Young at Heart Group Returns

Another one of our favorite "repeat visitors" is Flint River's Young at Heart group.  When they contacted us and wanted to know if they could come up and potluck picnic in August, we hurried to find a free date for them!

As always, the food was plentiful and smelled wonderful.  The fruit salad was particularly delicious and refreshing.  Even though the weather was nice, it was still undeniably August.

This crowd is a always loving and you can always count on plenty of hugs!

Mrs. Dot showed up wearing the latest in foot fashions ...

Mr. Carl said he thought he'd lead the group in a song or two, after lunch!

Everyone enjoyed the visit ... and we'll look forward to seeing them on their next visit!

An August Camp Wedding

We were very excited ... there's not been a wedding up at the camp since we've been the hosts, so when Janet contacted us and wanted to hold her wedding up here, we were thrilled.  

Friday afternoon folks started showing up for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  Will Faulkenberry, from Sherwood Baptist Church (and a friend) was officiating over the service.  Evidently Will's done several weddings up here in the past ... and all were related in some form or fashion to the current bride!

Tables and chairs were arranged to accommodate the bride walking down the aisle.  

Putting the picnic tables on the perimeter of the pavilion not only gave them plenty of room for regular seating on the inside, but gave them additional seating on the benches! 

After the rehearsal, Will's mom manned the grill and they enjoyed a terrific "cook out" feast.  

Saturday morning had the parents of the bride up getting things *just right* pretty early.  White tablecloths, a pretty table for the unity candle, and pillars with ferns up at the head of the pavilion all made for a pretty and rustic setting.

We even got a sneak peek at their lovely cake . . . 

By three o'clock, the pavilion was filling up with guests for the Watson/Burns wedding!  The bride made a quick appearance to check last minute details then zipped back around to the back (out of sight from the groom, who was due to arrive at any minute)!

The ceremony went off without a hitch and the entire party headed out to the playground for a full group shot.

The photographer was ingenious (not to mention a bit brave) -- she got up on top of the slide so she could see the whole group!

Once group photos were done, the party was on in the pavilion.  Putting the chairs away made an instant dance floor ... and the music, food, and cake flowed freely!

We're so happy to have been a part of Janet and Curt's happy day.  Congratulations!

Huntsville Park Children's Campout!

It was good to see Clay Martin and the Huntsville Park Children's ministry at the camp this past weekend. 

Storms rolled through on Friday afternoon, but they were pretty much gone by the time the whole crew arrived arrived early that evening.  Once the "weather" moved through it left them with a wonderful weekend with temperatures very nice for August...only in the 80's...clear skies, a nice breeze, and low humidity.  Perfect camping weather!

 

While I did not get to spend time with them on Friday evening, I did wander over and do a little mingling on Saturday morning.  Clay had been up to the camp before but he said it had been about seven years ago.  He also commented that there had been several good changes to the camp since then. 

They all stayed in the main campground area and I did manage to get a few pictures before all the tents had been taken down. 

I caught Clay doing a little teaching around the campfire in one.  By the time I realized there were two groups, the other group was returning from their study time on the deck at Serenity Pond. 

I met Pastor Milon's daughter and several other great folks.  We look forward to their return in the near future!

Does the "Ringer" Make a Difference?!

The last time Miss Sara's Sunday School class from New Market Baptist Church met up here (and they meet up here regularly, every six months or so), someone commented that they should picnic up here more frequently.  We were all for that idea and very pleased when they decided to have a fellowship up here in August.

The day was a bit rainy and grey, but that sure didn't dampen their spirits.  They laughed, ate, and played games . . . including a bit of a "challenge" game Miss Sara came up with.  It was all questions from their Sunday School lessons over the past few months!  They split into teams and were just about halfway through when a "ringer" wandered over to the pavilion to participate.  The "ringer" (and I won't mention any names here) sat in with one side for a handful of questions, then to be fair, moved to the other side for a handful of questions.  There was lots of good-natured bantering going back and forth!

I believe the next outing will be their fall "around the fireplace" potluck.  We'll be looking forward to their exceptional company!

Celebrating 100 Years

The Girl Scout motto is "Be Prepared".  And the Girls Scout troops of North-Central Alabama certainly were when they showed up to celebrate their 100 year anniversary!  And they couldn't have asked for a lovelier day, either!

The girls were broken up into several groups . . . 

Daisies,

Brownies,

Juniors, and

Cadets.

There was also an ambassador Girl Scout on hand, too, helping the leaders with the different activities.  

They worked on badges, crafts, took hikes, and sang songs.  

One of my all-time favorite Girl Scout songs was being sung as we walked up and they sang it again just for us.

I've been singing this song for almost half the number of years the Girl Scouts have been organized!

Toward the end of the day, after the girls had done some "entertaining" for the gathering parents . . .

And after dinner had been cooked, served, and eaten . . . 

It was award time.  For Daisy to Cadet to Leader the day was a success ... smiles abounded!

Yes, the tee-shirt definitely fits:

We hope to host future Girl Scout counsel-wide events.  They did a great job of enjoying the Camp and cleaning up, too!  Thanks, ladies!

Day Camp in the Dog Days of Summer

The weather was oh-so-warm on Friday, but that didn't stop the children from Grace Summer Camp (of Grace Lutheran Church) from having a good time!  

When we caught up with them early in the afternoon, they had finished having lunch at the pavilion and were spread out in the upper field, enjoying a rowdy game of kick-ball!

While most of the kids played, some of the younger children hung out in the shade.  

Along with them was the bus and its driver, Richard.  

Richard and Todd got to talking and we found out that Richard drives a tour bus and has taken trips all over the country . . . one of which lasted forty days!

The game was close and the competition was fierce.  

An in-field error allowed this kicker to bring in all four runners and tag home himself, and that won the game.  

There was a fair mixture of cheers and good-natured ribbing as the kids came back towards the bus for a much needed water break.

It was a fun group of kids and they seemed to enjoy having a safe space to roam and play.  

We hope to see them back!

Disaster Relief Training

Rob Peavy had called me a week or so ago and wanted to set up some disaster relief training at the camp on the same day we had the Dads and Lads Super Saturday.  

Since they were going to be training in a completely different part of the camp it was no problem to accommodate both groups.  Rob and his wife stopped by for a visit one afternoon and we chatted for awhile about various things.  It was good to see them. 

I opened the gate at around 6:00 a.m. for both groups.  David Cochran from Mt. Zion came up with the group to do some training. 

Now you talk about a busy man; David is definitely that man.  Since the tornadoes he has been very busy with so many ministry-related things on top of what he does normally.  

I took some pictures while he was training a group and noticed how knowledgeable and professional he was.  

Jennifer Johnson, who I had met earlier in the week was there and busy doing many things.  It is my understanding that Jennifer was totally involved in the ministry to Pearlington, MS, and made quite a difference down there.  

I went around to several of the different stations and it appeared everything went smoothly. 

I believe Jennifer told me there were 46 signed up for training. 

This is not the first time we have had disaster relief teams up at the camp, we love to see them coming.  Not only do they get a great atmosphere for training, but the camp gets the benefit of having dead/dying trees safely cut down!