Thomas!

Last Saturday, we went to the NC Railroad Museum for the yearly "Day with Thomas" Festival. Although as MG says, we left home "at the crack of dawn," our time was perfect--weather, attitudes, and festivities. We started by riding in the passenger car "Annie" who was being pulled by Thomas, and then moved on to climb on old trains, get (fake) tatoos, make lanterns, play with train tables, and see a magic show. We even got to watch Bob the Builder as he helped build a shed for Thomas. It was entertaining for all of us, and we can't wait to go next year!

Getting ready to board the train

MG with Thomas
Perhaps we have a future engineer in our midst.
MG and Percy

Fall Conference

This past weekend, we had a great couple days back at camp--but this time with Davidson students. Each fall we get to go back to camp for the weekend and are joined by all the RUF groups from North and South Carolina. It is such a fun weekend of visiting with friends, eating good food, hearing wonderful talks, and enjoying an incredible mountain setting. MG has been looking forward to fall conference for atleast a month, and she loved every minute of it. Who could ask for more than being reunited with a few summer conference friends, getting to swim, slide, and swing all weekend long, and enjoying some favorite Davidson students? MG was in heaven and tears were shed after it was all over, as she asked "why is it only two days long?". We especially loved having our dear friend Claire stay with us all weekend. Hopefully she'll still want to hang out with us! Thank you Claire!

With our friend AndyMG and our summer conference next door neighbors

With friends at the incredible bluegrass band.

Our Big Girl

Last week was MG's first week of 4 year old preschool. She has had a fantastic week and loved every minute of being back! Here are a couple pictures from her first day.

Catching Up

So, I've been dragging my feet on updating my pictures here. My computer crashed a couple of weeks ago, and I lost all of my pictures! (I even had already taken a picture for a Christmas card!) Luckily I had a few still in my camera. No we are not still at camp--although from our blog it looks that way. After camp we got to visit G. and Pops in the mountains and spend a week with Mimi and Freddie in Tennessee. We are so thankful for all the fun we've had. Here are a bunch of pictures from our last month.

MG's favorite place at camp. . . . the swings! We spent at least an hour every morning here.

MG at the WNC Nature Center. We enjoyed seeing coyotes, wolves, bobcats, sheep, butterflies, pigs, peacocks, and even black bears!

Our GPS hopeful! MG loves GPS (where her Mimi went to school and used to work) and was thrilled to try on this old uniform.

One of our favorite spots in Chattanooga is the carousel. This year S got to ride it and loved it even more than MG. This picture doesn't fully convey his excitement.
We love Daddy!
We got to go on the Incline Railroad as well. Here we are at the top.

We love you, Mimi and Freddie! Thanks for a fantastic visit.

When back home, we got a treat--a visit from some of our favorite friends, the Dupees. They were on their way back to Wisconsin--where is that again? We love you, dear friends!

Since we've been home we've spent time in the hose, working in the yard, and countless hours watching the construction right outside our windows. We don't have to go far for entertainment!

Horseback Riding

MG has been so excited to ride on a horse this summer. After waiting patiently for three weeks, she got to ride DaVinci today. She rode up and down the barn without a saddle and with her helmet on. She was beaming! She has been so thrilled to be at the barn and now says that she wants her very own horse! We're going to get right on that--it'll be real easy to just tie him up out back!

Happy Fourth!

First Week of Camp

We've loved settling back into camp this week. What a fun place to spend a month of the summer! MG has quickly reconnected with her friends and has loved the activities she's gotten to take--ceramics, swimming, glass fusion, gymnastics, cooking--to name a few. It's been great to be back with our friends from past summers, and we're so thankful that the Hambys have joined the fun at main camp this summer. Here are a few pictures:




MG enjoying the hammock in front of our cabin.







Enjoying golf with our sweet New York friend.








A little scary!--the daddies and kids after cheerleading "tryouts"








With dear friends after church








We loved our visit from G. and Pops . . .








and Mimi and Freddie. Thanks for making the trip. We loved our time with y'all!