The Growing Caldwell Family

Time for Camp Chickamaw! We started camp off spending the weekend at the lake spending time together all 8 of us.  Sis loves to do the rock painting and it is neat to see them around!  SG tried out water skiing with the helmet on. It felt hot, so not sure that will be a regular thing! Charlie was still a little unsure about wakeboarding after his injury at July 4th.  When the ice cream boat comes by the dock! Charlie and Pingo! The kids pooled their tickets at the arcade and won it! He lives at the lake and they share him pretty well.  Everybody had fun at the lake together!

Another pleasant weekend at the lake.  Aaron and I took the kayak out and tootled around for a bit.  While going through the pantry we discovered some stale fruit loops. The kids were happy to make them into jewelry and they ate some of the fruit loops! They were all proud of the patterns they designed for necklaces! This round, flat raft is more difficult to stay on, but this crew loves the challenge! After five weeks of fun, it was time to pack up and say goodbye to Camp Chickamaw!  Lots of memories and a special bond they will share for a lifetime. 

We miss being with the kids all week and by Friday we are so happy to be with them. We were overjoyed when we made it to the lake just before they headed out on a sunset cruise! Lots of smiles and a lovely sunset!

Lovie and Pops took the kids on the most exciting field trip of all - horseback riding! They were super excited to go and had a better time than expected! After some training in the ring, they were able to hit the trails! Love that big smile! Livy was so excited that she got to ride the horse on her own! Proud riders!

Sarah Graves very sweetly planned a surprise half birthday party for Olivia! Pops and Lovie helped her get the stuff and she directed how it should bo.  Livy was truly surprised! I think she felt very special. Happy for Livy to celebrate her half birthday in spite of COVID and so proud of Sarah Graves for thinking of Livy and wanting to do something thoughtful for her. 

Sarah Graves mentioned wanting to make a marshmallow gun, so I looked into it and was surprised to find it looked pretty easy to do. I bought the PVC parts and a PVC cutting tool and got ready for fun. With some supervision the kids were able to follow the instructions I found and basically did it themselves! Decorating them with fun duct tape was also fun! Being a little older, Sarah Graves was able to get hers really neat! On a trip to The Home Depot, Sarah Graves asked if they could see if there were any kids' workshop kits available. To her and Pop's delight, they had them! The kids enjoyed building their own miniature tool benches and Pops presented them with their certificate and pin! To add to his fairy house, Aaron ordered Charlie some army men and vehicles. I was surprised how much interest he gave them! He set them up for battle and did a lot with them. Charlie was eager to show off his fire building and cook lunch for us! He and Pops showed us their whole routine to ...