Chapter One...Channel Island Vacation

Graciously, my cousins Eric and Cherie invited us to stay at their beach house in the Channel Islands of Oxnard, California for the week. I don’t know who was more excited. Was it my husband who works two jobs to provide for us? Was it Baylee and Nathan who just completed a wonderful year of school? Was it Owen who has never seen the ocean? Or was it me, a worn out Mommy who’s kept the family organized and everywhere they’ve needed to be? It’s probably impossible to know the answer but nonetheless, we all needed and wanted to get away TOGETHER so badly!

This trip is full of fantastic fun and adventure so I’ll break it up into chapters. So, for today, here is chapter one...we’ve made it and the place is better than expected!

The photos below are of the kids’ first site of the beach. Baylee, Nathan, and Owen didn’t care that they were fully clothed; they had to run into the water. Then afterwards, we went for a pizza dinner with my cousins' by boat! Pirate Owen was at the wheel with Eric showing him the ropes. We rode through the Channel canals and docked it at a shopping center where the restaurant was located. The kids, no scratch that…we all thought that was totally cool!)

Kristen the Graduate

Eager to watch our niece Kristen graduate from high school, we loaded in our Party of Five’s van and headed to California at 5 a.m. so we wouldn’t miss one single minute of the ceremony. Each of us are so proud of Kristen’s hard work and are eager to see what avenue she takes for her adult life. Whatever it is, we know she’ll do great things! (Kristen, thank you for including us in your very special and unforgettable day! We love you deeply!)

(Cousin Phil with Jon and I)

A Successful Splash!

A new adventure awaits us this summer as we cheer Baylee on while competing in one of our city’s swim teams. To us as parents, it is obvious how much Baylee will grow as an athlete and person through this all. Perseverance and courage will be the big words around here, I just know it!

She had a fantastic first meet wearing her camouflaged swimsuit she hand picked as a constant reminder to be “Strong and courageous”…much like a soldier has to be. It was so cool having friends Baylee was competing with and against along the way today!

Baylee’s key verse in action: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” Philippians 4:13

(Coach Bryn and Baylee. He's so fantastic to reluctant athletes!)

(Maggie, Baylee, Kaelan, Emma V, Matthew, and Landon)

(Baylee, Matthew, and Landon)

Happy Birthday Johnny

Although the celebration in heaven is much bigger, the kids and I celebrated my brother’s life today, June 6th, his birthday. We went to “his” bench, had dessert, wrote letters to him and sent them on their way up via balloons. The notes each kid wrote brought tears to my eyes. Oh how I wish we could all have him still here with us but praise God we know we will be together again in heaven! We left the bench, leaving behind a single mylar birthday balloon so others would know of his special day and head out to find some total stranger to give some random acts of kindness to. It’s a great way to get our focus off our loss and focus on blessings!

Boys Just Wanna Have Fun

Not only did Baylee and Jon have a special night out, so did our boys! Both Owen and Nathan were invited to a sleepover at the Kellers where they played like it was going out of style. Pizza, water games, and movies were just some of the things the boys came home boasting about. Owen and Ethan had the upstairs and Nathan, Benjamin and friends had the downstairs area. What a blessing it is to our family to have this cherished gift of friendship with such a remarkable family, the Kellers!

Rock 'n' Roll with Daddy

Being swung from side to side, thrown in the air, and feeling like the ‘princess in Daddy’s eyes’, were just some of the great things that came out of tonight for Baylee. The 2009 Daddy Daughter Dance (for Girl Scouts) was a blast, to say the least, and thankfully Cocoa and I were able to witness it from the sidelines as I was a helper and committee member. New for my troop this year, our girls preformed a dance for the rest of the 200 couples to Good Golly Miss Molly (thanks to Anissa and Emily) all wearing matching hot pink poodle skirts (thanks to April). They were fabulously precious! Oh how I wish I knew how to post videos on this blog! I think Baylee will be floating on cloud 9 for quite a while after tonight (and honestly…I think Jon will be too!)


(My favorite picture of the whole night!)


(Cocoa Kempiak didn't want to miss this important night either so he/she came dressed to blend in with the rest of our 'Pink Ladies'!)

(My amazing troop 228 and dads)

(April and I...we had so much fun serving and watching tonight all while we were playing dress up too. She's our faithful seamstress for the troop.)

The End to a Chapter That Was Well Enjoyed!

Saying goodbye is always a hard thing to do, so the last day of school is filled with mixed emotions for our whole family. The night before begins with us handwriting thank you notes to the teachers, spilling our hearts of gratitude out to each one, then usually ends with many many many tears to the end of the chapter. Once the kids settled down and finally drifted off to Dreamland as we like to call it, Jon and I did our “norm” by decorating the windows of our family van. This year we went colorful! So here is to a great school year…we will forever be grateful for the teachers God placed in our lives, the friends/classmates, the kids’ safety, and for the learning that took place. Although sad, I am overjoyed to have the kids home with me for 6 whole weeks! It’s gonna fly by!

Here's a glimpse of the last day/first day...boy have they changed! (last day, above...first day, below)

(last day, above...first day, below)

And with their wonderful teachers!

(last day, above...first day, below)
(This picture tears me up everytime I see it. Oh the tears that flowed from Baylee, Mrs. Runyon, and I. On of our prayers is that Nathan will be with Kelly for the next two years!)

(last day, above...first day, below)
(first day...Mrs. Runyon with baby in tote!)

And Friends...
(last day, above...first day, below)

(Nathan and Chloe)

To celebrate the end of the kindergarten school year another way, Nathan’s class had a pool party at his friend Brody’s house. They had a blast seeing each other outside the school grounds! “Too bad the playground can’t have a pool!” Nathan told me!