The Ferens Farm

Austin loves to crawl through tight places and tunnels, so after a morning of doing things for the other kids like art and playing games, Brandon and the kids made a huge fort tunnel in the living room and they had a blast playing in it.  We cleaned it all up last night, but first thing this morning Zac was creating a tunnel of his own.  I guess Austin isn’t the only one who loves tunnels! I have a feeling this tunnel construction might go on for a while…

As long as I can remember the importance of family has been instilled in me.  It was obvious in my family growing up that nothing came before family.  It was expected that I would choose a family event over something with friends and, for the most part (besides a few times in high school), I made this choice.  It is not just my immediate family that feels this way, the Haskins’ family as a whole places a high importance on family.  Because of this we have an annual family reunion where nearly everyone is present, nearly every year, and there are around 100 of us by now!  We spend the weekend on family property camping along the river in Rochester, WA.  My kids play with my Dad’s cousin’s kid’s kid’s!  Since I began going to this reunion around 5 years of age I have never missed it, I think this is the only thing I have done every August of my life for the last 25 years!

Every year the reunion looks a little different, depending on which family (we are broken into 3 groups based on which if the 3 brothers your family originated from) is in charge that year.  But there are a few things that are consistent: family golf on Friday; community breakfast, river float, softball, and BBQ on Saturday; community breakfast, worship service, egg toss, candy in the hay, family trivia, and community lunch on Sunday.  As you can guess when 100 get together  there is a lot of diversity and not everyone does everything, but that is okay.  We don’t have any major family arguments or tension.  We are all fairly accepting and very loving and it is fun.  I am so thankful to be part of such a “functional” family and pass on this legacy to my kids.  I LOVE my family, all parts of it, and so do the kids, it is a special blessing to be part of this kind of family here on earth.

This year’s reunion was HOT, around the mid 90′s all three days!  We spent a lot of time in the river and the shade, doing a lot of  trying to stay cool.

One “extra” thing we did this year was the kids tie-dyed shirts, here are my 4 kids sporting their shirts at home.

We made it to Seattle this weekend, it has been nearly 3.5 years since we were there last time!  The trip was motivated by a doctor’s appointment we had at Children’s Hospital for Ally.  Since she began walking we have noticed she walks with her toes pointed in (called intoeing) and since she still hasn’t grown out of it we wanted a specialist to examine her (turned out she is just fine and will continue to grow out of it!).  Since it is a big deal to take 4 kids to Seattle and get to an appointment by 10am we made a night of it.  We headed over on Sunday night and, thanks to Priceline, we stayed in a 4 star hotel in downtown Seattle, on the 17th floor, facing the water!  It was very fun, the kids LOVED watching the city out the window and looking for “stretchy buses” driving by.  When we got to Seattle, we checked into the hotel and then headed to Pike Place Market before it closed.  We met up with a good friend Anne Marie  for a walk through the market and dinner.  It was great to expose the kids to the variety and culture the market provides and even better to see Anne Marie!  Back at the hotel we took a dip in the swimming pool, which was located on the 28th floor.  It was so fun being that high up and swimming.  The kids wanted to know how they got the water all the way up there!

The next morning we headed to our appointment and then spent the rest of the day at the Seattle center playing at the Children’s Museum.  The kids were so interested in all the city had to offer.  They couldn’t believe how big it was and kept asking, are we still in Seattle? as we drove around.  It was fun to watch them as more of the world opened up.  They were interested in all the buildings and didn’t understand why the trees in the city had to be planted, as opposed to just growing where a seed fell.  We had a great time all together, hopefully it isn’t another 3.5 years until we make it back!

Austin was with us too, he is on my back in the other Ergo, out of sight of the camera.

This is a photo taken in downtown Seattle on out last trip, April 2007.

Our church does the BEST VBS you have ever witnessed, it is called Camp MooseFeather Falls (CMFF) and we were at camp every evening last week.  For the last two years Zac has attended CMFF, but Zoey has not been old enough, this year she was a camper too and having two kids attend made the anticipation just that much greater as the week approached.  Just days before camp we were talking about what camp is like and dreaming about the puppets and crafts and snacks and games when Zac informed Zoey, in a very matter of fact kind of way, “I used to call it Camp MooseFeather Falls (which is actually the name of it) but now I call it Camp MooseMeather Falls (what he thought it was called)!”  Brandon and I laughed so hard, it is a mouthful and he has just simplified it!  By the time camp began he had the right name down, but Brandon and I continued to use the Zac version.

The first night we checked Zac and Zoey into the WoodChuck Cabin and then stayed around to see what lay in store at camp this year.  It was a western theme and they were talking about fear and who to trust when you are scared.  The memory verse was Psalm 56:3-4.  The kids were encouraged to dress in Western Gear, bring a friend, and memorize the verse.  As Brandon and I stood and watched we couldn’t believe how many kids there were.  Typically there are around 100 kids that come, this year there were close to 150!  It was clear to us that more help was needed so starting the second night, and the rest of the week, Brandon and I went to camp too, as counselors in the WoodChuck Cabin.  The funny thing was, that when Zac heard we were going to help he got mad.  He told me that we could come, only if we stayed away from him and didn’t talk to him at camp.  I agreed and Brandon and I took charge of a different group of kids.  The first night we stayed away and at the end of the night Zac asked why we didn’t see how he made his art project.  When I reminded him of his request he smiled at me.  On Wednesday we got some attention from him and by Thursday he had moved into our group, so much for the “tough guy” attitude!  Zoey, on the other hand, stayed away the whole week, clinging to her leader and shooting us a smile every now and then, if we were lucky!

Ally and Austin stayed in the childcare all week while we helped.  They both did great and had fun at camp too.  Ally is still singing the camp songs, she was so thrilled to be part of it, even though she wasn’t an official camper.  I know this week was just the beginning of many more summers for the Ferens Family at Camp MooseMeather Falls!

The kids have been playing dress up a lot lately, Ally has recently gotten really into it.  Most mornings she comes out of her room, still wiping sleep from her eyes, but decked out in “clanky” shoes, a scarf, and a backpack on her back.  It is so cute to watch her little personality be expressed in this way.  I love it when all the kids get into it with her, you never know what they are going to come out of the room looking like.  Usually there is a theme with the clothes they all have on and they are pretending to be camping, or that it is winter, or that they are animal owners, or family, or the list could go on.  When they are all in harmony it is so beautiful, I just listen to what they are saying and smile.  Right now they are playing and Zac’s name is “Izaly” and they are going to California.  Zoey is in charge of the game and I think “Izaly” is some kind of animal because he is crawling and hoping around.  The broom is the horse (of course!) and Ally is following them around with her high flip flops on, the play backpack and her stuffed dog.  They are laughing and giggling and so completely enjoying each other, I am so thankful they have each other to play with and love and share life.  I know all too soon these games will be long gone, so I cherish them now and am so thankful for the times I get to record them in writing, so I can look back and smile when the hormones are raging and no imaginary games are taking place.  But until then, I will enjoy.

Even Austin gets involved sometimes!