Need A Laugh???

Today we went to project surf camp again...

It was SO COOL!! And even better than last week since ALL FOUR kids TOTALLY got into it...
And of course I have my new camera to play with... so I took a FEW pictures..
(ok, in the interest of total disclosure.. when I said a few there... I meant a few HUNDRED..)
SO, it will take me a while to edit them all....and do a "real" project surf camp post!

BUTT.....

Faline and I are rolling on the floor laughing at some of these shots..

so we just HAD to share today's FUNNY MOMENTS!!

Got to love that butt shot.... doesn't it look like a sad face on her back side??

And since WHEN does Audrey do the tongue thing?? I thought that was all Nat....

the thought behind this one...

"so are you gonna sit on your rear side (because we TRY not to say the A&* words) and watch or are you going to GET UP and HELP me send my brother back out there?"

"give me a break! WHAT was I thinking let Nat be in the driver's seat here?"

"oh man, WHERE are we going now? I can't see a darned thing!"

"AHHHHHHH... he's going to crash us!!!"

Audrey played FOREVER pulling a board around with the leash... you would have thought she had a dog on that leash! It was so funny..... and even better.. she was TALKING to the surf board too while she pulled it around!

"come on, we ARE going THIS way now!"

Surfboard War!!

Can you see the full blown tug a war going on between Josie and Audrey??

I like Nathaniel's face...... I am not sure what Amelia told him that brought THAT face on.... probably that the break was NOT over yet!

another butt shot...

those girls were sure into showing me their "best side" today....

WHAT THE HECK Josie?????

WHAT is that FACE???

Sure Brianna.... no problem... I would NEVER post a picture of you 3/4 naked in your sister's dance clothes on the blog... no, not me, never.....

YEA RIGHT!!!!

Next time BRING YOUR SWIM SUIT girlie!

Goofy teenager......

the ones who were SO CERTAIN that they were only WATCHING that they REFUSED to bring their swim suits with us...

Ok... then there is THIS video of Josie....

make sure you have had your bathroom break, otherwise it may be dangerous to play the video!

Josie had Faline and I CRACKING UP in this one!

The best part of this was that RIGHT AFTER I stopped recording, Josie mumbled under her breathe "sure glad no one could see THAT"

No problemo Josie....

Sure glad my new camera records video clips too :)

Love you Josie!!!

Now are you smiling? Well you SHOULD BE!!

So I am off to the valley for funerals this weekend. It's been a rough week! So when I get back on Sunday or Monday I will get the REAL pictures of Project Surf Camp edited and posted!

Blessings!

Avoiding my work....

so I am playing with the pictures I took of the kids today! :)

Anything to get out of work right....

one of the things I did NOT like about my old camera before it broke was the close ups it did.. so I was playing with close ups today to test the new one...

this was a funky effect... kind of fun :)

anyways... have a fun night!! I am off to create more jewelry.... it's my new kick this week!

Blessings!

The missing pictures...

K... Just in case you ACTUALLY read my Not Me Monday post and were wondering about the pictures that the computer ate.....

Here they ARE!!!

One tattooed Nathaniel.. complete with his super cute new muscle shirt!

Pretty good soccer ball actually Josie!

Brianna's version of a sunflower...

Ok... can you guess this one??

If you Nathaniel it's pretty easy.. it's what he asks EVERYONE to draw on him...

But I had to ask...

Yes, it's actually supposed to be a dog!

Don't quit you day job Brianna!! :)

And the tattooed girl... she looks kind of scary, like she's ready for Halloween or something!!

So that is how we keep kids quiet here!!

What kind of crazy thing do you allow your children to do if they just SHUT UP!!! while they are doing it?? Come on, I KNOW I am NOT the only one.....

Blessings!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So I haven't done Not Me Monday in a few weeks, but I thought it was about time to jump back on board! :)

Just a few minutes ago I DID NOT go home to fix lunch and decide to write my "not me" post at home since my desktop at work has been acting up. And while at home NOT on my laptop, my wireless network did NOT decide to be weird and not let me on. So I am NOT sitting here, back at work (with lunch) working on my niece's laptop to avoid my desktop :) Nope, not me, I am WAYYYYY smarter than that silly computer!

