Camp

Every year Paul and his co-minister Arlen encourage all the 9-14-year-olds at church to learn 50 verses and go to Bible Memory Camp. This year 12 children learned Romans 12, Psalm 103, and Psalm 95.

So the moms made food, the kids packed their bags, Paul loaded the canoe onto the van, and we trundled to the coast in three overloaded vehicles.

This time we stayed at a house on Alsea Bay, a providential choice that allowed us 4 adults (Arlen, Sharon, Paul, and me) to actually squeeze in a bit of relaxation here and there because we were right on the placid beach of the bay, with the ocean beach a half-mile's-walk away. All the action was right out the back door, and we didn't have to drive anywhere or escort excited children across Hwy. 101.

We also had a great view of the beautiful Alsea bridge, built in the late '80s to replace the even more beautiful bridge built in the 1930's. We walked across the bridge (about half a mile) and read up on all this history at the visitors' center.

And of course we had a verse contest (won by Benjamin Gerig) and a sand-sculpture contest (won by Steven, Stephanie C., and Spencer's "Paradise Island") and skits at night and lots of good food and crabs (caught from the shore) and lots of noise and wave-jumping and infinite numbers of wet, sandy children trying to hose and dry off and a DQ treat in Philomath on the way home.

It was great. Read more about it (and see pictures) here. (Thanks, Stephy!)

And. we. are. so. tired.

Quote of the Day:
"Tell us another story!"
--various children at camp, to me, thus scoring enough points to make up for the fact that they kept me awake til midnight and woke me up at 6:30 a.m.