Lake Day

This past Saturday, Heath, Ella and I joined our Sunday school class for a day at the lake. And it was so much fun.

Ella had never swam in a lake so I thought for sure she would be a little intimidated, but she was not. She is quite the little fish this summer.

We literally swam for almost 5 hours straight.

Getting ready to jump in.




Ella and Toby on the boat.






Me and my good friend Melissa.


Bear, Melissa's son, and Ella both passed out on me. At this point we had already been swimming for 4 hours, so the boat definitely lulled them to sleep.




Heath driving the speed boat.


Ella was so unbelievably brave all day in the water! She even jumped off this dock to Heath.


And I just have to say, I know this picture seems random, but if you look up the stairs, there is another dock up top. It's about 20 feet up from the water and I jumped off it. It took much to pump me up, but I have this competitive nature in me and usually it's just against myself. I do not like to chicken out of things. It's kind of like an OCD thing. No matter how scared I am, I force myself to do it. So I did and it was okay. I didn't repeat it, but it satisfied my crazy self enough just doing it once.


It was a great day!

The Puppies

Oh my! Puppies are just the cutest things. Aren't they? Even if you are not a dog person, you can't deny that they are precious.

Heath's mom, several weeks ago, took in a dog that was hanging around their house and looking very malnourished. She was NOT planning on keeping it, but shortly after taking her in, they realized she was pregnant. So she took her to the vet and got her all checked up knowing she was in for the long haul.

Well mama dog had her puppies 4 weeks ago and they are SO CUTE. I'm so tempted to take one, but there is NO way on God's green earth that my husband would allow that. He thinks I'm ridiculous for even entertaining the thought in my head.

But they are just so cute. Take a look.







Needless to say, Ella LOVED them! Heath's mom told me that every morning last week while Ella was there for Camp Crow's Nest, the moment her eyes opened for the day she was asking for the puppies.






















If one of these puppies stole your heart (which they did mine), there are still 5 that need homes so just let me know I can hook you up.

Camp Crows Nest Pictures

Ella had a great time at Camp Crows Nest last week. And I missed you like crazy. I was so happy to see her Saturday morning, obviously!

Her is the week in review with pictures.

Monday: Bounce House Day

Ella & her cousin Jessica! Ella still has not stopped talking about how much fun she had with Jessica.










PURE JOY!







Tuesday: Movie Day (Monsters vs Aliens)
I don't have any pictures of this day.

Wednesday: Water Day
They spent this fun day at home with the pools and sprinklers.



Group pic of all the cousins.


Powder Donut Break.




I love this face!


That evening they roasted hot dogs and s'mores on the fire pit, while Cousin James sang fun camp songs that they got to dance and sing along to.






Some of the dancing!


Thursday: Skating!

Okay, not to brag on my sweet girl, but they said she was amazing at skating. She was so brave and her balance was so good on those skates, she wanted to go faster and skate all by herself. I'm amazed, because my balance on skates is about ZERO. I am going to have to take her skating here at home so I can witness this talent in person.











Friday: Bowling!
Ella had so many firsts this week, skating, roasting hot dogs and s'mores and now bowling. They said she loved it! She had to carry the 6 pound ball all by herself form the rack to the ally. Little Miss Independent. Something else I can't wait to witness in person.

They had t-shirts made for all the kids and mommies. Aren't they adorable?










I heard this is how most of the daily activities ended for Ella. Ella is the youngest of all the cousins, so this was more activity than she has ever had in a week. But she loved every second of it.


Official group picture with all the cousins, grandmas and mommies (plus all 7 puppies which I will show more pictures of later because they are crazy cute!)


Thank you so much Meme for a fabulous week of fun and spoiling for Ella! We love you!