Kaylin & T.J.'s First Trip to Disneyland!

To celebrate Kaylin's 3rd birthday (a bit early), we went to Disneyland yesterday! We also got to see some of the other theme park, California Adventure. We were very blessed with an opportunity to get in to both parks free through a friend's connection with a Disney employee. (Thanks very much to those people who helped get us in!)

The Olsons at Disneyland! Kaylin enjoyed the day even though this picture of her doesn't seem to indicate that. =)
Disneyland is celebrating it's 50th anniversary.

Aunt Bev, Justin, DeeDee & Danny, Dylan,

Amy & Trevor, Kaylin, & Derek (Steve N. & Ryan joined us later)

Kaylin enjoyed a couple of rides but was not sure what to think of a couple others. However, her favorite part of the day was getting to meet two Disney characters! One of the characters she met was Ariel the mermaid whose likeness is on Kaylin's new purse. She was very excited, saying to Mommy while in line, "How lucky that Ariel is here AND on my purse!"

Kaylin with Ariel (from The Little Mermaid)

Kaylin with Jasmine (from Aladdin)

When it came time for the parade, Kaylin was excited to see some of those Disney princesses again! She enjoyed the first few minutes, especially when a couple of Disney characters made eye contact, waved and blew kissed RIGHT at Kaylin! However, as the parade progressed, sightings of the wolf from Pinochio and the Ariel's enemy, the sea witch named Ursula, were not so fun for Kaylin. She asked me to put her down so she could stand behind Amy and I, peering around our legs. Amy suggested to Kaylin that she cover her eyes... but Kaylin's actions indicated "I don't want to watch... but maybe I do."

Kaylin semi-watching the Disney Parade

Southern Cal Trip

What I failed to explain to explain in my last post was that we are currently in SoCal for a nearly week-long trip to visit family and get some vacation/family time. We drove down last Friday and we are staying with Amy's sister Lisa and her family... thanks Scott family!

Saturday - We attended a wedding... scroll down and read the previous post.

Sunday - We went to church at West Cypress Church where Amy's former youth pastor, Steve Baeder, is the lead pastor. Then, we had a family birthday party to celebrate several recent or upcoming birthdays. It was a fun evening and a great photo opportunity since all TEN Massey grandchildren were present! One birthday being celebrated was the upcoming 3rd birthday of Kaylin Grace Olson! She received many nice gifts including dress-up clothes from Grammy & Grampa.

Jenna, Garrett holding Luke, Dylan, Clara, Laura,

Josh holding Danny, Kaylin holding T.J. (L-R)

Kaylin all dressed up!

Monday - All of us "kids" (Amy's siblings and spouses) suprised Amy's parents for their 30th anniversary with a nice dinner at Ti Amo Ristorante in Laguna Beach. You can read Mom & Dad's account of the evening here.

Mindy, Jill, Steve M., Lisa (Mike had to work), DeeDee, Amy.

Derek, Steve N., Mom, Dad, Jason (L-R)

Tuesday - We visited with Amy's Aunt Judy, our friends Brent & Lynelle and their boys, and with Steve, Jill and Luke.

Wednesday - Disneyland here we come... check back soon!

Beautiful Day... Beautiful Wedding!

Today we had the privilege of attending Peter & Paola's wedding! It was a good time... Some typical Peter "Chupesmyth" Gothold humor and enthusiasm during the ceremony and a reception at a spectacular ocean-front home in Rancho Palos Verdes. For those that don't know, Peter is my best friend Chris' younger brother. Plus, I was blessed to get to know Peter when he served at Frontier Ranch in the summer of '05. We're excited for this great couple as they begin the adventure of marriage! While hanging out at the wedding and reception we got to visit with several people. Chris served as Best Man so we got to hang out with he and Kirsten (see picture). Anna "Trapt" Swanson, Heather "Samsonite" Hjelmvervik, and Matt "Grey Poupon" Brady were also there.

Kirsten, Chris, Derek & Amy (L-R)

Big Boy!

Trevor will be 4 months old in a week. He's holding his head up really well these days and he's quite the drooler (see pic). He's also quite the giggler, especially when Mommy tickles him on the tummy. What a big boy!

Speaking of Big Boy and in case you've somehow missed it, here's a favorite commercial of ours.

