Catching Up Is Hard to Do

Today marks the beginning of the second youth camp for this summer. One of my projects is catching up on the blog. The computer is free most of the time right now, and so I can keep busy with other things while letting the pictures upload. :)

This 'n That

The kids enjoyed the pool pretty much every time it was open for them. :) The Lord gave us beautiful weather, and the camp has both a large pool and a kiddie pool. Dalene and Sebastian and the little boys doing the after dinner drying. Eddie went to the doctor for an eye infection. The "lolly" was a welcome compensation.

Never a Dull Moment

Most every day Carol and Daddy, usually with Natascha, went shopping. They appreciated helping hands for the unloading process. The playground was particularly exciting on this evening with the discovery of this BIG bug. The little kids were intrigued.

Finishing Touches

The bow and arrow shooting range was the last big project to set up. Getting the net hung is always a challenge. Kevin hung up the signs on a tree right in the middle of steps, the deck and main house. The road signs with varying messages were all over! Danae made some cute swimming signs to indicate whose pool time it was.

Siesta

Due to the heat, most every day included a siesta, which was relatively short for the teenagers, but turned into a good rest time for the little ones. Bradley used this time for preparation.

Wednesday---

Devon and Dominic on breakfast dish-drying duty. :) The littlest Bible time class. Vicki taught the little kids. (From left to right: Micah, Joel, Evan and Danielle) After our (the older kids') Bible times we went out and tried out the boomerangs on the first day. Here Edwin was getting it to come back to him! Dustin and Edwin were happy "driers", too! Daddy set up his great camp store again. The kids are always happy for snacks and drinks, but also appreciate the books, post cards, stamps, ice-cream and the camp t-shirts he sells.

Arrival and Getting Organized

This pyramid is in the border town as we cross into Spain. From here it is less than an hour to camp. The kitchen work, headed up beautifully by Carol, is a full-time job from beginning to end. The campers are involved with the drying process after every meal. Doreen, Lynette and Johnny were among the first! On the first evening the kids were divided into teams and they met for their first spirit rallies. Christian had come up with a song for the yellow team. Here Dustin is observing all the excitement. They were incorporated into the playing as often as it was possible, too. The teens were very kind about the little kids taking part. Here Markus pulled Donovan over to help him learn the new cheer.

Sundown in Germany-Breakfast in France

For the first hours we were traveling pretty much into the sundown. Hard for the driver, beautiful for us. The next morning, at 6:30 a.m. we stopped for breakfast at a rest area. We were traveling with the big tourist bus and Kevin's van and trailer. The little kids enjoyed the play ground, a number of older kids kicked a soccer ball.

Ready, Set, Go...... 16 hours in a Tourist Bus

The Lord allowed impact to rent a very nice bus to Spain this year: air conditioning, toilet, comfy seats, etc. Dalene had packed us a supper in Tübingen which we enjoyed along the way. The kids were able to sleep on the floor or across seats for a good number of hours.

Our next "Leg" was on the ICE (InterCityExpress)

Germany's fast train, the ICE, can go up to 150 miles an hour. We had two little compartments for the three and a half hour ride down to Stuttgart. Unfortunately, these trains also run late at times, so that we missed the last train and had to wait for the next opportunity, about an hour later.

Inside the first Regional Train

The first train was a regional one which stopped at each village along the way. It took an hour to get to the next big city. Danielle and Evan were given sun glasses by their big sisters Doreen and Lynette, and really enjoyed them!

The first Leg of the Journey

We said good-bye to the ones going down to Tübingen in the buses around 7 a.m. and two hours later we left on foot to walk the 5 minutes down to the train station here in our village. We met Carol and her three youngest to travel together.