Family Retreat at Mount Hermon

Note: this post should have been right after our Kansas trip, before the aquarium. I didn't realize it hadn't posted until now. Don't think my new app is working right. :/

If you have been wondering why you haven't heard from us in a while, it is because we have been soooo busy! After our trip to Kansas, Steven came back for a couple days, then we got ready to leave again for the Beale AFB Chapel Protestant Family Retreat at Mount Hermon. We got our suitcases out a week after we put them away. So the very next Sunday, we left for Mount Hermon, which is about 3.5-5 hours away depending on traffic. It was such a good time with our chapel family. We really enjoyed getting to know everyone better, and have other people cook and clean for us. :) Mount Hermon is up in the redwoods by Santa Cruz. They have been doing this camping thing for 109 years...they have it down, and are usually doing several camps at a time. They have zip lines, ropes course, train rides to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and this year they offered sailing. There are worship times in the morning and evening, and an option for specific classes on things like marriage and parenting. The childcare is great, more like day camp, and the kids loved it. It was good...but man do they keep you busy! Emma and I took naps most afternoons, and quite frankly still should have done less..but it was really nice to connect with everyone and just get to enjoy one another. 

We ended up with one of their newly renovated rooms! 

Emma had a trundle bed.

She thought it was so cool!

I took a picture of someone else's paper to remember it, but you can see the classes they had. 

We got ice cream one day for a snack. Mine was called heaven..it had peanut butter and brownies in it. 

Chaplain Tangen was having fun being silly with Emma on the train ride. 

They were making fun of us for missing daddy. 😂 

The ocean! I wish we could have stayed longer.

We couldn't stay at the boardwalk for long, we desperately needed a nap, but I let her play one game.

Sorry this is sideways, but Ms Holly came by and played some Guess Who with Emma. 

We had lots of fun just hanging out. Holly did Emma's hair. Emma dressed up her bear.

Landon and Emma headed to pajama night.

They had free babysitting during the afternoons so parents could have kid free time. We picked Landon and Oliver up so Stefan and Brittney could finish the zip line. These two were really glad they had a friend there. 

Oliver even had fun with us. I may have let them jump onto the trundle bed. 

On the last night the kids all got up and sang songs for us. Kid is not afraid of the stage. 

I will try to post more tomorrow of other people's photos, but this is enough for tonight!