Video of the RGC Playground Restoration at Camp Curtin School

Yes, it has been very busy the past few weeks however I wanted to make sure I posted this video of the Camp Curtin Playground Project in case you missed it on Facebook or the RGC website.

The write up and video are on the Redeeming Grace web page under the "Serve HBG" tab or click here.

We had a great time serving along side the group from Faith as well as friends and neighbors who joined us.  Here is the video that was put together after the event.

Camp Curtin Playground Project from Redeeming Grace Church on Vimeo.

You can certainly see a small glimpse of the fun we all had over the weekend. We have watched this video several times, and it cracks me up every time! 

Faith & RGC Camp Curtin Outtakes from Redeeming Grace Church on Vimeo.

¹ Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
³ Know that the LORD ^[b]Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and ^[c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter His gates with ^[d]thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
⁵ For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

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Registration

Papers, Papers, Papers! Wowzers. Well, at least this time it is only one set of papers and for the last time to fill out the sea of papers to enter school. The school district is pretty small, which I like a lot.  The lady who helped us register the other 3 kids last summer remembered me and asked how all the children were doing and how they transitioned this year to their new schools. I appreciated that and thought it was very nice to be in a small district that it is so personal.  The registration process today was very organized and an exciting experience (for Olivia). Olivia wanted to take her book bag this morning and asked for lunch money as we were leaving the house, she was totally ready to go and stay at big school. (Me, not so much, but her eagerness and excitement makes it easier to process having an empty house during the day this fall)

They had a variety of stations. No one appeared to be in a hurry & the helpers/teachers really seemed like they were enjoying this process and paid special attention to each child as if they were the only one in the room.

 

 Olivia had the opportunity to observe a classroom and to sit on the big bus. The bus driver talked with  the kids about bus safety and a few rules, he also gave them a coloring book. Olivia was ready to go for a ride and wanted to ride on the bus with Logan. Unfortunately this won't happen next year either since Logan will go to a different school for 3-5 graders (with Maddy). So, Olivia will be alone as she travels on the bus for Kindergarten. sigh...okay. We will just cross that bridge in the fall.

Sunshine, flip-flops and the count down

Olivia and I made it back safely from FL. We drove 17 straight hours on the trip down but on the way back stopped in VA overnight and then made the rest of the trip. We went with a friend of ours that lives in PA & whose parents live near mine. She has a little girl the same age as Olivia. The girls did great, better than I could have ever thought two kids would do riding in a car that long. They played with barbies, colored, played their Leapsters and played on our phones. Well lets just say I learned my lesson about allowing Olivia to play the "free" games on my iPhone.  They are not so free after she clicked upgrades within the games racking up over $125 worth of games! Apple was kind enough to remove the charges and we changed the settings to no longer allow in app upgrades.

Here are a few pictures of the journey and the week with my parents.

 

The girls looked forward to Mindy leading exercises whenever we stopped.  Seriously these girls played non-stop. Laughing most of the trip and only asked a few times "when will we be there?"

Olivia loved going out in the evening to hit golf balls with granddaddy. She is still talking about this and how big their back yard was (she doesn't understand they live on a golf course) Also, my parents live in a community that drives golf carts around their community. They have golf cart parking at Wal-mart and the grocery stores.

 We stayed busy all week, going to the State Fair, strawberry picking, manatee watching, going to the zoo, shopping, going to a sea food festival, taking a tour at my parents community with all the activities they keep very busy with during the week. We had such a good time talking and catching up and spoiling my little "sweet pea" to the core!

I just love this picture, My dad is pointing at fish in the tank.

It was great to catch up with some friends in the area. Small world we live in!  Met up with Angela and Dale for lunch. It was nice to sit and talk & so good to hug their necks. Also, one of my friends from High School, Emily lives very close to my parents. It was so sweet to sit and catch up as if time had never passed by.

We took off one day to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa

I think he wanted lunch!

Not a good idea to get in the way of this little fella

We got so close to the animals at the Zoo. We stayed at the zoo  all day and walked a lot. Olivia studied each and every exhibit...we just might have another animal lover in our home besides Maddy.  

One of her favorite moments at the Zoo!

She was like.... "Mom, for real??" It's winter time and we are in bathing suits?

After a week of shorts, flip-flops and sand we are excited spring is only 

18 days away,

2 weeks 4.654days

26862 minutes

1.612x10^6 seconds

...but really who is keeping track?