Sleepover

On Saturday night the kids thought it would be SO fun to all sleep in the same room.  So they crammed 3 sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and lots of stuffed animals into the girls' room.  We were at an ice cream party for the new church plant, so we were a little late at starting the party, but they still had time to watch most of the "Smurfs" movie.  By 9:30, Luke was barely awake.  He kept telling me to turn off the light and I tried to move his head onto his pillow but he was immovable!  Once he "turns off", he is out.  I think both girls ended up moving to their beds sometime in the night, but they all enjoyed the night together :)

Luke's reaction when Joel moved some of his stuffed animals to make room for the movie player.  

This picture was taken just a few minutes later than the screaming one!  Do you think he can turn it on and off when he wants to?

Gymnastics Camp

All 3 kids went to gymnastics camp this week at Virginia Techniques.  From 9-1 they were busy playing games, doing obstacle courses, making crafts, eating lunch, and working on their tumbling skills.  The theme was "Pirates and Princesses" and there were special guest appearances by a real pirate and princess.  My favorite moment of the week was Thursday morning, Luke was a little hesitant about running out onto the floor each morning, he seemed a little lost and confused about what to do.  Emma went over to him, grabbed his hand, and led him onto the floor.  They all stayed close together during warm-ups before they were separated into different age groups.  Here are some pictures of my gymnasts:

After we got home on Thursday, the kids decided to throw a Pirate Party.  We read books about pirates, watched Peter Pan, and they dressed up like pirates.

New Clothes

The kids were all excited today to get a package in the mail!  They usually jump up and down when they see the UPS man coming, but somehow they missed our mail lady coming up onto our porch.  Grammy and G-Pap sent them some fun new clothes, especially for Luke!

Love the Anakin costume.  

Lost Pets

Today we sadly said goodbye to all of our fish, Nibbly, Big Daddy, and Shiny.  We recently cleaned out their algae-covered tank and something must have gone wrong with the chemicals, or maybe it was the transition that caused too much stress, but after 9 long weeks of life they passed on.  We didn't make it to Sunday School this morning as we were frantically trying to save Nibbly and Big Daddy, but they were both gone by the time we left for church.  We thought Shiny was fine, she was swimming around happily when we left for church, but she didn't last much longer.  There were plenty of tears shed and 3 separate burials (they all died hours apart), but the kids were happy to have had them for so long and we hope to get some new fish soon!

Saying Goodbye

This is one of my favorite families in the world.  I met Sheena and Garret in WalMart over 6 years ago, I knew they went to our church but I had never actually talked to them.  It took awhile to get our friendship going, but after a few babies apiece we started hanging out all of the time.  One thing I love about Sheena is how down-to-earth she is, she does not pretend to be something she's not.  And she is an amazing encourager!  She has the gift of encouragement and she uses it often.  

From the time we met I knew that the Flaggs wouldn't stay in Blacksburg forever, but we did have many years with them.  Garret stayed at VT until he couldn't go any further with his education!  And by last fall we knew that they were heading to Houston, TX for his job.

I had a lot of time to prepare to say goodbye.  But it didn't make it any easier.  You kind of get used to the transient nature of Blacksburg after awhile, people usually arrive here on the 2 or 3 year plan, and then they move on.  I think that makes it even harder when long-term friends move, because you have had so much more time together.  The one thing that makes it easier is knowing that one day we will have all of eternity together in heaven.

I've never been to Houston, but I can't wait to visit! And I really hope the kids will still call me "Aunt Julie".  

Future Post: Saying goodbye to the McKnights.  This summer is killing me.  What is it about Houston???