Riverside Bible Camp

Ella and her friend Anna had a great week at

Riverside Bible Camp together!

So grateful for great friends and great worship!

Happy 4th of July!

Celebrating the 4th of July is one of my favorite traditions!

(I know, I say that about them all!)

This year was extra special because Ella got to participate in

the Waukee parade with her WAC team.

After the parade, we had our annual pool party at

Grammy and Boppa's, followed by Fireworks!

Happy Birthday, America!

Getting ready, and staying cool before the parade.

Dave drove a truck that Hummel's so kindly loaned us!

I stayed cool inside the truck!

A blast was had by all!!

I can't resist an excuse to make some yummy desserts!

Avery has perfected the cannonball!

Avery was a little unsure about the sparklers.

I think we got her to try once, for a second!

The "Claires" have no fear!

Enjoying the fireworks!

WAC - Warriors Athletic Club - Softball!!

Ella decided to give competitive softball a try this summer.

I have to admit, I'm super excited and super nervous!

I love SB, but not sure how I'm going to like being part of another

competitive sport.

So far, it's been great!

We have great coaches, and fun teammates.

Ella is catching and really enjoys it.

It's fun watching her be part of the action!

Go WAC!

2nd place finish at their first tourney, not too bad!

Aves get lots of "me time" while we watch Ella!

When she's not catching, she plays 'pitcher'.  It's coach-pitch,
but she gets lots of fielding action.

We find the shade wherever we can!

The coaching of Avery's softball team. By: mom

I had the great privilege and chore of coaching Avery's

coach-pitch softball this year.

It was a bit rocky at first. She doesn't like to be told

what to do, especially by her mother/coach!

But, once we got going we had a great time.

I was so proud of the girls.  They really improved

over the several weeks we were together.

I loved it! It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it!

Avery, down and ready!

Aves really enjoyed everything about fielding, and seemed
to get the hang of it pretty quickly.

Avery playing, mom coaching, on a very windy day!

Father's Day with the Cubbies!

We surprised Dave with tickets to the Father's Day 

Iowa Cubs Game.  We got the father's day special,

so we all got to sport some awesome cubbies hats!

We all had a ton of fun.  The girls enjoyed the game,

I enjoyed the cool seats in the shade.

Dave loved being with his girls!

Yea, that's right. I'm wearing a ball cap!

Later that day, we celebrated with some s'mores.

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy ever!!

LHF for the big girls

Living History Farms camp is one of our favorite summer activities!

I still have fond memories of attending this camp when I was a girl.

This year, all three girls went.  Of course, they couldn't all

go the same week, that'd be too easy!

Claire really wanted to try the Victorian Camp, which

is for middle school girls.  She and her friend, Katie,

did it and loved it.  They learned all about being a lady in

the Victorian times, and even how to speed with a fan.

Moms were welcomed to a tea on the last day.

It was a great time, and some pretty decent finger food, too!

My beautiful victorian lady!

Claire and her friends, Katie and Ellie

Ella went this week too.

She joined up with several friends for the usual

LHF camp.  

They had a great time exploring the farms and the town.

Always a great time!

Family Fun Day at the Ledges

One of our favorite Rouse House traditions is Family Fun Day.

Each spring, we all play hooky (yep, no work/no school)

and we go do something fun.

This summer, we decided to have a summer edition

of Family Fun Day.

We've been getting a ton of rain, but we thought

we'd try to enjoy some of the Ledges anyway.

Dave grew up in Boone, so this is always a favorite

of his.  I, on the other hand, am a bit more comfortable

at home, but I love family days, so I suffered through it!

A great day was had by all.  We hiked, waded through

water, found some cool creepy-crawlies and 

enjoyed our time together very much!

Claire bear is getting so big!

Love my family!

Ella was very brave going over the 'rapids'

So, was buggy!

My family!