Move over Animal House

There's a new kid in town. Last night was our ministry's kick off cook out on campus and the weather was fine! Turner had his first drink at a college party, and thankfully all that was on tap was Country Time lemonade. We're hoping he'll keep it that way for the next 30 years or so!

Steve was the grill master and I was super mom running around trying to keep the kids from eating rocks, licking ashtrays and running into parking lots. Nothing says college cool like two 1 yr. olds and a 3 year old. So much for my days of trying to "blend in."

I like a lot of things about our job, but for sure at the top of the list would be all of the great role models of young adults my kids are exposed to (not to mention the multitudes of reliable babysitting options we have at our disposal.)

This is Anne and she is a senior on the softball team. She babysits for us regularly. And my kids really dig her.

One thing that was fun to watch last night was the personality of each kid come alive. Turner, the introvert and self- entertainer was happy as a clam digging in the rocks and splashing in the lemonade puddle that formed under the Igloo thermos (hey, its not a cookout without one of those!) The kid looked like pig pen by the time we had to leave.

Olivia enjoyed mingling and working the crowd. She mostly talked about starting pre-school next week. I'm not even sure what she talked about the rest of the time because she didn't concern herself with me since her fans abounded. I only know of the pre-school talk because one of the students reported it to Steve. It got a good chuckle out of the student.

As for Quinn (who is rarely pictured here, due to the fact that most of the evening he was elbow deep in a chip bag) he was a HUGE hit. His clowning around and general good natured antics stole hearts and the show. Cousin Nick (who is actually Steve's cousin from Michigan and is a Sophomore this year) stopped by the picnic and although I missed some great photo ops with he and the kids, he was a huge help in getting the kids fed and out of trouble. Thanks, Nick.

All in all, having kids at a college function is a bit of a pain in the rear, but it is really good for ministry. Even the "coolest" college guy gets all warm and goofy around kids. I plan on "using" them a lot this year :) Oh, and PS while it doesn't look like attendance was all that hot last night, there were probably a good 60-70 students who at least rolled through for a free hamburger. We'll take it!