Camp Eagle 2025

This year, our church youth went to Camp Eagle, a Christian adventure camp in Rocksprings, Texas which is about 65 miles west of Kerrville. Due to Shane being scheduled for knee surgery on Monday, he did not make the trip this year. 

Fortunately, our youth leaders sent pictures throughout the week so we could see what the fun our kiddos were having. 

We absolutely cracked up when we saw these pictures of Camden with a mask over his eyes. Apparently they ran out of blindfolds, so Melissa (who is an RN), utilized what she had to make Camden a blindfold.

Casen spent a bit of time in the clinic during his stay at camp. On Friday, he had a battle with a rock - fortunately he won! :) They did a lot of flushing and cleaning of his wound the first time and he went back a second time to get it redressed. 

A porcupine!

The whole group!

While they were tired upon their return home, the boys had a great time! 

Father's Day Weekend

Casen's final tournament of the season fell on Father's Day weekend. Shane's parents came to visit and I am ashamed to say I did not take one picture of them with the boys while they were here! Casen pitched yesterday and did great!!! While his team played well on Saturday and won both of their games, today did not have the same outcome. 

Father's Day 2025

First of Many Adult Life Lessons

Camden has been looking forward to today because it was his first ever payday!! The following text chain had me chuckling. It doesn't take long to learn just how wonderful adulting can be!

Casen wanted to see his brother in action (or perhaps just harass him), and since you have to be 14 to visit the neighborhood pool without an adult, I had to chaperone him. It was a nice evening watching my working boy!

Casen participated in the Tomball Memorial Baseball camp the latter part of last week and early this week (due to rain). He had a good time  and earned a few awards!

Hello, Teen Life!

I can hardly believe it, but here we are celebrating yet another birthday. Casen has now entered a new era - the teenage years!! He spends a lot of time playing sports, hanging out with his friends, and annoying Camden. :) He is witty and keeps us laughing with his jokes and comebacks. He loves to go shopping with me to Costco and Sam's - and while I like to think it is because he enjoys spending time with me, I know it really is for all the food samples. We are proud of him and are looking forward to what the next year has in store for him.

Last night as a 12 year old.

Casen has been asking all morning to open his gifts, however he had to wait until his brother got home from work.

Casen very seldom asks for specific gifts - he prefers surprises. Casen loves making a statement, so I decided to buy him some shorts from Baseball 101. When I was deciding which ones to buy, I noticed they had mystery shorts. I thought that would be perfect - a surprise for everyone! They didn't make it in time, so I instead made a card for him. He thought it was so funny that he was getting 'mystery shorts'. I love when I can get a good laugh out of him.

One thing he did ask for -
Xbox Game Pass.

He loves going through
baseball cards.

Lisa knows he loves snacks - so
sent him a snack box. A big hit!!!

When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he requested a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with Kit Kats on the outside and mint oreos on top. 

Love the pose!

13!!!!!

When I told Shane and Camden it was time to sing happy birthday, I was the only one who started singing. Casen quickly whipped out his phone, turned on the flashlight and starting waving it in the air. I have no doubt it was because of my amazing singing! LOL

My first picture with the 13 year old!

Camden's First Job

Camden likes 'things', and, as we all know, 'things' cost money. And because Camden knows that I will not purchase all the 'things' he decides he wants on a whim, he has been looking forward to having a job for several years to have his own money. For the past year, he has been picking up poop once a week for our next door neighbor, however he has been ready to earn more money. We found that one of the few jobs that employs 15 year olds and has an accommodating schedule is lifeguarding. So, at the beginning of May he applied to be a lifeguard and was hired. Woohoo!! The last week of May he spent volunteering for a school soccer camp in the morning and then spent his evenings (for 3 or 4 hours) becoming a trained lifeguard. Poor guy thought his first week out of school he would be able catch up on some rest!

Sleeping on our way to lifeguard training.

Today was his very first shift. Since I would be at work, Shane and Camden received explicit instructions to take pictures for me - as this was a noteworthy moment. Camden asked if he could just take a picture before he left home, to which I agreed. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a text that also included a picture of him walking up to the pool.

I have reminded him that adulting is not all it is cracked up to be. And, while it is always nice to have some extra money, he still needs to take time to enjoy being a teenager. :)

Brace Face II

After school today, Casen and several other friends went to his friend Evan's house for an end of the year swim party. He had a great time swimming and eating. We cut his festivities a little short in order to go to his first orthodontist appointment. He still has one baby tooth to loose, however he (and I) are ready to get his orthodontic journey started. After learning from Camden, Casen knew that there was a high probability that he would come home with braces.

Sure enough, after having a consultation with Dr. Johnson, it looks like Casen will need to wear braces for two years. They offered to put his top braces on today, so we gladly agreed. He received his top braces and will receive the bottom in ~6 weeks.

Brace face!