We have conquered!

After a collaborative effort of Daddy, Mommy, Aunt Lori, Mr. Walter, GaGa, Mimi, & even Camden's help and hard work, we have conquered the treehouse/fort/swingset/jungle gym/contraption!
It took at least part of the last 8 days (except for Wednesday cause of church) including one night of Eric working in the rain to put this thing together. 5 huge boxes of pieces of wood, hardware, etc and 112 steps of directions (an example of one step is to screw 32 boards to the main frame...etc) has provided Camden with something to enjoy until he turns 10, but most likely until he no longer fits through it (he's light as a feather).


Now, if you know us well, then you know that there is no way on earth we were going to pay the $1600 price for this thing that Sam's wanted. We had always said that it was way too much, and we could live with the small, hand-me-down swingset we had. Well, that was until last Friday when Sam's marked this thing down to $840. Almost half-price. You know me...I can't pass up a bargain! We did sleep on it to follow our "big purchase" rule. We realized that our sweet little boy wouldn't be little but once, and it was worth it! As you can see above, our little monkey is having a blast! Daddy's outside now with Camden and his friend who lives behind us playing and enjoying the finished product! I think I'll go play now.... :)

First Day of Kindergarten

Thursday, August 7: Camden's First Day of Kindergarten!

Camden has a great teacher, Mrs. Lumpkin, at his new school. It's a private Christian school that is not far from our house. He did so well on his first day of school. He really likes Mrs. Lumpkin, and he enjoys school already. Daddy takes him to school which Camden really enjoys too. Mommy picks him up. We opted for half-day K because most of the instruction is in the morning, and Mommy didn't want him to have to grow up any faster than he had to! She's loved staying home with him for his first 5 years of life, and a full day of school can start next year!

His school has several campuses, and they want him to learn the name of the campus he attends. It's called the "M&M campus" because of the city/community location. So, they decorate with M&Ms everywhere to help the kids learn. He actually got a pack of M&M's to bring home his first day!The classroom is also decorated in frogs, which is just one of God's thumbprints on Camden's placement at this school. When he was born, we nicknamed him our little froggy because he would pull his legs up and then kick them out like he was a frog wanting to jump around. When we saw his name on a frog on the bulletin board in the hallway and then saw the classroom, we felt so overwhelmed with God's blessings on Camden's life! Below is a picture of our little froggy when he was just a day old:

Camden jumped right in our lives and blessed us immediately with his precious little life God created. As he's growing up and becoming more independent, we are truly thankful to the Lord for entrusting this precious child to us. Camden is such a joy to have as a son. We are truly blessed! I can't believe how quickly time has passed. Tune in next week for high school graduation pictures! It sure does seem like it goes by just that fast....

Mommy & Camden's Last Day Together before Kindergarten!

Wednesday, August 6, Mommy & Camden went to a local water park to celebrate our last day together as Camden being a preschooler!


We had a great day together eating pizza & cinnapies, floating at the Wave Pool, practicing our swimming skills in the big pool, and playing in the kiddie pools.

We had AWANA registration that night. Visit back soon to see pictures of Camden as a brand new Spark! (He finished Cubbies last year!)

Swim Lessons

Camden had 8 swim lessons in the afternoons for two weeks (Mon-Thurs) at the indoor pool at our gym. The picture above is the last day of class when the kids raced with the flotation devices. This is his 3rd year to take lessons, yet he has never really swam on his own until now. I guess we didn't spend enough time in the water in prior years for it to stick. However, we are swimming much more this summer than usual, and we plan to swim year round at the gym to keep up his skills.

He was so brave, and he now will swim underwater for short distances (longer ones if you just back up without telling him). We are so excited that he has had successful lessons. The picture below is him swimming to the wall by himself.



The picture below is Camden swimming to the ladder after jumping in the deep end. He swam a long distance (for him) from where he jumped in to the ladder. Sorry the picture is off center...it was an afterthought to take the picture, and I almost missed it completely. Overall, we had a great experience!