Rats!

Gabby went to drama camp put on by Ovation Academy last week. They did the show Rats! based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Gabby was one of the town council members, which was a fairly big role. There were a couple of songs done only by the two town council members and the mayor. She did a great job remembering her lines, singing and being heard and doing the dancing and acting. Best of all, she had a fabulous time all week!

CA Trip Day 13, Crater Lake

Snow in July

Yes, it really is that blue.

More snow left

Our last fun stop on the California trip was Crater Lake, Oregon. I have wanted to go there since we lived in Montana and I read up on it. It was beautiful. Amazing. You have to see it to really get it. And, yes, it was that blue. We took the difficult hike down to the only place you can get to the shore. The boat rides started up the day after we were there, of course, but we went down and stuck our feet in the frigid water and threw some rocks. It was a great ending to a great trip.

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway

My Sammy loves steam engines. If you ask him, he'll tell you he likes locomotives and model trains but steam engines are his favorite. There are a couple of steam engines around here and we've been meaning to go ride one. Saturday we went up to Elbe to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway and took a two hour round trip ride to Mineral and back. We got a seat right up front next to the engine and enjoyed looking at it and riding along with hanging out the windows. Sam got a good up-close view of it all. We all enjoyed our ride on the steam engine. Next time we'll have to try the one in Centralia.

Deployment Camp Video One

I'm sorry - these kids are so cute! Here they are at the Redeployment Ceremony.

Deployment Camp, Day Two

Coming back on the field

Saluting the colors

Getting her award

Enjoying the party afterward

Gabby had fun on Day Two of Deployment Camp. They spent most of the day playing games and learning about the Army - the Army Song, the alphabet, etc. They took the field back about 2 for their Redeployment Ceremony, all looking a bit weary but doing much better in formation. Each child received an award and certificate and then they enjoyed a pizza party to finish it off. Gabby learned , first and foremost, that her daddy works really hard and that it's not always fun to be a soldier, even though she enjoyed Deployment Camp.

VBS

Crazy Hat Day

Sam singing

Gabby singing

After the program

Crazy Hair Day

Both Gabby and Sam got to go to VBS this year! The preschool Sam will be attending in the fall allows the three year olds that will be coming to their school into their VBS. What a huge blessing! They had a wonderful week, enjoying the themes each day. Gabby came home the first day with a very good understanding of the Parable of the Sower. Really, she can explain it better than I can. Sam even recalled the story of the lost sheep the second day with a good three-year-old understanding. Their program was on Thursday night of the week.

(Yes, I know I have one more day of the Cali trip to post, along with the visit from the Davis clan. I am behind. What's new?)

Deployment Camp, Day One

Eager recruits

Enlistment Ceremony

Casing the colors for deployment

Last hugs from brother before deploying

Robert's unit has a Deployment Camp every summer for the kids of the unit. I thought about sending her last year but they camped out overnight and I just wasn't sure about that so I didn't send her. This year they aren't doing the overnight but are going to camp for two days. She started the day with an enlistment ceremony. Actually, I seriously considered starting her day with a drill sgt.'s wake-up call but I wanted her to be in a good mood so I didn't. The got their gear and headed to the field to form up and be sworn in. After that they did some marching and looked at all the Engineer vehicles. Before lunch they cased up the colors at their deployment ceremony and then headed out, enjoying MREs for lunch. The paintball range was next. They did target practice with marshmallows. After that they did a land nav scavenger hunt before final formation and release.

Tomorrow they will return to the FOB where they will head out to the mock city for games. It will end with a redeployment ceremony tomorrow afternoon.