Turtle Power

This week, the kiddos and I went on a Journey Off The Map at Natalie's VBS.  It was so much fun!  The people at Nat's church have to be some of the friendliest ever.  Evan, Payton, Addi, and Karsyn loved going to services each night and I really enjoyed attending with them.  Friday night was family night.  We got to watch the kids sing, eat dinner, and race turtles. The kiddos performed the songs that they had been learning all week.  Aunt Kary, Emily, and I watched as each age group performed.  We all got a little tickled when Evan and Stephen were on stage. Our boys do not typically like dancing in front of people, but they were super good sports.  They danced and we giggled a little.   Evan saw us and busted out with a huge smile.  I love his easy going personality.  After their last lesson, we all headed to the fellowship hall for hot dogs, cookies, chips, and watermelon.  These were some happy girl cousins!

 Karsyn wore her watermelon romper to eat one of her favorite fruits.

Nattie also loves watermelon. ha ha ha! 

After we ate, we headed outside for turtle races.  A little blurry, but I always love the way that these guys stick together.

 Each child that attended VBS went and picked out a turtle from the pastor's truck.  The church is out in the country, so he had plenty of turtles.  I'm not sure how he found 55, but the kids were all happy that they had racers.  Natalie helped Karsyn pick out a small turtle.

 Evan and Stephen were both sure that they had winners. 

Each class had a group turtle.  Here's the pastor introducing the racers.

 Karsyn kept a close eye on her turtle.

The kiddos eagerly watched on as the race started.

 It was neck and neck or shall I say shell and shell.  The second grade class pulled out a win.

 Then, Addi and Karsyn's class raced.

We all cheered for Karsyn and Addi's turtles, but they were both too pokey.

Karsyn was a little afraid that a turtle might go rouge.  So, she stayed protected in the arms of her big girl cousins.  I love these blue eyed girls!

Stephen was sure his turtle was a winner.

 Here's Payton getting ready to cheer on her turtle.  Her turtle came in 3rd place.  Unfortunately, she was one place short of making the finals.

 The boys both cheered on their turtles as if they were competing in the Olympics.  There was jumping, yelling, and fists raised in the air - that was mostly Evan. ha!  However, their turtles lacked the stamina and the general working knowledge of how to race.  Both had a strong start, but then turned and started going in another direction.  =)  We might not have been able to pick winning turtles, but we did have a lot of fun!

What a great night!  Thank you so much Natalie for inviting us to VBS!