Dear Maui, I love you!

Can I just say that I love Hawaii? Really I love anywhere that has great weather and pretty beaches. Is that too much to ask? The first week of August we traveled to Maui for a fun-filled family vacation for a week with all the Encalades. It was an adventure getting there because we flew stand-by, thanks to Debbie's previous employment with American Airlines. I am not complaining about our little "adventure" because it is very worth it to save the money. Plus, the girls are at a such a good age to travel, it really isn't too hard.
Debbie, Ernie, and Granny got to Maui on Thursday, and Blake, Katy, and their kids arrived Sunday. The original plan was for us to leave Sunday night on a flight to L.A. after the girl's last CTW (Christain Theater Workshop) performance. Then we would leave early Monday morning on a flight to Maui. We got to L.A. just fine and spent part of the night (it was pretty late) in a hotel. We got up early to try to make our flight, but unfortunately a flight to Maui had been canceled on Sunday which meant there were a lot of other people trying to to get to Maui. Since we were flying stand-by we had to let all of those people go ahead of us. We waited in the airport all day trying to get a flight out and were finally able to catch a flight to Kauai at 5:30. We spent the night there at a beautiful hotel then caught a "island hopper" to Maui. Honestly, I didn't mind the little detour to Kauai. It is such a beautiful island.
We were able to stay at Wes's Aunt Dianne's gorgeous house in Wailea. It was absolutely perfect! It was wonderful being all together under one roof. The cousins, of course, had a ball playing together. We ate most of our meals there and enjoyed some great dinners outside since the weather was so nice!
Our days were filled with swimming in the pool and ocean, boogie boarding, taking walks, a little bit of shopping, playing games like Hand and Foot and Monopoly, some golf for the guys, and massages for the gals, and just hanging out. We also spent one whole day at the Grande Wailea Resort. Here is a description of the pool area. "This multi-faceted, 2,000-foot-long, 25,700-total-square-foot, 770,000-gallon pool consists of nine free-form pools at six levels -- beginning at 40 feet and dropping to sea level. The pools are connected by a river that carries swimmers along at varying speeds, from whitewater rapids to lazy currents. Wailea Canyon includes four jungle pools, four tile slides, a whitewater rapids slide, a Tarzan pool with rope swing, the world's first water elevator, a sand beach, six waterfalls, caves, three Jacuzzis, an infant pool, and a swim-up bar, where guests can order refreshing beverages." Yup, it was amazing!
The Grandparents watched all the grandkids one evening so Katy, Blake, Wes and I could go out for dinner and shopping. That was a nice treat!
I was hoping the flights out of Maui were too full for us to fly stand-by, but alas our wonderful vacation had to come to an end.
A HUGE thank you to Ernie and Debbie for treating us to such a FANTASTIC vacation! Also, a HUGE thank you to Aunt Dianne and Uncle Chick for letting us stay at their amazing house!

Taking a nap while waiting in the airport.

These pictures were taken at our "detour" in Kauai.


Aunt Dianne's beautiful vacation house where we stayed.


A view from our bedroom balcony.

The cousins are ready to go swimming!


Hanging out in the pool in the backyard.



We paid a visit to the Maui Ocean Center where we saw all kinds of marine life and were even able to touch some starfish.

Playing games and having fun with arts and crafts.


The Grande Wailea Resort.


Beach fun! Playing in the sand, dancing, playing beach tennis, boogie boarding, and riding the waves.


Family Pictures


Eating a yummy snow cone while out shopping.


Avery enjoyed writing names in the sand. The "?" is for the little cousin Katy is pregant with. I thought that was pretty cute of Avery to think of that.

Our Little Actresses!

