rcp beach day

yesterday was beach day at rcp.

usually, beach day is my least favorite day of camp.

it is often cold

windy

a bit stinky

and there have even been dead seals on the sand.

(gross.)

here are some pics from beach days past.

(2008 beach day was bella's first time at the beach!  i think she injested all the sand seacliff had to offer)

and 2009

(yep... that's bella, not charlotte!)

despite previously poor experiences,

yesterday was perfection.

not too hot, not too cold.

no stink.

no red tide.

and very happy little children.

these kids LOVED the beach.

charlotte started off her day with some exploration.

daddy helped dig the kids a "big" hole.  

they loved climbing into it.

 next on the to-do list:

sandcastles!

on a trip down to the water to fill a bucket,

charlotte discovered the ocean.

 she was in LOVE

 we could not keep that little girl out of the water

she was trying to dive head first into the waves

she was quickly covered in sand and water

and she couldn't have been happier

(favorite pic of the day :)

bella was very hesitant of the water at first

but soon warmed up to it

 she was a bit less brave than charlotte, but had fun splashing in the tide.

with her spatula.

(why wouldn't she have a spatula at the beach, right?)

charlotte wanted to stay in the water

even after her little lips turned from 

pink

to blue

to purple

jackson, however, wanted nothing to do with the water

he was happy to stay up on sand

entertaining us with his various silly faces

so thank you, seacliff beach,

for the perfect rcp beach day.

we loved every minute of it

and here's a little video of charlotte in the ocean

sorry for the bad quality, and how it turns sideways halfway through ;)

but i love her little squeals of delight every time the wave hits her

and how when asked if she likes the water, she nods her head "YES!"  

jello wars

today was jello wars at RCP

the sidewalk was lined with buckets full of jello

(and colored oatmeal... so, so gross, but it flies and sticks really well!)

i was sure that this was the year bella was going to want to be a part of the action.

when she saw all the buckets of jello, she was.

she dove in and took a bite!

but then... she realized people were going to throw that at each other.

she quickly decided she wanted to no part of it!

she was much happier as a spectator from the side with her friends

 

charlotte was in jello heaven

a little mess couldn't scare her away!

it goes without saying that jackson was FAR away from anything having to do with 

jello

mess

screaming

hence.. no pics of him

our super awesome babysitters, taylor & michelle, got in on the action

 

the kids would not get near daddy!

 i think he's pretty cute, even covered in jello & oatmeal

 ....but i may save his kisses for after a shower!

in case you've never seen it, here is just a little clip from the balcony of my 'house' of the kids in the final throws of jello wars.  jello is being flung from slingshots above, while they run around and cover each other in sticky goo.

 looks like fun, right?

having a camptastic week.

wish you were here!

thankful

thankful for my God.

thankful for His faithfulness

His love

the joy only He can give

thankful for a week to sit quietly and let this verse soak deep into my heart.

photo courtesy of jones design company

the good life

the kids are having so much fun here at rcp

they are exploring, 

making friends

and getting really dirty

here are some pics of the last few days

 charlotte loves the treehouse, the BIG black slide, and 'talking' on the walkie talkies

 bella is loving flowers, 'and-e-lions', and time with her buddy emmie

 jackson hamming it up with his 'smolder' and his 'funny face' during water games

 jackson is reading daddy's bible.  really.  yesterday he got some good time in genesis.

 all 3 kids beg to go on the swing.

all.day.long.

taking them off results in sad faces and tears

this is a club i want to be a part of

feels like home

yesterday we arrived at rcp.

(redwood christian park camp, if you didn't know)

i've been coming to this camp since 1997, when i started as a counselor.

so much of my life has happened here.

in the 14 summers i've spent here i have 

started and finished college

dated jeff

married jeff

lived in 8 homes in 3 cities

been pregnant 3 times 

( i actually found out i was pregnant with jackson here in 2005)

watched my campers become counselors 

made lifelong friendships

this camp holds a special place in my heart

for one week every summer, i get to spend a week doing ministry with people i love

i have seen god do amazing things in the lives of students here

and in my own life as well

i'm excited for this week

to watch my children play in the same camp where i carried them in my belly

to connect with old friends

to watch my husband have the opportunity to share god's word every night

to experience the magic this camp holds

so bring on the camp food

the jello wars

beach day

game shows

campfire

and dessert after every meal

life has been busy

my brain (and body) has been going at light speed lately

so this week i will rest 

in a place that feels like home 

ta-da!

last night my mom took the big kids to the movie theater.

charlotte is NOT allowed to go to any movies right now...

(i can chase her around somewhere else for free.)

so, little girl and i got some good one-on-one time.

i pulled out the barn animal sound puzzle.

she was LOVING it.

every time she put a piece on correctly, the puzzle would make the animal's sound.

then she would do her best imitation.

a 17-month-old and a puzzle can also be a bit frustration-inducing.

she had some trouble figuring out how to get that piece inside the matching hole.

she could figure out where it went, but not quite how to turn it the right way.

eventually, we she got all the pieces in.

she was SO proud of herself.

so she stood up

and shouted....

