Summer Trip 2016

This was our cute little house for the week.

We stayed in Dunedin Florida and it was the sweetest

little town ever. I could live there.

I never get tired of seeing palm trees. I took this picture one morning

while I out for a run.

The marina.

For our trip, we drove all day and made it to the house. We were

hungry, so we found a pizza place in town and then walked around

to get a look at things.

Dunedin is a very "dog friendly" place. We saw dogs everywhere.

The famous Strachan's Ice Cream store. The line was always long, but

worth the wait. Lots of families around and these boys entertaining us.

The house came with a guitar, so we all tried to play a song.

The first beach we went to was Honeymoon Island. It was just a short

drive from our house.

Sunday morning we drove to the nearest Costco  and Publix to

stock up on groceries for the week.

We didn't make it to the beach until that afternoon and an

afternoon storm was rolling in. We played in the water until

the rains came.

It is pretty typical to get quick, but powerful rain storms move

through. Amazing to see the sky.

Raphael rescuing a turtle that was wandering in the parking lot.

These birds are everywhere! We saw a lot of birds like these, all

over the place. Always looking for food.

There were so many beautiful little docks and parks that follow the

shore line. I snapped this picture on a morning run. In the back ground

is the city of Clearwater.

We spent a lot of time in Clearwater and those adventures will be next!

Life Lately

We are back from the beach! We had such a great time in Florida and it was hard to come back home and get into the swing of things again.  I am still sorting through the millions of pictures I took, so for now a few pictures of what we have been doing lately....................................

This is from a gas station that we stopped at on the way to Florida. The girls noticed that the little signs had Rachel and Rebecca right next to each other :).

Looking for treasures. The gas stations on the way are always interesting. This one had every

kind of nick-nack you could imagine.

Dunedin Marina

This is from our first night in Florida. We stayed in the cutest little town named

Dunedin. We had dinner, then found the ice cream shop and walked down to

the marina to watch the sunset.

The beach!

My parents had friends come visit and we all went swimming.

These two became fast friends. School is starting next week, so we

are holding onto summer for as long as we can.

After dinner bike rides.

Rebecca is going to a new school this fall and she has to wear

uniforms. I ordered a bunch and we were trying them all on.

They requested a few hours at Chuck E Cheese, so we went.

It was fun, but so many kids there.

That's it for now!

Keep Calm

picture from pinterest

We are on Tomlin family summer vacation!!

I will be back with pictures to share .

Life Lately

We only have three weeks left of summer vacation ! I can't believe how fast summer goes by. It makes me sad, because it is my favorite. Anyways, a little look at what we have been doing.......

We were late to the party with the sparklers this year. So we finally

took them out and the girls had fun.

Bookworm- always reading.

I run with a group of ladies and  one of them had a birthday. So we ran 5 miles and then stopped by Starbucks for a drink. It was nice to sit outside and talk. We were sweating messes, so we decided to take a picture of our drinks and not us :).

I bench pressed 120lbs! A new record for me.

I have been working away on the Alpha 2.0 program and I just

started Pipehitter 2.0

Checking out the fish.

After we took Rachel to WinShape Camp, we drove to Helen for lunch.

It is the cutest little German inspired town.

We watched the floaters on the river for a minute. We floated a few years ago,

but it is time to go again ... hopefully in August we will make it happen.

Rebecca finally made it to the fountains at the mall!

I took Rebecca to a new interactive/digital exhibit and it was amazing.

We spent a couple of hours there playing and exploring.

The girls and I went through all their toys and clothes. I took all this a little more to the Goodwill. It was good to clean out and get organized.

We went to see Pets. So cute!

My garden helper. I have lots of tomatoes coming in!

We went shopping for school supplies. I am trying to be a little ahead of

the game this year.

Minecraft twins.

That's it!

FOLLOW-- Winshape Camp

Last week we drove Rachel to her first "sleep over" camp. She had been going

to Winshape Community Camps for several summers, and this year we decided

she was ready for a week at camp away from home.

                                                        Samantha, Rachel and Elizabeth
The camp is in Young Harris Georgia and is held at the college. We found our friends and neighbors when we were checking in.

Winshape does everything very well and they are super organized. Each camper got a nametag
and then a popsicle too. The girls were divided into three groups based on their age- Rachel was in Royalum.

Each year has a theme, based on a Bible verse. This year it is FOLLOW.

And they drilled into the girls to follow Jesus and that we become what we follow.

Getting all set up in her room. She had two other room mates. Their counselor, slept in the middle area and then two more girls in a room on the other side.

                                                              Here is where we said good-bye.
                                                                Rachel was ready for us to go!
During the week, we were able to see pictures of Rachel at camp. And it looked like a lot of fun. She did archery, digital photography classes, kayaking, swimming, lots of outside games, dress up nights.

                                   Time to go home!! Rachel and her room mates.
I think they all had a great time. It was an adjustment and I know Rachel started off a little unsure, but in the end she didn't want to leave.

Each camper gets a traditional " paper plate award" from their counselor. It is a long standing
Winshape Camp idea. Rachel got the High Tide Award -- for her high energy and love for Jesus.

Everyone finished at a big group meeting. They had a video showing the week, we sang some songs and the campers did their cheers and Bible verses one last time.  Afterwards, we stayed for the Chick-fil-A Family Fun Friday Picnic.

Saying good-bye to Queso.  Rachel had a blast at camp and she pretty much talked nonstop on the way home telling us all about it. Thankful she had the chance to go and hope she can return next summer.