gone fishin'

today, hayden's grandma and grandpa skiver picked him up to take him and his cousin malcolm fishing at a friends house in brighton. we made talan stay behind because we figured it would be best for everyone involved if he stayed at home. even though talan is only a day older than malcolm, they are completely different. talan would be off and running in no time and he'd end up either in the water or in howell somewhere.
this was the first time hayden ever went fishing and we hear that he LOVED it. he apparently caught more than 27 fish (after 27, they stopped counting) and i'm sure he would have stayed even longer to catch more if he could have!

springhill day camp

i have known about springhill camp for a long time now, and when we were going to oakpointe church i had heard them announcing the springhill day camp. hayden was too young at the time, but then this year i saw that they were bringing the day camp to northridge so i signed him up.
the day camp is put on by spring hill and they travel to a bunch of different churches throughout the summer. the kids then go to the church every day for a week all day for day camp, springhill style. they bring a climbing wall, big water slides, bungee jumping apparatuses and all sorts of other cool things.
each day the kids heard bible stories, saw plays put on by the camp counselors and did different activities. hayden had a GREAT time and already is talking about when he goes back next year! he loved his counselor, melissa, and even made her a little book before their last day, today.
today was their big celebration where we were able to go to their classroom, hear some of the songs they learned, see a slide show filled with pictures from the whole week and be there for their award presentation. the counselor gave an award to each kid that said something about them. hayden received the "encourager" award because he was always encouraging the other kids. one day, a girl in his group was scared to do one of the activities and apparently hayden was there telling her "it's ok! you can do it!" and then when she did it, he yelled to the rest of his class "look, everyone! she did it! great job!"
that is very much hayden. he has such a sweet heart and he does love to encourage others. it's so great to see that he does it outside of our family and when he's on his own!
mom is in grand rapids staying with jenn who is on bedrest, so she couldn't make it to the celebration. dave was at work, so he couldn't come either. but dad came to partake in the fun with me and the kids.
i'm so happy that i signed hayden up and i know he'll be back again next year!

hayden with his group:
hayden after getting his encourager award. he looks thrilled, no?!:
hayden's group teaching us one of their camp songs:
hayden coming into the big group celebration:
hayden and his counselor, melissa: