These aren't actually from today, but it's the first chance I've had since to breathe!
We took the kids to the OC Fair last Thursday (it's free for kids on Thursdays, pass it on!). Here are some moments that made me smile:
Walking through the 4H section of the livestock area, one of my 7 year olds ran up to me. "Miss Bethany! I just had a staring contest with that rabbit over there, and the rabbit won!!"
We stopped at "Noah's Ark," a small booth where christian volunteers told children stories from the Bible. It actually was a small wooden ark (pretty cool, but way too small for me!), so I waited outside until the kids all came out. As we were walking away, one of our six year olds tucked his hand into mine and said "I'm so glad God gave me the goooooood love!"
And then, in the car on the way home, I overheard one 7 year old telling the rest of the kids in my car, "When God created cars, He made the white ones first. That's why there's more of them."
Check our shared blog for a crazy story about our trip home from the fair!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Summer Joys
I've been realizing this week how truly blessed I am to have such a wonderful job this summer. Somehow, it's just different than last year (even though I was at the same place). I love being the program director for a summer day camp, the responsibility of being guardian of so many youngsters, and the challenge of creating a program diverse enough to feed the hearts and minds of such a wide range of kids!
Just had to share some pictures with you. Wouldn't days like this make you smile, too?
During "Animal Safari Week," the kids had fun learning about different animals and the places they live. We did face paint on the kids to help them dress up as their favorite animal. I loved their creativity!
Here's a picture of a few of our animals:
(a mouse with cheese, two cats, a dolphin, a cheetah, and a zebra)
I'm the only person I know with access to a genuine cheesehead hat! (thanks to my handsome Greenbay Packer's fan)
Speaking of whom, Jesse had to get in on the fun too! He used his imagination and dressed up as a bluejay (with the help of some blue hair gel!)
Pretty much, this is one of my favorite pictures ever. Eddie decided to dress up as Cat in the Hat for his animal, and Savannah's in her full fledged cheetah costume!
During "Ocean Exploration Week," we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Savannah and Austin were the only two who wanted to pose with the shark...
Some of our kids watching a diver feed the sharks in the tank
Possibly my favorite things about the ride home on field trip days:
Engrossed readers during our daily reading time after lunch:
Working on the mural for this week's theme:
Each of them added their own dinosaur to the mural. I was impressed with the amount of research even the youngest ones did to make their drawings as accurate as possible (and then of course, we got some unicorns, too...)
Lizeth and Carissa playing happily during free time:
Every Tuesday, we make a trip the the Glendora Library to participate in their summer reading program, and enjoy the educational programs they put on for children every Tuesday afternoon. We've seen puppet shows, wild animal presentations, and all sorts of great things. This week was a man who played the guitar and sang. The kids loved him!
It truly is an adventure. And I love it!
**Funny
sidenote...in his sermon on Sunday, Pastor used a story about a family who lost their 4 year old at an aquarium. In the margin of my bulletin, I wrote to Jesse, "And I took TWELVE kids to the aquarium last week and didn't lose ONE!"
He quickly wrote back, "that doesn't mean you get to have twelve kids."
Hahaha! I've talked him up to 3 or 4 kids, and that's probably as far as I'll get :)
Just had to share some pictures with you. Wouldn't days like this make you smile, too?
During "Animal Safari Week," the kids had fun learning about different animals and the places they live. We did face paint on the kids to help them dress up as their favorite animal. I loved their creativity!
Here's a picture of a few of our animals:
(a mouse with cheese, two cats, a dolphin, a cheetah, and a zebra)
I'm the only person I know with access to a genuine cheesehead hat! (thanks to my handsome Greenbay Packer's fan)
Speaking of whom, Jesse had to get in on the fun too! He used his imagination and dressed up as a bluejay (with the help of some blue hair gel!)
Pretty much, this is one of my favorite pictures ever. Eddie decided to dress up as Cat in the Hat for his animal, and Savannah's in her full fledged cheetah costume!
