back on with whoever was waiting to switch off.
.

I feel I've barely scratched the surface in recapping the 3 fantastic days we spent at Disneyland, but this will serve to record our best and most favorite memories. If you aren't totally Disney-ed out at this point, be sure to click on our slide show for more fun pictures!

Princess Lunch

This memory is so special, it needs its own post!  We were really looking forward to using the vouchers to a character meal of our choice that were included in the vacation package we booked.  There are several options when it comes to character meals, all depending on what you want to eat, who you want to meet and where you want to do it.  We quickly realized the elegant, 3 course meal, featuring the princesses, at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure Park was the meal for us!

We entered down a glass-encased spiral staircase and immediately met Ariel.  (Please note the smiles on my girls' faces in the following pictures, they were sooo delighted to do this!)

Our family was seated on the outside patio, which had a nice view of Paradise Pier and was not very crowded.  The girls were given crowns to decorate with stickers.  Then we were served a tower of appetizers-- salad, veggies, cheeses, fruit.  After several meals of trail mix, apples and peanut butter crackers, this was wonderful!

All the little princes and princesses were invited to the front by Prince Charming to learn how to curtsy, give a royal wave and do a short dance.  Snow White was there to help teach too.

Then it was time to eat our entrees (seafood cioppino for Dave and tri-tip for me) while the 5 princesses wandered around and visited.

Each princess asked the girls' names, held brief conversation, took a picture and left with a hug.  We know the girls were just dying because they'd knock their chairs down to rush at approaching princesses, then get awestruck and just a little shy when it came to talking with them.

This may be one of my favorite pictures of the trip.  Look how Ella and Cinderella mirror each other!  I just love that they're discussing the similarity of their names too!

Delia spent most of the hour and a half turned around in her seat, scoping the place out for princesses.  She ate almost nothing...which was fine because when the $130 (!!) bill arrived, we didn't pay for any of it!

A decadent dessert platter ended our fancy meal at Ariel's Grotto.  What a total indulgence!  Something sooo special we would have never done if it wasn't free!