Oconee Camping Weekend

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" 

John 17:17-18

We had another fun filled weekend camping in South Carolina!! The weather was wonderful and loving all the family time.

We went hiking around the lake.

 This was a neat detour of a train tunnel that was never finished.  It was scary and very dark but fun!

We made it to the end of the tunnel to nowhere.

 Baiting her own hook and loved fishing!

                                                                     Sporting our

  teeny tiny mouth bass...

Bike ride time!

 Silly /scary faces.....

Camping

I love Fall camping and this past weekend we went to Table Rock, SC. It is a great reminder of God's wonderful creation and the beauty that surrounds us.  It also helps quite our minds and slow down the pace of the busyness of life. Table Rock is a great place to camp with kids and could not ask for better weather!  We went hiking, biking, and had just all around fun.  We got to hang with the Rehberg family too, which we were glad to meet their newest addition Emma Kate. We are headed to Oconee camping this coming weekend and can't wait!

Don't you love my diva in her skirt....always styling no matter what she is doing!  Love that about my little Pheebers.

Also wanted to add some camping tips with young kids...

We like to take a box fan for noise at night ,to keep the pesky bugs away, and  to keep smoke away while sitting by the fire.

Take popcorn,always a big hit.

Glow stick, glow sticks, glow sticks!!!! You can see them in the dark too by the glow.

I found these finger lazer lights at the Dollar store, which the kids loved.

Put up colored lights (they give off just enough light around the site and easy to spot if you are coming back from the bathrooms or if the kids get turned around they can look for the colored lights).

Play-dough, coloring books, and games come in handy too.

If kids make friends be sure they stay in your camp site (so be sure to be the hot spot so they want to stay) You can keep a better eye on them and monitor what they are doing...

Hammocks can give many hours of fun for kids.

Tell the kids to be on the look out for stuff to put on the science shelf ( this time around we found an old wasp nest, empty snail shells, and a dirt dobbers mud nest).  The kids love that kind of stuff and keeps their eyes on the ground  and that helps to keep an eye on exposed roots to not fall down.

To add a twist to smores just use Reeses instead of chocolate.

I like to take books to read to the kid around the fire before bed.  It helps wind them down after all the sugar from smores and this time of year scary books are fun (age appropriate scary of course)!   

Get the kids to help set up camp and pack things up too.  They like to be a part of it and keeps them out of trouble while you are setting up.

Do not worry about dirt because getting dirty is the fun part. I keep baby wipes handy for those super dirty hands and feet.

This weekend I am trying a couple of new things so will have to share those if they work out.  They now have phone apps to help identification of different animal scat and others too.  Got to love technology but last weekend we did not have service but I have a boy scout book just in case.  =)

I am sure I could add more but that is all I have for now, 

HAPPY CAMPING!!!!

Check out these massive worms we found near the camp site....we first thought the one on the left was a snack because it was moving leaves when it crawled.  We are taking fishing poles with us next time!

Scripture that spoke to me this week was...
2 Timothy 1:7    "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline"

Roman 5:1-5 (vs.5) "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into out heart by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us"

Beach time

We headed to Myrtle beach for a week!  We went crabbing at night, body surfing, lots of beach time, and water park fun.  Greyson is liking the beach more and the girls were catching some serious waves.  The crabs were teeny tiny but fun none the less.  We had great weather and enjoyed spending time with Daddy.  Mr. Masters surprised me with an 1.5 massage while he took the kids to the beach.  I loved being spoiled but my favorite part was spending time as a whole family.  =)

He officially comes home in a week!

August 2012

Phoebe starts Kindergarten!  Her teacher is Mr. Crowder.

 Lula starts 2nd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Waldorf.

 They were excited to start school!

Got my new do!

 For my Birthday my husband spoiled me and her is a pic with my good friend Kara at a fantastic restaurant called Pampas.  We went dancing later that night.  My hubby brought flowers and cake home and showered me with presents.  I am one blessed woman with an amazing hubby.

Greyson got his first haircut.  He cried until they gave him a lollipop and then he was fine.  He looks like a big boy with his new haircut.

 We are still missing daddy terribly but he comes home next month for good.  We are so thankful for the time we have with him on every other weekend he can come to town.  We try to make the most of it then!

The girls did their first triathlon and did great.  It was in our neighborhood and Phoebe placed 2nd in her age group.  Once she crossed the finish line she ran with a friend the entire course again to encourage her.  I was so proud of them!!   They had fun and want to do it again next year!  Since Mr. Masters was out of town Nana and Grandpa came into town to help and cheer the girls on.  A big thank you to Grandma, Nana, and Grandpa!!!

July 2012

Lula Turned 7!  Can't believe my baby is so big.  She is a blessing with her compassion, her mothering, and her love of life!  She brings so much joy to our lives.....

We spent the 4th with Grandpa and Nana!  

Mr. Masters is still on his rotation in D.C. and we miss him terribly but looking forward to driving up to see him for 2 weeks very soon.  Can't wait! In the mean time we are hanging out at the pool with friends and the girls are going to stay with Nana and Grandpa while I head to Alabama to visit family.  Did I mention my folks moved to TN which is about 2 hours away....so excited to have them so close.  

 Marki and Grey had a blast!  We went fishing and Grey caught his first fish.  I enjoyed staying up late with the family visiting and it goes by too fast.  Looking forward to the next one.

Alabama was so much fun as always!!  

On our way to see daddy in D.C. we stayed with dear friends on the way in North Carolina.  

We are so thankful for this sweet family and got to spend time on the way up and the way back from D.C.

We were excited to spend time with daddy!  We went explored downtown D.C. and went to Ocean City, Maryland for a weekend. We saw a real cannon get fired, and saw How to Train your Dragon Live.

Mission Trip

We as a family decided to take a Mission Trip to Montana with the girls.  We left Greyson with Nana and Grandpa for 15 days!!  Thanks to them we could not have done this with out them!  We missed Grey so much but God blessed us with this trip.  We went with our church to Hungry Horse Montana where we hold a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for a week at a school that is empty.  We were nervous because this was our first and we did not know what to expect.  Mr. M was in charge of recreational and I was helping with crafts.  The girls helped by helping with music and dance.  They had so much fun and made lots of friends.  We enjoyed fellow-shipping with the other Missionary families too.   We loved it and loved being able to love on kids that need it. The team was full of amazing and inspiring people that are so dedicated to helping.  We were overwhelmed at the love these children gave to us and that will forever stay with each of us.

We decided to leave early for the trip and spend some time in Glacier National Park on the Canada side so the kids could get their passports stamped.  We then went to Hungry Horse for the week and then went to Yellowstone for about 4 days.  We saw every kind of animal and the scenery was amazing!!  I always feel we get a glimpse of Heave by such beauty....God is wonderful!  The hiking was fun and the girls did great.

It was great family time too and we want to do it again hopefully soon and take the whole family. Here are just a few pics because there were so many!  What a blessing this experience was to see glory brought to our Heavenly Father!!