During "Ocean Exploration Week," we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Savannah and Austin were the only two who wanted to pose with the shark...
Some of our kids watching a diver feed the sharks in the tank
Possibly my favorite things about the ride home on field trip days:
Engrossed readers during our daily reading time after lunch:
Working on the mural for this week's theme:
Each of them added their own dinosaur to the mural. I was impressed with the amount of research even the youngest ones did to make their drawings as accurate as possible (and then of course, we got some unicorns, too...)
Lizeth and Carissa playing happily during free time:
Every Tuesday, we make a trip the the Glendora Library to participate in their summer reading program, and enjoy the educational programs they put on for children every Tuesday afternoon. We've seen puppet shows, wild animal presentations, and all sorts of great things. This week was a man who played the guitar and sang. The kids loved him!
It truly is an adventure. And I love it!
**Funny
sidenote...in his sermon on Sunday, Pastor used a story about a family who lost their 4 year old at an aquarium. In the margin of my bulletin, I wrote to Jesse, "And I took TWELVE kids to the aquarium last week and didn't lose ONE!"
He quickly wrote back, "that doesn't mean you get to have twelve kids."
Hahaha! I've talked him up to 3 or 4 kids, and that's probably as far as I'll get :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Happiness is a Home-cooked Meal
It struck me today while I was working in the kitchen that I'm finally (yes, after over a year!) getting a hang of cooking for two.
Even though I really didn't cook that much growing up, it's been the hardest thing for me to remember that two Brubakers don't eat as much food as six Muellers! Plus, my mom always cooks for an army anyway (army of one: my brother!) so that's my excuse for poorly proportioned home-cooked meals. And I'm sticking to it :)
Today has been one of those belovedly wonderful Sundays. After church, Jesse and I came home to relax and go through the many childhood memories of mine that my family dropped off this week. I'm one of those crazy people who keeps a shoe box for nearly every year of my life, and now that it's all finally at our house, I had a chance to share it with Jesse. It was fun to show him pictures I had taken, birthday cards galore, drawings from Kate and Laura, letters from Emily, poetry I had written, and small mementos I had saved throughout my life. What a wonderful life it has been! I love having so many things from my youth. Now, if only I can find places to put all of it!
That got me way off the track of food... :)
Jesse and I made lemonade together after leaving the rest of the shoe boxes for another day. A friend at church gave us an entire bag of lemons, and I've just been in tart-heaven! The lemonade was scrumptious, and it was the perfect addition to our all-american dinner tonight of grilled steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, and buttermilk rolls. What a feast!
I have a lot more that I'm looking forward to writing about (namely our trip to San Diego last weekend!) but I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my Sabbath with my handsome guy :)
Have a great week!
Even though I really didn't cook that much growing up, it's been the hardest thing for me to remember that two Brubakers don't eat as much food as six Muellers! Plus, my mom always cooks for an army anyway (army of one: my brother!) so that's my excuse for poorly proportioned home-cooked meals. And I'm sticking to it :)
Today has been one of those belovedly wonderful Sundays. After church, Jesse and I came home to relax and go through the many childhood memories of mine that my family dropped off this week. I'm one of those crazy people who keeps a shoe box for nearly every year of my life, and now that it's all finally at our house, I had a chance to share it with Jesse. It was fun to show him pictures I had taken, birthday cards galore, drawings from Kate and Laura, letters from Emily, poetry I had written, and small mementos I had saved throughout my life. What a wonderful life it has been! I love having so many things from my youth. Now, if only I can find places to put all of it!
That got me way off the track of food... :)
Jesse and I made lemonade together after leaving the rest of the shoe boxes for another day. A friend at church gave us an entire bag of lemons, and I've just been in tart-heaven! The lemonade was scrumptious, and it was the perfect addition to our all-american dinner tonight of grilled steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, and buttermilk rolls. What a feast!
I have a lot more that I'm looking forward to writing about (namely our trip to San Diego last weekend!) but I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my Sabbath with my handsome guy :)
Have a great week!
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