Our last blog entry focused on WHO we saw at Camp Cilca. These upcoming pictures show WHAT we did while there. Our days were full of activities with the kids, and the evenings were relaxing with adult visits and hangout time. Here is a summary of our Cilca activities:
WE CELEBRATED
The day we arrived at Cilca was Amy's birthday. Mom Schleicher, Chelsea, and Kim had worked together to plan a wonderful celebration. Kim decorated with a special birthday banner (the one made by Aunt Sarah) in the main room and balloons all over our room door. Chelsea made pans and pans of brownies for the whole crew. We enjoyed the treats for several days afterwards, too! Here is the new 32 year old.
Thanks, Chelsea, for the yummy brownies!
How fun it was to be able to celebrate with so many loving family members! Thanks, everyone, for making my day so special & memorable!
During our vacation, we also remembered Jaden & Cody's 1st baptismal birthday. Thoughtful godparents Matt and Kim gave Jaden a special gift.
The Noah's ark flap book is a perfect source of entertainment AND a wonderful reminder of God's faithfulness to His promises. Of course, our family loves the 2 by 2 theme as well. :) Thanks, Aunt Kim and Uncle Matt for your kindness!
WE PLAYED SPORTS
Anyone who knows the Schleicher men knows that they're a sports-loving bunch. The extended family is no different! One morning, a bunch of the guys traveled to a nearby golf course. It started out as a beautiful day.
Daddy Jason has not had as much time on the golf course this year as he'd like. What a treat to play! Greg looks on and critiques Jason's swing.
Matt, Cliff, and Doug watch from a distance. Thankfully, the sun was still shining...
Unfortunately, at some point in their game, the heavens opened, and all the men were dumped on with rain! (Take note of their wet clothes and soaked hair in the picture.) The guys didn't quite get to finish their entire game, but they still enjoyed the outing together.
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| The golfers: Jason, Doug, Matt, Greg, Jon, Cliff |
Another day, a bunch of the family joined in some tennis. Uncle Jon, the tennis pro of the family, gives lessons and tips to the Dahn grandchildren.
Don't the kids all look so cute lined up at the net, ready to return the ball? With his good teaching ideas and his vast tennis knowledge & experience, Uncle Jon makes the perfect tennis instructor!
We're excited to have Uncle Jon give our boys some tennis pointers in the future, too.
After the kids' lessons, the men had to get in some competitive matches of their own. Jaden and Cody cheer on their Daddy as he plays doubles.
Cousin Ian teases Cody from inside the fence. Our boys loved Ian's willingness to be silly with them.
"When can we be big like Ian?" ask Ryan, Jaden & Cody.
Daddy takes a break from his games to play with his little boys, too.
Our final sporting adventure was baseball. Some of the kids, like Erin below, were pretty hardcore little athletes.
Others, like Ian, were budding beginners. Ian sure caught on quickly though, as he made several great hits. Goooo Ian!
He was SO excited to run the bases after hitting the ball. We see some stellar baseball/T-ball days in this little guy's future!
And still more kiddos, like ours below, were pretty clueless about the concept of baseball altogether! I'm fairly sure this picture captures Jaden and Cody smacking the bat on the ground in the outfield... Or maybe they're just playing keep-away from each other.
Erin tried to give Jaden and Cody some pointers...
... but for the time being they were content to play the game of baseball in their own way :)
WE PLAYED ON THE PLAYGROUND
During some of the guys' tennis matches, Chelsea, Kim & Amy took the little boys to a nearby playground. Kim did well at pushing all 3 boys on the swings. Hmmm... yet another picture that shows Matt and Kim are ready for triplets. Ha! :)
Ian was also a very helpful swing-pusher. Did we mention that he's a great cousin?
Jaden, Ryan, and Cody loved the chance to swing all together.
Mommy & Cody experimented with going up...
...and down the slide.
Chelsea helped Jaden take a turn.
And even Daddy joined us at the end for a little more adventurous sliding!
Cody and Jaden don't even need fancy equipment to have fun at the playground, though! They were quite entertained with just the rocks and the poles.
King Ian pretended that he was digging sand in order to build a large castle for himself. He even told Aunt Amy that she could be the queen in the castle with him!
What a great day at the park!
WE WENT SWIMMING
Camp Cilca has a small lakefront on its property. After getting all decked out in our swim gear, we headed down the trail to the lake.
Uncle Jon carried Jaden all the way down the trail and then helped him get his feet wet. The water felt great on the hot & muggy day. Our little MT boys aren't used to the humidity!
Daddy helped Cody get adjusted to the cool water.
And then he took both boys for a beachside stroll.
Mommy & Daddy waded with the boys into deeper water,
and explored the innertubes. The tubes made a perfect toddler corral in the water.
We even went for a walk along the shaky boardwalk.
We loved watching the water games and antics from the more experienced swimmers, too.
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| Nate, Joel, Karissa, Chloe, Erin, Kayla, Jordan |
WE LAUNCHED ROCKET BALLOONS
As an annual tradition, the Dahn family chases rocket balloons in the camp's large open field. What an awesome activity this was! Karissa demonstrates how to pump up the balloon to its fullest capacity.
Grandma helps Ian hold the balloon while he pumps it all on his own. Way to go, Ian!
Kim and Uncle Doug show Ian how he is supposed to hold up the balloon high into the air and then let go.
A group of the kids hold up their rocket balloons all at once.
Upon release, the balloons make a funny noise and squirm all through the air.
Surprisingly, the balloons fly really high and stay in the air for quite a while. Look at Karissa's go!
The goal is to catch the balloon before it falls to the ground. All the kids madly sprinted after their crazy-flying balloons with the adults cheering them on. Jordan and Chloe race & even dive to catch their balloons.
Chloe celebrates a successful catch!
Jaden and Cody loved relaxing with Daddy as they watched this crazy event.
Since he was too young to chase after the balloons, Michigan-fan Cody chased after the football instead.
Both boys wrestled with Daddy. Who would you say won this match?
Our boys LOVE any excuse to be outside!
We thank God for our family of 4. :)
WE PLAYED GAMES
The kids enjoyed the Wii system when the weather got too hot or on the few days that it was rainy outside.
Is Jason really just watching the Wii games, or is he wishing he could jump in and play too? :)
Of course, the Schleichers and Dahns LOVE their board games and card games! Among our favorites were Who-nu?,
card games like Hand & Foot and Wizard,
and one of our family favorites, Stone Age.
We played some late-night rounds, too, as evidenced by the glasses worn by nearly all around the table.
WE ATE
Pauline, the camp cook, whipped up some wonderful, nutritious dinners for our bunch. We enjoyed learning that Pauline is actually a twin, too. Here is part of our group chowing down.
You can tell it's a good meal when hardly anyone looks at the camera!
WE HUNG OUT
In between the mealtimes, activity times, and taking-care-of-the-kids times, we simply enjoyed being together. It was relaxing just to visit with one another. Cousins Mark and Jason catch up while sharing guitar tunes.
Amy, Kim, and Chelsea pause during an intense Wizard game to share their love. :)
These guys enjoyed reminiscing about cousin adventures in the past-- game playing, sports competitions, and even bat hunting.
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| Matt, Jon, Mark, Jason |
What a joy it is to be with other family members who love each other and who love the Lord. We were enriched and uplifted by our time together. Thank you for including us in this reunion time, Dahn family! And fellow Schleichers, as always, we love being with you! Thanks for the fun memories!
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