Every summer our church puts on a play for the community. Kids from all over are area are also invited to be a part of these plays. This year we did Rising Son which tells the life of Jesus. It was written by one of our very own talented moms, Kathy Pryor. The kids spend a week going to day camp and practicing for the three performances. The older kids actually practice in the evenings for a week before the day camp begins. This year is the first year Avery and Abby had lines in the play (understandably, most lines are given to the older kids and teenagers.) They were super duper excited and memorized all their lines before day camp started.
Avery was the Littlest Angel and had 3 lines which she nailed every time. Abby played the part of Bethany, a dead girl that Jesus heals. She did a marvelous job of lying 'dead' on the bed while the stage crew brought her out before the scene began. I half expected her to crack up. But, she never did. She was still until Jesus raised her and then she nailed her lines, too.
I got to help with the crafts during the day camp which was lots of fun. Janaga came up with all the crafts that had a special spiritual meaning for each one. That made it much more meaningful than some random fun crafts.
This year they also incorporated a another part into CTW where the kids prayed through out the building about many different topics, went through scenarios of making good decisions, and donated items for a Children's Hospital.

Each day had a dress up theme. This is what they picked out for "Wacky Wednesday".

Avery, the Littlest Angel.


The whole group of angels.


Abby as Bethany.


Abby acting dead before she is healed by Jesus.


Abby hugging and thanking Jesus.


Abby really got into waiving the palm leaves during "Hosanna". She would reach all the way to the floor and then back up again. So dramatic!


Avery also got to play a towns person in this scene.


Kaila blowing the crowd away with her gift of singing.


Our horse even made its acting debut as the colt
the disciples borrowed for Jesus to ride into town.


A townspeople scene.

Each year I am impressed by our talented group of kids as well as adults who make this happen. Our prayer is that it is an outreach to the community and another chance to be Jesus to those around us.

Mission Trip to Philadelphia

Our mission trip to Philadelphia was a huge success! It was neat to watch God working through the lives of our teens. Many prayers were answered and hopefully lives were changed.

The second day we were there we worshiped with the Folsom Church of Christ. Our teens led most of the service. They were nervous about leading the prayers and songs and serving communion, but they sure did a terrific job. We were so proud!

Staring contest with Robert.

Singing a song they sang in Bible class for the whole congregation.

While we were there we helped with 3 organizations, a pregnancy crisis center, Folsom Church of Christ and CEF. The girls and I worked with an organization called CEF, which stands for Child Evangelism Fellowship. CEF sends groups out into parks and neighborhoods to hold day camps for kids. The camps are like an outdoor VBS with singing, games, puppets, crafts, and bible stories. We did two camps each day while we were there, one in the morning and one in afternoon, in two separate locations. The place we went to in the afternoon had the highest crime rate per capita, we were told. We saw a swat team one day close to our location. We really did feel safe the whole time we were there.

On the first two days the CEF people led the camps and taught the Bible lesson. We helped set up, told the neighborhood kids about the camp and helped keep the kids in line. We also helped with the songs and some of us were able to perform in the puppet skits. A couple of our teens learned how to teach the kids their memory verses and were able to teach that portion of the lesson. Then, on the third day, we got to lead the camp. We led singing, taught the memory verse and did a skit. I was very proud of our teens. They were awesome with all the little friends we met. It was neat to see all the kids come back each day bringing other friends with them. They would report to us that they listened to their songs on the CD we had given them and were even able to tell us the memory verse from the day before. I wish we had a program like this in Denison. Then our teens could develop some deeper relationships with the kids.

Listening to the lesson at CEF.

Avery helping Kaila as she teaches the kids the memory verse for the day.

We learned lots of new songs with cool actions.

Avery holding up the memory verse for Kaila again.

"Who's the King of the Jungle? Who? Who?"

Kaila and Zack's break out group.

This picture makes me laugh. It looks like I laid an egg. No worries, it is just my purse.

All the teen leaders, the girls and I before CEF started one day.

Abby holding the memory verse for Zach.

All of the leaders. It was neat to see them all in action. We learned so much from them.

