Summer Time Means Tractor Rides

I have a picture of me when I was about this age riding my PaPa's tractor with him. Big Ben hasn't minded spending some of his summer time on the tractor with his Grandaddy. Not one bit.

Fun at the Lake Part I

One of our highlights this summer is visiting and enjoying a lake house. My parents bought some land near a lake in Tennessee, and my brother whipped them up a beautiful house on it. When I say "whipped up," I mean it. He's so talented. It's beautiful, and he built it in a couple of months.

It's on a steep incline, making a great place for a swing.

It's a great place to spend time with cousins. Thanks, Grandma and Grandaddy, for sharing it with us. Thanks, Uncle Tim, for building it! I'll post some pictures of the house later.

Swim Lessons!

As soon as we got up to Nashville, we started swim lessons. PB was NOT happy the first day. She cried, she begged, but I did what every mother does when her baby is taking swim lessons. I smiled, said, "I know you can do it." then hid behind the building until she stopped crying!

And by the end of the first lesson, she was all smiles and calling out self-glorifying comments like, "Did you see me Mama?! I am weally good!" And by the end of her 7th lesson, she was jumping off the diving board and swimming the length of the pool (with a helper in the center).

She's the one in the stretched-out, lgreenish-yellow, 4th-daughter-to-wear-it swimsuit. It appears in this picture she had a quite a few scrambled eggs for breakfast prior to her lesson.

The backstroke seemed to be her favorite. As we watched, she backstroked all the way to the other side, then her instructor put her hands under her to guide her to the pool's edge. PB just kept backstroking, eyes closed, big ol' smile on her face, not even realizing she wasn't moving anymore!

Good job! I think she's earned herself a new swimsuit! What do you think?

A Shocking Surprise!

Firstborn has been asking to have her ears pierced for quite some time. She always gets an answer from Campbell Clansman, something like, "Maybe when you turn 25." In the back of our minds, though, we had decided a good age to have it done would be when I had it done...around 12 years old. CC and I decided that, after all our stalling and teasing about waiting til she is nearly 30, we'd just suddenly take her one day and get it done as a surprise.

So, last week as we waited in a WalMart Service line, I slipped over to the jewelry counter and inquired about the process. I came back and spoke Turkish to CC (with words Firstborn does not know), and we made a plan. We used to spell things out, but she learned to spell in 1st grade and it doesn't work anymore! (Anyone else ever do that?)

As long as I have a memory, I will never forget the look on her face when CC told her, "Let's get your ears pierced." She flushed, she gushed. It was precious. Oh, I love a kid that appreciates things!! Then she slightly panicked, and said, "Like (her favorite word) TODAY? Now?!"

She quickly chose the earrings she wanted and sat down. I then signed a consent form, thinking how disturbing it is that in many states a daughter can get an abortion without consent, but not an ear piercing. Then as non-chalantly as possible, a man marked my baby's earlobes and shot holes in her ears. She didn't wince.

We took lots of WalMart pictures. It's not every day your Firstborn gets her ears pierced. We love you, our precious tween!

Meeting Up With Friends

We had a delightful surprise. One of Campbell Clansman's groomsmen was going to be near Nashville and asked if we could meet for a meal. We took our two Turks and left the Singapore girls at home (looking like a normal family for a change). We had SUCH a nice meal together, and our kids had a great time playing together. Perma-Baby was arranging a future playdate with her friend before we even walked out the door. I thought this picture was so adorably cute. My Turks are sort of "framing" them. Look at Big Ben! He looks like he is her assigned groomsman at a wedding rehearsal! Thanks, friends, for spending time with us!

Recovery Mode

And so our fun week in Memphis came to an end. We are looking forward to getting back down there before we leave the good ol' USA.We had hardly been in the car a few minutes when I turned to see this.....

... and this!

Apparently, there was just one little Campbell Clanskid that had gotten plenty of sleep that week!

Perma Baby's Birthday Bash #1

Perma Baby turns 5 this summer (should she get a new nickname now?). She tells everyone she has 2 birthdays. That's because she always gets two parties! Her first party was last week at her Mimi and Grandad Campbell's house. (Should I call them the GrandCampbellClansmen?)

Mimi got her a beautiful cake and we had 5 pizzas.

Happy birthday, sweet baby!