Gun Slingers

You know how EVERY family has its

"THING"

that they "do" and that others "know" them by?

I think if you have learned

ANYTHING

about our family from reading our blog...

you can probably figure out

that our family has several "things" we do!

During winter months...

we love to go shooting together as a family.

During spring months...

we love to go fishing together.

During summer months...

we love to go boating together.

During fall months...

we access the temperature at any given moment and then decide to do one of the above!

So when my sister and her family came into town during winter break it was NO surprise that we choose to do our

family "thing" with them.

With Ron unable to shoot and Christopher working...
our BEST shooter of the day was
this girl...
RACHEL!

She even had the boys dumbfounded with how good she was!
No need for a second shooter
with this girl around...
just more proof that we really are a family that
has learned to SHOOT

and that it truly is our FAMILY "thing!"

A little friendly Jarvis competition

We enjoyed so many gorgeous temperatures during the month of 

DECEMBER

that we couldn't wait to get outside

and soak up the SUN

and to enjoy a little friendly Jarvis competition.

(Jarvis is my maiden name.)

Let's just say it is in our BLOOD to enjoy a little "friendly" game

of just about any sport or board game out there!

Including:

 Katie and Aunt Donna playing volleyball.

 Everyone playing baseball.

I'm sure we could even find a little competition with the sand sculptures that were made!

On New Year's EVE we played a mean game of 

KICKBALL

and half the neighborhood came out to join in the fun.

 And if that wasn't enough we headed to the church

for an even MEANER game of

DODGEBALL.

And when I mean MEAN...

I'm talking in the literal sense!

This was a serious game of Dodgeball!

With Ron's arm still in the cast I had him play

BODYGUARD

to these two cuties!

 But the real competition began when these two

GIRLS

showed us some of there dance moves:

 No one else stood a chance!

I love Sarah's face in this one!!

We enjoyed EVEN more competition with a night out

BOWLING--at Flipside!

 Where we enlisted our "long lost" Jarvis cousins to

join in the competition!

After the joy of spending so much time with family...

and reminding myself

why I love where I come from...

I couldn't help be thankful for those that have gone before me,

to pave the way for that

JARVIS

competitive streak

that after this last week I found out

was still ALIVE and WELL in all of us!

Too busy for LIFE

Have you ever felt too busy for

LIFE?

Well I'm feeling that way ever since my kids went back to school.

Some nights we have three, four, five activities...

and I'm still wondering how to accomplish them all and be in three places at once.

I know I'm not alone.

It means making sacrifices.

Like my ZUMBA classes, blog time, study time and QUIET time.

I wouldn't have it any other way...

so I'm trying to be patient when I don't get to blog as much as I want, or Zumba as much as I want, or have the 

QUIET time I need.

I am much later in getting these pictures posted from our

FAMILY CAMPING TRIP

and since this blog is also turning into my own personal 

FAMILY HISTORY

I don't want to not share them.

So here I go:

Thank goodness the boys decided to cover our kitchen with tarps...

it saved us the second day

when it rained off and on.

 The kids LOVED being outside and the freedom to 

get dirty and wet.

Love Chelsea's face in this one!

 What a teenage boy likes to do!

 What a Redneck likes to do!

 I love how ALL the boys in the family look up to Cameron and allow him to teach them!

 Thank you kids for brushing your teeth!

 I love these pictures of Katie...

for those who know her as shy and quiet,

this proves otherwise!

This is how our family knows her!

Silly and fun!

 Always the cheerleader!

Time for fishin!

This cartoon is perfect for this fishing experience:

 But sometimes the best part of camping...

is doing the

UNPLANNED things

like sitting around the campfire talking,

 spending time learning and growing together,

 receiving hugs from the grandkids,

 playing horses PATUT while it rains,

  teaching the kids how to play

BOCCE BALL,

and spending time in the beautiful country

GOD

so lovingly created for all of us!

 

I especially love how we are already planning our next one!