Family Retreat

We had a wonderful weekend at the Highland Family Retreat. Kaitlyn remembered it right away when we got there - she was so excited. We got there Friday night and found that we were staying in a cabin with lots of people that we did not know. One family of four and another mom with 3 kids and a babysitter. Random! Kind of strange all sharing one bathroom... but it all worked out!

Friday night we unpacked and headed down to the "main room" to meet up with everyone and play some games. Kaitlyn had so much fun with "her best friend Jerry." Jerry is about my dad's age and Kaitlyn pretty much hung out with him all weekend. So cute.

Saturday morning we woke up to rain and it continuted to mist throughout the morning. But don't worry - that didn't stop anyone from playing outside! James and Kaitlyn took a little late morning nap while I went on a hike with some of the Sophomore girls, their huddle leaders, and some other friends. Listening to conversations from 15-16 year old girls is hilarious. They were awesome, and it was a really pretty hike. Here's a few pics from the top:

By the afternoon, it had warmed up enough for all the kids to go swimming in the river. The Frio river - it was pretty chilly, but the kids loved it. Next spring I will remember to bring Kaitlyn's swimsuit, but this year she just swam in her clothes and absolutely loved it. She made fast friends with a sweet girl named Hannah.

We did lots of looking at fish, playing sand volleyball (I broke so many blood vessels in my arm, it's pretty nasty), walking on big rocks - Kaitlyn's favorite, and swinging on a huge tree swing that Calvin set up for all the kids. He is the one swinging with Kaitlyn.


I think it is safe to say, that Kaitlyn is not shy. She is more social than anybody I know. She walked up to people that she has never met and sat on their laps and just started talking to them. During the talent show there were a couple of young girls dancing to some song and Kaitlyn just runs down there and starts dancing with them. Hilarious. She did not get her moves from her mommy that's for sure!

So many people told us how fun, wonderful, cute, funny she is. To most of these people, I responded with a "Thanks - you may rethink that if you lived with her all the time! She wears us out!" But, I was so proud of her and so thankful that she brought joy to so many people while we were there. She made lots of people smile - like she does for us all of the time. At one point during the weekend, James just said, "We are so blessed." There were so many people there that we got to know a little bit better.

So, to all of them - thanks for making us feel welcome, for teaching and leading us, and for showing love to Kaitlyn.

Here's a few more pictures: