The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Argghh!

Warning: Pirates lurking below

Shhh… this is top secret stuff! Admittance to Pirate Beach is by invitation only!

If you want to proceed, you’ll have to get by this guy

This pirate looks a little more welcoming

Can you climb a rope? It’ll be necessary.

Are you brave enough to proceed?

Don’t forget, this pirate doesn’t take kindly to strangers!

Don’t even think about approaching this beach by boat!

Maybe he’s not as friendly as we first thought!

Or maybe he is, just not to his brother!

This little pirate isn’t old enough for rum–he’ll have to stick with apple juice.

Too much juice for this pirate! Maybe that’s why he’s so cranky?

Not quite the Black Pearl but it’ll have to do.

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summer, boys

We are trying to make the most of this stretch of beautiful summer weather! When it’s sunny and warm in Bellingham, there’s no other place on earth we’d rather be. We live in the most beautiful town. We have awesome parks and there are lots of fun (and mostly free) activities to participate in if you do some research. We enjoyed a concert at Elizabeth Park last night and will hopefully make it to a few more of those throughout the summer. On Saturday night we will be heading over to the Fairhaven Green to watch We are Marshall on the outdoor screen there.

As a family we are trying to be much more intentional about how we spend our time together. Days, weeks and months go by so quickly. The boys are growing up and we don’t want to take our time with them for granted.

There probably won’t be much posted here throughout the summer (except pictures, occasionally) because I plan on being outside more, using my computer less and playing with my kids. Hope you enjoy your summer!

picnic lunch at Boulevard park

hanging out at the beach, making sandcastles

dinner picnic and concert at Elizabeth Park

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Camp Firwood

At the very last minute (Saturday night) we decided the boys could go to Firwood this week. We packed Sunday morning after church and they were registered and ready to go at 1pm on Sunday afternoon. The boys were SO excited. Caleb was a bit nervous about taking the swim test but he did fine (he was happy to get the yellow bracelet that allowed him to do most things with a life jacket). The boys are in the same cabin, which is great and their counselors seemed like really nice guys. Cory is also at Firwood (he’s a CIT this summer) and the boys were thrilled to be able to go and spend some time with him there. The theme for this week is PIRATES! It couldn’t be more perfect for them!

When we took them out to camp we walked around and Cam showed the boys what cabin he stayed in when he was a CIT (13 years ago!). He shared with them the story of how God told him that he was supposed to marry me (while lying in his bunk, contemplating pursuing another girl!) We had been dating before camp but “broke up” a couple weeks before he left for the summer. God pretty clearly spoke to his heart that day and confirmed that we were “it” for each other. As we walked around and talked with the boys yesterday, I remembered visiting Cam at Firwood that summer. I knew I had taken him and our relationship for granted and I missed him SO much. It didn’t take long after camp before we figured our stuff out and resumed our relationship (shortly after that there was a lot of other drama but that’s another story…). As Cam and I talk about our history as a couple I am so grateful and amazed at how God brought us together. Through the hills and the valleys God had His hand on each of us and had a good plan for our life together. One important thing for us to remember, as parents, is not to freak out if one of our boys tells us he’s totally in love with a girl and God told him that she’s the “one” when he’s 17.

We miss our boys (Daddy most of all right now) but Cam and I are having a lot of fun together and are really thankful for this time for them and for us.

To see a few more pictures click the Flickr link (on the right).

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counting down

5 more days ’til takeoff and 8 more ’til Disneyland!

The boys worked way ahead of their school schedule and are almost entirely done for the year! They have a few more history lessons and a couple spelling tests but after that, they are done. Our vacation to California will officially kick off our summer break.

Last year when we took our vacation we put a couple Harry Potter audio books on the ipods so the boys could listen on the plane and in the airports. It turned out to be a great idea for keeping them occupied. This year I am loading the ipods with Tom Sawyer. The story is a classic, full of adventure, pirates, and carefree boyish schemes. I am hoping for another memorable summer full of excitement, creativity and exploration for the boys. Sean and Caleb are incredibly blessed with a wonderful beach that their Grandparents put much time and thought into so that they can have the kind of summers most little boys only get to dream of.

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what we’ve been up to

Last week the boys each had 2 games. We had an extremely busy week on top of all the sports stuff. We had commitments every morning and evening last week– it was too much. Today we are going to stay in our jammies as long as we want and just relax. We may go for a walk or a hike later this afternoon.

Hopefully, taking this time to relax today will help us get through our next super busy week with a little more calm and kindness.

Only 4 weeks to SoCal! We are so looking forward to our vacation.

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reading to the boys

I really love reading to the boys. Most recently, I have been reading The Phantom Tollbooth to Sean and Caleb. This is a great book to read aloud. It is full of rich language and elaborate descriptions. I have appreciated the meaning and message the book subtly and artistically includes. Here’s an excerpt from what we read tonight. Milo (the main character) and Alec another boy just entered the city called “Reality”.

“Many years ago, on this very spot there was a beautiful city of fine houses and inviting spaces, and no one who ever lived here was ever in a hurry. The streets were full of wonderful things to see and the people would often stop and look at them.”

“Didn’t they have any place to go?” asked Milo.

“To be sure, ” continued Alec; “but, as you know, the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what’s in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that. Then one day someone discovered that if you walked as fast as possible and looked at nothing but your shoes you would arrive at your destination much more quickly. Soon everyone was doing it. They all rushed down the avenues and hurried along the boulevards seeing nothing of the wonders and beauties of their city as they went.”

Milo remembered the many times he’d done the very same thing; and, as hard as he tried, there were even things on his own street that he couldn’t remember.

“No one paid any attention to how things looked, and as they moved faster and faster everything grew uglier and dirtier, and as everything grew uglier and dirtier they moved faster and faster, and at last a very strange thing began to happen. Because nobody cared, the city slowly began to disappear. Day by day the buildings grew fainter and fainter, and the streets faded away, until at last it was entirely invisible. There was nothing to see at all.”

From The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

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