What a Great Weekend

We started out the weekend Friday at the Inner Harbor. The kids and I went to the Science Museum (free thanks to the Christmas gift membership from Nana and Papa), Spanish classes (free thanks to Waterfront Partnership), and the Sondheim water fountain (free thanks to Baltimore City). Beautiful day out (thanks to God!) James came home early and cleaned the basement- now we have a nicely reorganized basement with tons more empty space for plasma cars, rainy days, beating the heat! Then Friday night we had homemade pizza, wok popped popcorn, and family movie night- we loved "The Perfect Game"- a little old for KG but everyone else loved it- great motivational movie based on a true story.

Then Saturday morning we went to Patapsco Valley State Park for Park Quest #2. We checked out a backpack with compasses, a tarp for shelter building, ropes for knot trying, and headed out on our hike. K was really into the being our pace man- he did a great job figuring out counting how many paces for each leg of our hike. I love seeing James teach the kids things- like using a compass, doing your pace count, and lots of other things along the beautiful hike. We built an emergency shelter, found some wild raspberries, and just had a great time. This gorgeous state park is only 30 minutes away so we got home in time for a nap.

PCIs 

here's our emergency shelter

found a turtle cruising down the path- we saw a baby deer too!

The boys and I went to the library (less than a mile away) before starting our Great American Backyard Campout.  We grilled hamburgers- so good- we made them last week and froze them so yesterday we just grilled them- yum! After dinner we set up the tent

played cornhole

cheered James on as built the fire

roasted marshmallows for s'mores

caught fireflies, sang songs, told stories, and
went to sleep with no screaming (trust me that's a big change since last year!) 

 In the morning, we enjoyed yummy Captain Crunch French Toast, scrambled eggs, Tang, and blueberries, played Uno, bathed our dirty kiddos and headed to church. We loved the Freedom Celebration at Trinity Assembly of God- what a great way to honor God, country, and those who serve. Beautiful music (including kids choir), meaningful videos and talks, fire trucks to see and ride, and even pies for veterans! What a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend!