Lance and I are down visiting my grandparents near Corpus Christi. My siblings and I were all introduced to the beach here, and yesterday I had the priviledge of introducing my own son to the ocean…

He was thrilled to be there.

Once he woke up, we put on his little swim trunks, and carried him down to the water. I dipped his feet in and let the waves wash against his little body, jumping him up whenever they were too big. Once a big one hit me and splashed higher than I anticipated and got his face. Tasting the salt water, Lance dropped his stoic expression for a surprised one and smacked his lips several times trying to figure out this new sensation.

My little spartan finally got cold so I wrapped him up in a big towel and left him to play with aunt Lori while I hit the waves with my brothers.

After dinner, we carried out our tradition of making a sand sculpture – this year’s inspiration coming from having Lance with us. We built a dragon for “Sir Lance, Sleepalot” to slay.

Achieving victory, Sir Lance was carried home on his silver horse (our car) to wash the sand off and go to sleep, ready for the next days adventures!

I know this is a little late for a Father’s day post, but since I’m not omniscient it’s hard for me to write about something until it’s over.

We planned a “date night” at the park where I grilled steak and we played Bocce ball (I beat Brian even though it was Father’s day) Lance celebrated by taking a nap on his blanket in the grass.

Brian has been an amazing dad. He really delights in his son and loves playing with him and teaching him to say “Daddy”. He takes his role seriously, having us read training books together and pitching in to change the yucky diapers. Everything is worth the reward of Lance’s smile.

I see Christ in Brian every day. He serves others, he is honest, he is loving and gentle, he is courageuos and stands for what is right. He listens with his heart, he maintains communication, he frequently praises my efforts and speaks well of his wife and son to others. He is persistant and makes sure what he does is done well. I’m proud of him and hope that Lance grows up to be just like his daddy.

This week I’ve been working the VBS at our church. I’m a station leader in the 4&5 year old room.

The first day I led an activity with fish and water (fun!) The fish had the daily verse written on them and the kids had to use straws to blow them in order. That took all of five minutes so the rest of the time I held fish races!

One problem I didn’t think of: With all that blowing, spit was bound to drip down the straws…and straws are also good for getting a little drink out of the pan….GROSS! I finally struck on a good idea by telling the kids that they were poison fish (so they wouldn’t touch them) and that poison fish made poison water (which also means you shouldn’t suck up water and spray your neighbor). Fortunately kids have enough imagination to avoid poison water!

Today I brought nature items to dye cloth – sunflower petals, grass and strawberries – which the kids arranged and then squished with a rolling pin. This was a big hit with the guys – messy!

This little girl has precious moments eyes…and this guy missed his mommy so he ended up “helping” me prepare the crafts instead of going to activities which kept his mind off of home. We had a great time playing tic-tac-toe too.

Of course, despite our preparations and efforts, the favorite attraction was the sandbox. One little girl, when asked by her mother what she learned that day, replied “sand!”