Saturday Morning Camp-out

It's hard to sleep late in the morning when you're in a tent and the sun is shining. The girls on the left and the boys on the right.
Cute picture of Eden looking outside the tent.

Another one of Eliza's famous sleeping positions. She totally gets that from her father. :)

Paul was in charge of breakfast.

Waiting for breakfast.

Seth and Paul still cooking.

Some sprinkler fun while the guys get the waterslide hooked up.

Preparing the ramp for the waterslide.

Ephraim going down on a snowboard.

The view from the top. The kids made many trips down the slide. There'll be more pictures later. It was a great time!

Emmet flexing his muscles and Eden sitting right where she wants to be.

A new fashion statement? Swimtrunks and mud boots.

Playing peek-a-boo with Paul.

That's it for Saturday morning at the campout. We had lunch inside because the weather was starting to heat up quickly. But there's still a busy day ahead.

The Camp-out begins!

The boys have been anxiously looking forward all summer to the 2nd annual Van Zante Camp-out at Seth's parents' pond. In preparation for this exciting weekend, the kids made posters depicting what they wanted to do.

We arrived Friday afternoon and our tent went from this . . .

to this in less than an hour. It's a big tent that sleeps our entire family pretty comfortably. And it came via FedEx on Thursday, just in time!

Getting the fire started.

Eliza was pretty intrigued with the motor that Seth was prepping for the water slide.

Who has the messiest smores? Emmet, Ephraim or John.

And the girls say . . ."Forget the smores . . . go straight for the chocolate."

Eden was Uncle Paul's buddy for the evening.

Wearing his glasses.

Boys playing in the fire.

Eliza loves Lassie. Eden not so much.

Eden and Uncle Paul again.

Okay kids, time for bed. We've got a big day tomorrow!

Quizzers vs. Parents

Today was the last day for Bible Quiz and they switched it up a little. . . the kids were playing against their parents. The Pee Wees played two rounds and won both of them! Both Ephraim and Emmet did a great job and I think Emmet actually answered more questions than Ephraim.

After this round it is a long wait for the older kids to be done. And hot. Amidst this, the kids started getting silly and Emmet hit his mouth on the folding chair, screaming/crying hysterically. I rush him to the side of the building and Eden panics . . . grabs my camera and then trips and falls. So, now I have two screaming/crying kids and I'm about ready to cry because Eden broke my camera. Now I don't have pictures of the boys getting their trophies. Anyway, all the kids got these cute little trophies. Bible Quiz was a great time and we'll be back next year. They did a great job making sure that all the kids were winners!

Bible Quiz Champs Thursday

There were 7 kids ages 4-7 for the Thursday Bible Quiz competition. They had to use the buzzers today, so not only did you have to know the answer, you also had to be the first to push the buzzer. All the kids did great. For the first round of 20 questions, Ephraim answered 7 questions and Emmet answered 4. For the 2nd round, Ephraim answered 5 and Emmet answered 1. That put them in 1st and 2nd place. Great job boys! In the above picture, Emmet was pretty excited that Ephraim got an answer correct.

The questions Ephraim answered:
What was the original name of the country God promised to Abraham?
By what miracle did Israel leave the land of Egypt?
Who wrote the first 5 books of the Bible?
What is the first book of the Bible named after a woman?
Which of the Judges was very strong?
King David wrote many of the songs or hymns in which book of the Bible?
How many books are in the Old Testament?
How did Jesus overcome the temptations of Satan?
Which book of the Bible tells about the beginnings of the world?
Name the first man and woman?
What happened to Lot's wife?
How long did David rule as king?

And Emmet's questions:
What feast commemorates the Israelite's deliverance from Egypt?
What gifts were given to Jesus by the Wisemen?
Where did John the Baptist baptize Jesus?
Who was Moses' sister that watched over him?
What evidence did the spies bring back to show that Canaan was a good land?
They got bracelets for today's prize.
Great job boys! To God be the glory!

A few more apple pictures

Here are a few pictures that go with the apple post a few weeks back. My mother-in-law took these pictures.
Eliza was a big help.

And Eden, too.

And when Eliza got bored picking apples, there was Grandpa to play with. Keep in mind that it was 90 degrees and humid out! Too hot to have someone hanging on your back! But Grandpa was a good sport and allowed it.

Too much fun!

Bible Quiz Wednesday

Ephraim and Emmet both participated in the Bible Quiz at the county fair. As it turned out, they were their own team for the Pee Wee event, ages 4-7. They played against another team of two and WON! They knew most of their questions.

Some of their questions:

What woman tricked Samson into telling her the secret of his strength?

Which Gentile girl decided to serve God because she loved her mother-in-law, Naomi?

What child of God heard the voice of God speak to him during the night?

Which wise king wrote the book of Proverbs?

Who was king over Judea when Jesus was born?

Whom did God send to prepare the way for Jesus?

How many of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed returned to thank him?

Getting their medals.

The girls had their own contest going on at the same time. How many fish crackers can you get in your mouth?

Emmet was done for the day, thus no smile. It was warm outside and they were eager to get to the animal barns.

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

There was a traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial in town last weekend, so we stopped by after church. We've both seen the Memorial in Washington, but the half-sized replica was nice, too. We often need reminded of the sacrifices made by those who fight for our country.

There were two names we were looking for on the wall. The first was of Lloyd Wohlford (fifth row down in the center). My uncle Dick served in Vietnam and this was a good Iowa buddy of his all the way back to basic training. They were serving side-by-side when Wohlford was shot, just once, so they thought he would live. But 30 minutes later he succumbed to his injuries.




The second name we were looking for was of John H. Van Wyk, my dad's cousin.

Our trip to the Memorial was worthwhile, yet emotional. It drives home the sacrifices made by these Americans and their families. We cannot forget that.