I went through the kids clothes and noticed that they haven't grown much, and most of their school clothes are just fine. So, I did NOT go shopping yesterday and buy myself a new camera, instead of saving for a rainy day (but if you blog, then you KNOW how important it is to have a camera, and can IMAGINE how naked I have felt for the last TWO MONTHS without my own camera!!) And I certainly am NOT taking random pictures to test it all out... and I certainly WON'T subject you to any of those random pictures!

I am NOT going to plug my own business in this Blog Carnival by telling you that you should head on over HERE and enter our most recent contest and giveaway!! Nope, I wouldn't DREAM of promoting my WONDERFUL Boutique in that way at all :)

I did NOT get up at 6 am to bake this super yummy peach cobbler that I have been craving for days
And even if I did, I DID NOT have a serving of it for breakfast while justifying myself that it was JUST fruit with a FEW carbs... No, NOT ME!!

I also DID NOT let the kids get out the watercolor pencils and "tattoo" each other jsut because they were driving me BONKERS!! I know how to entertain my children without allowing them to WRITE ALL OVER each other! And I certainly am NOT going to post pictures of it just to see the quality of my new camera... And see... I didn't (but only because the computer is miss behaving!!)

And I am NOT going to finish of this post with more random pictures from my new camera... nope NOT ME!!! :)

Blessings!

Project Surf Camp!

Have you ever heard of ...

I had... and even though I KNEW that it was for special needs individuals, I still thought that Nathaniel wouldn't fit in... HOW WRONG CAN I BE??? This is the BEST program I have had him participate in in YEARS!

After our recent disappointment with Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis County I was hesitant to do this camp, but I promised him months ago, and I try not to break my promises to my children. So yesterday we headed out to a bit of the unknown.

This is the group from camp on Aug 8, 2009. The one Nathaniel participated in this weekend! See him... he's the littlest guy in yellow :) The campers are the ones with the colored shirts over their wet suits, the others are the VOLUNTEERS that run the camp!

The Mission Statement at Project Surf Camp is: "Project Surf Camp is a charitable organization designed to educate individuals with special needs. Our mission is to build self confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. We further provide opportunities to build social skills, improve physical fitness, develop healthy outlets for stress reduction, and foster independence. Outcomes are achieved through the modality of surf instruction and/or beach and aquatic activities. "


We started the day getting the kids fitted with wetsuits and geared up. All the suits are donated and the kids use them for free. Once everyone was suited up we headed to the beach! Here everyone is gathered getting a little pre water instruction and encouragement.

Here's a bit more pre water instruction about surfing and how to do it once they are out there.

I know that Nathaniel was thinking "I know how to do this, it's my seal position that I do EVERYDAY.. .like a million times to stretch my back!"

Finally, Nathaniel and his helpers getting in the water. How excited was he to have 3 helpers.... all girls :) Silly boy!

Look at that face.... pure joy! He had SO MUCH FUN!!

The volunteers that work in this program are AWESOME!! They were patient, kind, encouraging, tolerant and just plain WONDERFUL!

Seriously, if you love surfing and God you should check out volunteering with these guys! I would if I could!

Ok... so I am overboard with the pictures... but it was so cool!!

I was in tears with how wonderful this program is and how much Nathaniel LOVED it!

Look, they were even getting him UP on the board!!

You know, the child who would never walk... up surfing!

Makes this mommy's heart sing with thankfulness to the Lord!

They had a really hard time getting Nat to take any breaks, even though it was super foggy and REALLY cold... I think that this was one of his 2 breaks in 3 hours!

Happy boy!

He told me latter that his cheeks hurt... I think it was because he was grinning the whole time!

The staff was so encouraging!

This is one of the directors, Kaleb, celebrating with Nathaniel that he was doing so great!

This is the director, John Taylor, watching Nat and encouraging him. I have met John at church many times and knew he is a great guy, but this was beyond my wildest imagination!

Finally, time to go back... can you tell he was disappointed that it was over??

These are really short video clips of Nathaniel riding the waves!

Overall, this was seriously one of the best days EVER with my son! Please go check this group out here. It's a great group and there are so many ways to help them!! If nothing else come out on Friday and check out the next time Nat will be surfing... yes, he had so much fun I signed hi up for the next session.. unfortunately it's the last one this summer, but you can be sure we will be back next year!! As long as Nathaniel is standing I will make SURE he is there!!

Thank you Lord for this amazing program... that you put it on the hearts of John and so many others, that you make a way for them to pull it off, and that this type of thing is available for our kids! You are so amazing Lord!!

Blessings!