Camp Grandma

Our little one looks forward to personal time with Grandma every summer.  This year was no exception.  She was ready to fly on the plane by herself for a week of fun!

Right off the bat, Grandma was a trooper.  They designed costumes for the free Chick-fil-a entree on cow day.

The of course, no stay at Grandma's is complete without lots of swimming!

They went to a children's museum and learned about Texas history.

And played on the large "Lite Brite" peg board.

She enjoyed lots of puzzles, games, and her "sweet shop", the best place around to buy donuts and ice cream.

They finished off the week baking brownies and cakes for the rest of her family to enjoy with they pick her up.  Thanks, so much, for her memories!

USA 5K

Our 4th of July started out with a 5k race.  The little one and I were the cheering squad.


First place in the family and 3rd in her age group with a time of 20 min!

Eric still had energy to wave to the camera during his home stretch.

Our son sprint passed about 20 people on his home stretch.

Then, the little one got to race...

Fun morning, and we brought home a glass cup and drawstring bag as prizes.  Now time for some bar-b-que on this special holiday!

Musical

Our youngest was in a musical last week.  She loved her camp immensely, and is now ready to do this full-time!

The performance had several songs, dance routines, and costume changes.

Here's the video clip #1 of 4:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A73_KU_N8g

Next, she played an Egyptian queen.

Here's the video clip #2 of 4:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIUTxI-gOuA

This was a fun song.  Clip #3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzEmJegIhMc

Last is a senimental song about growing up.  I didn't caputre her solo, but she did a great job!  Clip #4:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVh5592f-Q

Jockey Lot

Looking to do something different since no one had to work on a particular Saturday, we decided to head to the Jockey Lot.  

This is a flea market of sorts.  You can find things new, old, used, stolen, fresh, withered, or expired.  Occasionally, you can even find a decent buy.

Eric bought two figit spinners for the price of one.  Not sure why we needed two, though.

Our son was on the hunt to get a phone case in addition to finding someone who could replace his cracked phone screen.  Luckily, we found just such a person!  

While we waited for the phone to be repaired, we found ways to entertain ourselves.  We took random pictures, then found a makeshift stage.  The kids can be quite funny acting out scenes and dances.  They got a few stares as people walked by, but no one stopped to watch or offer tips for the performance.

After 2 hours and $55 later, we headed home with a new phone, case, spinners, and samples of cactus flower to much on.

Boating

For Father's Day, Eric wanted to go boating.  Rather than purchase a boat, we realized it's much more economical to rent one for the day.  

We rented skis and a neighbor let us borrow their inner tube.  Eric made it out of the water first try, jumped over the wakes, and cut in to give a spray.

I was up next, and wanted to go straight to the slalom.  After several tries, I finally got up!  

 Our son made it up eventually as well...

I don't have a picture of our oldest, but I do have a video.  Click here to see her best attempt:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOxXyGGLawU

The little one enjoyed playing in the water.  She tried to get up on skis, but her nose kept getting too much water in it.

 Once we got the inner tube ready, the real fun began.  Just look at those faces!

Our son and daughter each brought a friend, and they made the day even better!

The boys claimed the title for wipeout caught on film.  Click here for the footage:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzBhEjHbp1I

Finally, the little one and I got a turn on the tube.  It was fun, but too much bouncing around for us.  We decided to leave that for the other kids.  

Wonderful Father's Day!  Now, he's already wanting to do it again.  I have to keep showing him the benefits of renting instead of owning!

Theatre Camp

Our youngest became interested in theatre after Camp Grandma one summer.  Now, she wants to be an actress.  It's very sweet, but I have to admit it's unexpectedly involved voice lessons and now summer camp.


This week's camp was Introduction to Theatre.  There were 7 children who all got to pick their own characters, names, and story plot while the director pieced it all together into a play.

Our little one was the evil princess, and the antagonist.  In the play, her crown had special powers and was stolen by one of her subjects.  

She did a great job, and it was really cute!

Thirstea?

Our favorite restaurant gave away tea tumblers to the first 25 customers when they opened on Saturday morning.  At a value of $8.99 per tumbler, we couldn't resist.


We agreed to split up and maximize our odds.  The little one came with me to the restaurant on Congaree.  There wasn't a line at this location, so we walked right in.

Our other daughter stood outside for about 20 minutes before they opened at Augusta.

Eric went to the one on Woodruff.  He didn't have much of a line, either.  

Yes, we're tea freaks.  But we ended up with 4 tea tumblers that can now be refilled at $0.99 for as long as we keep the cups.

Just another of our many McAlister's moments....