Citibank Commercial

End-O-Summer Celebration

To celebrate the end of summer, we decided to get away from our house and get some good family time!

We traveled just "over the hill" to San Jose where we first stopped for a brief visit with Jaron, Jenni and Avery. Avery seemed to really enjoy watching Kaylin's every move in order to do the same things as her older cousin...

Then, the four of us went over and checked-in to the 4-star Double Tree hotel (also in San Jose). Amy got a spectacular last minute deal on Priceline! We enjoyed a dip in the hotel pool and then dinner at one of Derek's favorite places to eat, Chevy's.

On Monday we went over to Raging Waters for a day of waterpark fun! Kaylin wasn't much for the waterslides but she sure liked walking up and down the waterfall stairs...

Amy pulled a rope and got doused...

Trevor seemed to enjoy his water-free day at Raging Waters...

We got such a great deal on late-season tickets to the waterpark that we decided to ask Clara, one of our regular babysitters, to come and join us for the day. It was super helpful to have her there with us for the day... she got a free day at the waterpark and we got some help with the little ones! That way Amy and I were able to enjoy some serious waterslidin' together. :)

Summer Camp Season is Over! 2 sighs!

My mom called a couple days ago 'cuz she wondered if the huge sigh that she heard all the way in Colorado was me. I told her that it definitely was me! There were two reasons for my sigh though...

Sigh #1 - A "that's a bummer" sigh because the summer camp season is my favorite part of the camp ministry calendar.

Sigh #2 - Yes, a sigh of relief... because the summer camp season is also the most grueling part of my year.

I had a great staff and it was a great summer! And most importantly, God worked in amazing ways in the lives of both staff and campers... as He always does!

Me and some FR staff workin' hard during the last week of camp...


Mom and kids during the last "Beach Day."
The last week of camp was approx. 200 jr. highers and we take them all down to the beach!


That's me inmy "gulchie" costume. It's a long story... =)


Summer staffers LumberJill, Snowflake, Quito and Figure8 (L-R) and
honorary summer staffer Kaylin "Nugget" Olson on stage leading the singing of a camp song.


Even Trevor "Simba" Olson made his stage debut last week!

Whoa!

I (Derek) was getting Kaylin ready for bed tonight and I took the rubber band out of her hair and noticed that it was a bit more out of control than normal. So I couldn't help but contine to pull it out with my fingers. Then, Kaylin started shaking her head while looking at herself in the mirror and was amused at her hair flowing all about! Then, I took things a bit further by getting out a comb to complete the "fro" process and voila... the picture above! Hope you enjoy it as much as she and I did!

More Fun at the Boardwalk!

We're excited to have Mindy, Jason, Clara and Laura here to visit for a few days! Last night we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk... our third trip this summer! The girls had fun going on a few rides (see pictures below). Then later, it was the the dads' turn for some fun... they climbed aboard "Double Shot," Santa Cruz's tallest structure!

Frontier Ranch Staff Banquet

Summer is winding down at Frontier Ranch... the last week of camp ends on August 19th. So the 2006 Frontier Ranch staff took some time this past Saturday night to celebrate their summer of ministry together. In the midst of camp, it's an excuse to get dressed up, have a nice dinner together, take lots of pictures and reflect on what God's been doing. Also, each staff member is given a personalized staff award that highlights their funny attributes and spiritual giftedness.

The Olson family just before the banquet

The picture above is of the group of staff that I work most closely with during the summer. This group assists me in providing leadership to various areas of the camp. The two year-round Interns served as Assistant Director and Staff Coordinator this summer. The rest of the group are summer staffers. My best friend Chris "Chops" Gothold (far right) was here again this summer in a staff pastor and worship leader role. The Servant Team also includes Team Counselors (counselors for the rest of the summer staff), LIT Coordinators (who direct our high school volunteers), and the Program Team (who oversee programming, skits, and other camper activities).

The 2006 FR "Servant Team"

Story Time

Kaylin has continued her efforts to win the "Big Sister of the Year" award lately by helping to entertain T.J. by "reading" to him. She shows him the pictures in her books and does a lot of "reading" (talking) while doing so. Although this picture doesn't totally capture it, T.J. watching and listening to his big sis.