VBS at BCBC

This week was my first time ever at a summer camp! I went to VBS at the church my Mom and Dad met at... BCBC. Mom felt sentimental all week. Something about life being full circle... without BCBC, there would be no Mommy and Daddy, and without Mommy and Daddy, there would be no Avery. I didn't pay much attention to her sentiments, because there were much more fun things to think about!

Every morning, I met my friends Summer and Alyssa at the front of the church and played with them until it was time to go to class. Then, Alyssa and I would head to our classroom. I had so much to tell my family at the end of the day - all about how we changed classrooms all the time and did crafts and sang and learned about loving God and missionaries. And, at the end of every day, we had a chapel time with singing, people dressed up in awesome costumes, and games!

Kate wasn't going to be forgotten this week. Every day, she came to pick us up early and watched "Avery's movie" (chapel time), and she became totally obsessed with the Big Apple character. Mom and Kate spent many days searching the halls for the Big Apple Girl and talking about where she might be. Kate even loved singing along at the end of the week program to "Big Apple Adventure", our favorite song.

Even though I'm the only one old enough to go to VBS, Kate and I both enjoyed the time at BCBC to it's fullest!

Click here for pictures of the week

Love,

Avery Big Apple Adventure McClinton

"Digging Shells"

This week we went back to the beach, but this time we went to Corpus with my family. As soon as we got there, I discovered digging shells! Digging shells became the most important thing in my life for the time we were there (well, digging shells and playing Pocahontas in the swimming pool...)

A digging shell is a special shell that you can find if you look under the sand. There are tons and tons of them if you know where to look! Another choice is to put Avery in charge of finding the digging shells. She's very determined and way more successful than me at finding them. And, then I could be free to just watch what happens next.

Once you dig up a bunch of digging shells, it's time for the magic! They lay there for a while, and then... all of the sudden!... they start to dig back under the sand! Sometimes, they need a little help, because Mommy says if the sand is too dry, they don't dig as well. No problem! I just stand, looking at the ocean, and yell, "Ocean! Come here!" Usually, that works. If not, a watering can and a short sprint into the waves will do the trick.

This game can keep a gal busy for hours on end. Often, I would sing to my special 'garden' of digging shells about how they were going to grow since I watered them so well.

Digging shells. One of about 100 magical moments I enjoyed in Corpus with my family. The beach really is an endless supply of happiness!

Click here for pictures of the trip

Love,

Kate 'Digging Shells' McClinton

Galveston with some Smug Mugs

Last weekend, we went on our first annual trip to Galveston with my playgroup buddies. The Mommies always seem to be ironically smug about things they don't really have their act together on, so they've been calling our crew the Smug Mugs.

Galveston was so much fun! It was the perfect weekend getaway and we had an unbelievable time. Miss Kathy interviewed us all on the last day, and here is what we said our favorite parts were:

Miss Kathy: Emilee's Tollhouse Pie

Mr. Eric: Playing in the waves with Macy and watching Macy beg to have the net put over her head... over and over and over again!

Macy: Swimming at the pool

Baby Noah: Eating sand and watching the big kids play

Miss Ella: A three-way-tie: Tollhouse pie + milk + snuggie, watching Cole and Chase feed the birds, and watching my boys play contentedly in the sand and waves

Cole: The waves on the beach

Chase: The TV

Mommy: Late night laughs with some smug mugs and knowing how happy and fulfilled my girls were while playing with their friends

Daddy: Catching hermit crabs and playing in the waves with the big kids

Avery: Making drip castles

Me: Going to the swimming pool

Miss Emilee: Making drip sand castles with the kids and the moment that Ella realized she had done the iron on transfers backwards for our shirts

Mr. Chris: Drinking homemade brew, listening to the Smug Mugs' (or is it Sgum Gums) personal assessments, and watching the cast of Jazzercise appear before my eyes.

Hannah: Swimming in the pool and making drip castles

Abigail: Playing on the beach

After the weekend of fun, we McClinton gals headed up to Lockhart to celebrate Great-Gran's 92nd birthday. Turning 92 is something special and we weren't going to miss that fun, either!

It was such a great weekend. Avery's prayer on Saturday night went like this: "Dear God, thank You for my friends and for today. And please can You make tomorrow not so busy?" Amen, Big Sister.

Click here for pictures of the trips

Love,

Kate Beach Bum McClinton

Signs of the Times...

Ways to tell that the Momma of the family is rapidly approaching full-term pregnancy...

*Kate walks around with a baby hanging out of her shirt (she's pregnant, of course). Avery and Kate both play "Hospital", where they go to the hospital to have a baby. (I've never been more thankful to be able to honestly tell them that when the time is right, the doctor will 'take the baby out of my tummy for me' rather than having to explain the alternative.)

*Although we still sometimes ride bikes and swim at nights, most of the time it's sno-cone hunts, painting, or something indoors.

*When we arrived at an event recently, Kate looked up at me and apropos of nothing, said, "Mommy need go potty." Yes, yes I did.

*Nesting *was* in full force, so much so that it once again bled into DD and Daddy's lives. A new bookshelf (a real beauty!), a completed big girl room, and a completed baby room are to show for it!

*These days, my energy levels are unpredictable, so some days we have lots of fun activities and the dishes get done, and some days... well, the dust piles up and the toilets might be in need a good scrub.

*Usually, when we go to places for playgroup that have food as an optional activity, there is a strict "we'll eat when we leave" policy. But, when Baby Reese says to eat... we eat. On Tuesday the girls were treated to nachos and on Wednesday Baby Reese dictated we eat McD's fries... that's right - Mommy's arch nemesis, McDonald's, even won out. A sure sign Mommy isn't in her right mind! ;)

*The most notable sign of the times is the enormous, ever-growing watermelon I'm sporting where my belly used to be.

Let the countdown begin!

Click here for pictures of the week