The group that worked with the Folsom church helped them get ready for a VBS, by preparing props, materials, and by canvasing the neighborhoods to spread the word. They also helped organize and clean up areas of the church.

The group that went to the Amnion Pregnancy Crisis Center helped by transforming their previously flooded basement into a mini store where new moms could get items for their babies for a very cheap price. They painted walls, sorted through clothes that were moldy and categorized everything in a professional way. The finished product was impressive.

The last day we were there we went to down town Philly to see the sights. We saw the Liberty Bell, Town Hall, Christ Church, Love Park, and the steps to the Art Museum (where Rocky ran). I was most fascinated by Christ Church where several of the founding fathers worshiped.

Visiting the Liberty Bell.

Our girls are so strong, they can lift the bell.

City Hall - Where the Declaration was signed.

Sitting in the pews at Christ Church.

We stopped to see "The Thinker" on the way to climb the steps of the Art Museum.

Abby ran to this spot and said, "Look, I am a statue!" Ha!

Uncle Ron got to meet us for lunch and our afternoon sight seeing. Sure was good to see him.

On a side note, Uncle Ron hooked us up with staying at his old college dorms which worked out much better than hotel rooms would have. It saved us a lot of money. It was also nice to be able to meet in the lobbies together and enjoy the beautiful campus. Thanks again for making that happen, Ron. We had a great time visiting with you, too!

Our whole group at LOVE Park.

I always love going on mission trips with our teens. Watching them let God use them brings a lot of joy to my heart.

Cornerstone and Impact

Zenith and Cornerstone and Impact were right after each other which works out quite well. We just stay at Oklahoma Christian for the weekend. Wes did end up having to take the Zenith kids home since there were some problems with the bus, but he joined us the very next day.

The girls and I decided to head to the Oklahoma City Science Museum Friday afternoon. We have been to the Fort Worth one too. This one was even better. There were so many hands-on activities. We couldn't even see everything in the 5 hours we spent there.

We watched an IMAX production of Legends of Flight first, which wasn't what I was expecting, but we still learned a lot. We should have probably watched Extreme instead.

Seesaw on a log!

I think they are ready for Trek!

After some hands-on learning fun we headed to Science Live! In an auditorium a very lively presenter created explosions to teach about chemical and physical reactions. During the show he asked for volunteers. They were told not raise their hands to volunteer. They had to dance to music. Well, say no more, Abby got into the dancing and was chosen to go on stage in front of 100 or so people. She helped blow up a huge bottle. I got in on video. She loved every bit of it!

Abby, The Scientist - View it on YouTube

The next day we headed to the water park in Edmond with our friends Cori and Jason and their girls Riley and Reagan. Jason is also a youth minister and Cori is a teacher. We have a lot in common. It has been so neat to develop relationships with other families at camp through the years.

Splish, Splash!

Good Friends!

After a fun and relaxing weekend we started Impact and Cornerstone. This was the first year we sent one of our very own kids to camp. Avery was super excited! Abby was sad and jealous. Poor girl! Avery ended up having a wonderful first week of camp and is excited about going next year.

Avery and her roomies, Paislee and Henley. Abby is wishing she could be one too.


These two have been friends since they were just babies.


Avery's whole group.


Impact campers from Park Avenue.


Funny faces!

We checked on Avery and her friends from church a couple of times of day for just a little bit. Each time she was having a ball. I am so thankful that Impact and Cornerstone run the same week, so I could keep an eye on her. She was able to go a year early since Wes and I were there for Cornerstone - the perks of being on staff at camp.



Cornerstone was terrific! The classes, activities, and worship were amazing. Again, like Zenith, my favorite part was when we went to the food bank. We did the same thing, but this time we had cauliflower, which I must say is harder to chop up!

I always enjoy going to classes with our teens.


Horsing Around!


We are excited about our service project!

Lot's of people serving! So proud!


Serving alongside friends.

The Middle School Gang!