~Family Fun Days--2014~

Andrew and I had fun at the Sips' farm last weekend! 

I thought I'd share lots of pictures with you all here, as they say much more than words...

 

 Nearing MN...

 This is a random picture I took---thrown in for those of you who may be interested in seeing machinery like this!

 We visited with many friends all weekend!  This is mostly the same group of fun people that we are with at the Crystal Springs camps, with a few more MN people and a few less MT/SD people.

 

We made a new friend too...  She liked playing ping-pong too, so we got started talking to her this way, and soon found out we had many other things in common and I left camp with her e-mail address in my phone and her with mine.  :)

 Volleyball was, as usual, very popular!

 The Sips' new shop was SO nice!!  Up in the loft area, besides having the ping-pong table there,

they had this nice place to rest, along with restrooms (with showers)!

 It's a HUGE shop!

 My brother, with our tent in the background....

 I really enjoyed visiting with the mother and daughter of one NE family who we'd met at one previous camp.  They had brought some friends along with them 

( pictured, walking back by the obstacle course, with Andrew leading the way).

 These swings are, in my opinion, the best part of the obstacle course! 

They're lots of fun to swing on!!  Andrew and I stayed back there for a while, as there were only a bunch of little kids there at the time and we wanted them to be able to swing, yet be safe.

 We should find some big belts like these and add them to our swing-set assortment of swings!

 Parts of the obstacle course were VERY wet and muddy!

 Christopher S. went and got a load of dirt to make this part of the course more passable...

 Wheeee....

 Watching the race...

 

 Our friend, Hannah K...

 Ben U. going across the log quickly!

 More speedy guys...

 Rebecca S...

 There was a special time for the little ones to run/walk through the course...

 Hannah and Rose----and I think it's a tie!

 The water-cup holder...

 Music by the K. ladies; Jordan B; and Jubilee G.

 There were pony rides at certain times of the day for the little folks...

Picking teams for a lot more speed-volleyball at the outdoor court...

 Oops, somebody got stuck!  Oh well, the guys just pushed them out.

 Mrs. Sip (far left) and some other ladies by the house...

 Andrew, playing with his team...

 Getting eggs for the egg-toss...   Tearza was my partner, but of course, I don't have pictures of myself, as I was taking them when I wasn't tossing eggs at Tearza.  ;)

 This little girl was my little friend during one of the Bible sessions

and showed me her books and toys, and whispered things in my ear....

 The start of the egg-toss.  After each successful throw, one side or the other took a step back to make things more challenging.

 This was very popular with the children!

 Yes, Andrew caught it!

 Ready, set, throw!

 It rained on Saturday a couple of times, but Sunday was very hot and sunny...

 Next was a tug-o-war!  First, the little guys pulled...

 The girls pulled too...

 Then the ladies...

 ...and finally, the guys.

 You could hear the rope stretching, truly!

 

 I don't know who this little girl is, but she looked so cute standing there in her bare feet...

 Besides the activities, it was great to visit

and also to hear the messages from several of the fathers there.

 

We left after supper and some cleanup Sunday evening. 

 

Minnesota sure has lovely trees!

Andrew and I returned home shortly after 10:00pm and were just in time to tell the rest of our family a bit about our trip before heading for bed.

 

We're so grateful that the Sip family has these events and for all the hard work they put into hosting-- preparing all of the food and, well, just everything!!!!!  God, please bless them greatly!