Not "Fair"ing Well!!!

I am NOT happy!!!!!!!

I decided not to take my nicer camera with us to the L.A. County Fair...

Our other camera is apparently broken because the first picture I took upon arriving at the fair is the only one that came out!!! All of the rest of the pictures are just BLACK!!!

Please scroll down to the bottom of this post and read the captions and pretend that you see the adorable pictures that did NOT come out!!!! Humor me!

Abbie, Caden, Livi, and Rigdon checking out the map of the fair!

The kids sledding down the snow hill inside the Winter Wonderland building! Don't they look like they're having a blast!

Here are the kids at the Monster Bugs exhibit! What a huge scorpion!

Oh...the petting zoo! Macie loved petting the goats and sheep!

Our favorite fair ride...the dragon rollercoaster! There goes Macie, Abbie, Caden, and Chase!

We had a fun evening at the fair! Wish I had picture proof...but we all had a blast!

Thanks for using your imagination!

We do have some video footage though! Yeah!

A Few Oldies But Goodies

Doughnuts and Airplanes

Today after church we went to our favorite doughnut shop and headed to Cable Airport to watch airplanes. We were able to share our doughnut holes with a dad and his son who were there and watch a cool old airplane take-off.

"Bye bye airplane"

"I want it to come back down"

said Macie

Go Lasers!

Caden is playing soccer in our church sports program called Upward Bound Sports.

This awesome program has become very popular in our community and many people now choose it instead of the city leagues.

We are the Lasers! Aaron is his coach and I'm the team mom.

After each practice there is a "Huddle Talk" where the coach does a short Biblical lesson with the kids.

During each game parents fill out an "encouragement card" for a child (other than their own).

We write things like..."Great job today! You ran really fast and kicked the ball so well! We love having you on our team! You are special...etc."

At the end of each game...after the kids run through the "parent tunnel", the kids sit and eat their snack, Aaron calls each kid up and reads their card, and all the parents cheer!

Once again Hillside Community Church comes through with an amazing program for kids...All done with the prayer and hope of bringing families to church and to Christ!

Camping With Daddy

Friday night I hosted Bunco at our house with some girls from church. I asked Aaron if he could take the kids somewhere for a while (like McDonald's)...He decided to take them fishing and camping overnight at Siverwood Lake! They had a blast! Macie stayed home with me in her nice cozy bed:)

Aaron, Abbie, and Caden went fishing, barbecued cheeseburgers, popped some Jiffy Pop, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, stayed up late, and slept in a tent! Can't wait to join them next time!

Back at home...The dirt on their faces, messy hair, the smell of campfire, and smiles say it all...They had fun!

Lightfoot Leopards

I teach at Lightfoot Elementary and Abbie and Caden go to Lightfoot Elementary!

Fridays are our Spirit Days!

Go Lightfoot Leopards!

The Perfect Push-Up and The Beach

Here is Macie doing The Perfect Push-Up to get ready for our beach trip!

Lookin' good Mooch!

Caden and Evan with their capes

Macie started to get a little chilly!

Amplify!

This summer our church put on an awesome performing arts/music camp called Amplify!

It was amazing! They offered lessons in musical instruments and musical theater. The instructors were all professionals with a lot of talent and experience.

Abbie was involved in the musical theater track. She performed in the Opener, speaking part to introduce a band, solo in Hard Knock Life (Annie), Seize the Day (Newsies), and the Finale. Each morning began with Biblical lessons such as, using your God-given talents to honor Him and give Him all of the glory. A few lyrics from the theme song, Amplify..."Come on, get up, and shout it loud, Amplify the sound...elevate the God of ages".

There was also a music theory class they attended each day where they learned a few songs on a recorder. The camp was 5 days long and then a Showcase Performance on the last night of the camp. All of the groups (bands and theater groups) did an amazing job!

Hillside Community Church once again rose to the challenge of a big new project and it was a huge success. Can't wait til next summer's camp!

introducing the next band

recorders

Seize the Day

Abbie and Abby