TA-DA!

cuteness.

a bedtime story

there are so many days i don't even think about jackson having autism.

so many of his funny little quirks and qualities have become everyday for me.

then there are the days i feel like i'm being punched in the gut with it.

my heart aches as i see other kids look at him funny.

watch him try to communicate unsuccessfully.

obediently do things that make him uncomfortable.

one of jackson's coping strategies is his ability to memorize.

much of what he says is 'scripted' language... interactions he has memorized and now repeats.

more and more of his speech is beginning to come from him rather than scripts...
 i love hearing HIM talk.

he's always been amazing at memorizing things.

before he could really talk at all, he would memorize entire books.

long ones. 

several months ago, he began memorizing actual words.

he loves books, and  recently even been insisting on having the subtitles when he watches a movie.

his little brain has been taking all the words in.

now he's taking those memorized words and actually reading.

like.... REALLY reading.  

it's amazing.

i'm so proud of this little boy.

hope you enjoy some story time with jackson.

a work in progress.

i am good at a lot of things.

remembering lyrics to a song.

making lists.

eating doritos.

performing dance routines from 8th grade cheer. 

(okay, maybe i'm not good at that.  but for some reason, it's still really fun)

on the flip side...

there are a lot of things i am really bad at.

getting birthday cards to people on time.

(although i always remember the actual date)

hanging up laundry after it is clean.

keeping anything green alive.

drinking water.

and... being a good friend.

really.  this is not me looking for sympathy.

or for you to say "no, shara!  you're a super-de-duper friend!"

the truth is that God has surrounded me with amazing, wonderful women 

whom i absolutely love, adore, and admire.

in my head, i want to be the kind of friend that regularly calls.

encourages people when they need it.

is there when they need a shoulder to cry on.

is available to hang out for coffee whenever they want.

recently, i feel more and more aware of my friendship-shortcomings.

there is one particular friendship for which i feel particularly guilty.

my amazing friend holly has been living in the middle east for the past year.

she and her husband moved there last summer with plans to stay for 3-4 years.

i cannot even imagine having the courage to do something like that.

i promised to write, skype, send mail, email, etc, etc, etc.

i have skyped less than a handful of times.

i rarely send emails.

not one package has been sent.

my heart is good.

my intentions are there.

i think of her all the time, pray for her, and miss her so much.

but my actions do not reflect my heart.

sadly, sometimes i feel like this is the theme of my life.

i want holly, and all my friends, to know how much i love them.

that i see such amazing qualities in them.

that their friendship has affected my life, changed who i am, and caused me to grow.

i am surrounded by women that challenge my way of thinking.

that love me when i am unloveable.

that pick me up when i am down.

i want to be that for them.

but instead, i get too busy with my own life.

so to all you women out there whose friendship blesses my life.

i love you.

i am ever-so-grateful for you.

and i thank you for putting up with me.

i am a work in progress.

and holly.... i promise.... i'll get something in the mail. soon....

maybe.

holly & ryan got to come to california this past week and we were able to spend a few days visiting with them.  what  a sweet time, and so sad to think it will be awhile before we are together in person again.

here are our kiddos with uncle ryan and auntie holly.  we love you guys.

little drummer boy. and girl.

it's summer here in the bachman house.

summer means camp, swimming, and popsicles.

it also means all 3 kids home all day- so i'm trying to plan lots of fun crafts & activities.

bella loves crafts.

jackson does not.

so if i want jackson to jump on the crafting bandwagon, i gotta speak his language.

jackson LOVES music.  and instruments.

after finishing a carton of oatmeal, i said, hmmmm...  what can i do with this?

how about..... 

oatmeal canister drums!

both kiddos were excited.  

i let them pick out any color construction paper.  

bella picked pink.  (surprise!)  jackson chose green.

knowing we had a mess in store, i made them wear aprons from the dollar tree.

(side note...check out jackson's face.

charlotte went all wolverine on him during our recent trip to costco....

apparently you don't want to make her mad while trapped in a shopping cart.)

i put out a variety of things for them to decorate their papers with.

paint & sponges, dot stampers, and letter/animals stamps.

the kids quickly got busy decorating their papers.

jackson liked the stamps... far less messy.

bella is always a fan of creating the biggest mess possible.  

she went for the paint.

the pink paper turned... purple.

charlotte wanted in on the action, so i set her loose in her highchair 

with some construction paper and finger paints.

 

she was COVERED... all the way to her binky.

 

after an hour of paint and stamps it was time for....

A BATH!

( insert bath, getting dressed, lunch, charlotte down for a nap

and then we were back at it.)

their papers were dried.

time for stickers!

once they had been sufficiently decorated,

mommy finished them up.

i taped the papers around the canister,

punched holes in the sides,

& added some string to go around their necks.

what drum is complete without drumsticks?

we wrapped some yarn around the ends to create mallets.

at last... our drums were ready to play!

serious business.

give me a beat!