Weekend at Smith Lake

Weston and Lilla at the wheel

Weston in his position

Connor & Weston waiting on Daddy to get the courage to jump

The cliff Will Rambo & Will Parrott jumped off

Merissa and baby boy Rambo holding Kinley for a nap

Will & Lilla ready to tube

Lilla's first time tubing

Weston taking a little nap

Daddy & Weston ready to tube

Weston had a great time

Weston having fun swimming

Will, Lilla, & Weston during a swim break

Connor's first time tubing

Will said that Connor kept saying "I like it"

Lilla and her daddy driving the boat

Connor ready for another day at the lake

Weston grinning for the camera

Connor loving the watermelon

Connor being silly

Weston and Connor enjoying a snack

Our view from the condo balcony

Connor took this picture of me, but only got James Everett in the picture

Weston & Connor watching cartoons

Connor actually being still.  He was really tired.

Weston eating a S'more on our last night

Connor eating his

Will and the boys

Connor and his silly daddy

 After a busy June and early July, we went to Smith Lake for a weekend.  Will's grandmother's funeral was right before our trip to the lake, so we were glad to be joining some good friends when we got to Jasper.  The Rambo family was able to stay with us for two nights in the condo at Duncan Bridge.  We had a great time.  The kids all bunked together in a room with two sets of bunk beds.  One of my favorite memories about the weekend was something Weston told Lilla.  Will Rambo overheard him tell Lilla at bedtime, "Don't be afraid, Lilla, because God watches over us, and I watch for God."  Weston and Lilla got along really well together.

We spent the first day on the lake, and then the two Wills grilled out burgers for dinner.  The kids went swimming in the "light-up pool" at night, which they thought was pretty cool.  It was nice to be away from all the responsibilities of home.  The lake is so peaceful, and God's presence is so evident in such a beautiful place. 

4th of July & Other Summer Fun

Connor and Will at the Marriott Shoals for 4th of July

Family picture before dinner

Made-up superhero "Super-Greener" playing golf

Weston getting a golf lesson from Nate

Another Saturday at the Riviera

Connor playing in the plastic pool

About to go down the slide

Weston helping Daddy plant our flowers in the pots

This Summer, we have spent some time out on the Riviera, as we call it.  We hang out on our front driveway, sitting in tailgate chairs, while watching the boys play in the plastic pool.  Nate & Megan Clark, the Orchard interns we are hosting this summer, have also joined us on the Riviera a couple of weekends.  We started the summer off with Weston having to go to the ER for stitches again.  This time, he sliced his foot open while riding his bike on our back patio.  There's something about June ER visits with Weston.  Last summer, it was his chin.  We are hoping for much better luck next summer!

Weston has made up a few new names for superheroes, and he likes to dress up as them almost every day.  They are Super-Greener, Super-Lantern, Fire Ninja, and Zoomer ("he runs fast").  The costumes usually consist of long pajama pants, a long-sleeve pajama top, a Super Man or Green Lantern T-shirt, with superhero underwear on top of the pants.  We all joked that "Fire Ninja" must be the Holy Spirit, because "he never killed anybody and he always does what God tells him to do".  While these imaginary superheroes are great, Spider-Man is still Weston's favorite superhero of all.

Connor's little personality has come out a lot lately, too.  He likes to make up jokes about turkeys washing their hands.  He also likes to do the dance from the "Flash Dance" movie, even though he hasn't ever seen the movie.  Connor uses a deep voice when he is in character sometimes.  He likes to say "Howdy Howdy" in a deep voice as he drinks from his Woody (Toy Story) cup.  He also has been a helper around the house, setting the table at dinner and feeding "WoWo" (our dog Roxie) every night. 

For the 4th of July, we went to the Marriott Shoals for a few days. This was our fifth year in a row to spend the 4th in Muscle Shoals.  It rained most of the time, but the boys still managed to swim in the rain and have lots of fun.  They also got to play in the arcade at the resort.  We enjoyed breakfast in bed on our first morning.  We also tried an Italian restaurant downtown one night for dinner.