Brett and Emma

There are two kids in my life that I dearly love. Brett and Emma. How did I meet them? Let me take you back four summer ago when Brett was a little 6 year old about to go into first grade and Emma was only 3. That summer of '02 I helped out at Kruz Kidz (the day camp program at my church) with Nature Camp. It was a fun week of taking kids hiking, swimming, Monterey Bay Aquarium, to the beach, etc. Brett and I bonded that week. He was one of the youngest ones in Nature Camp (it was for 1st-6th graders)

Now I was 24 almost 25 at that time and so I was pretty much OVER baby-sitting. Whenever moms or dads asked me, I always politely turned them down. I'm DONE, people. So on the last day of camp, Brett's mom had come up to me and here was our convo:

Her: "Brett has enjoyed spending time with you this week. You have a real gift with children."
Me: (awhhhhh, she's so sweet....) "Oh, thank you! I've loved hanging out with Brett this week. He's so great."
Her: (looking a bit uncomfortable) "Um...I've never done this before but....er....I was just wondering....do you baby-sit?"
Me: Well, actually n..."
Her: "We pay 15 dollars an hour."
Me: "N...YES! I TOTALLY baby-sit!!!"

And that's how it began. They were the only family I made an exception for. What began as a nice way to make some extra spending money turned into a genuine love for these kids and their parents. For two years I was with them at least once a week. Sadly, the last two years I have been lots busier so I don't get to see them that often. But oh man! We've had good times. And I have been blessed to see them grow up. Brett just finished fourth grade and Emma who was SO tiny when I first started watching them is now 7 and sprouting like a tree. She's gotten so tall. And her hair is long and she wears glasses. She looks so much older. Oh my gosh, I sound like a mom.

ANYWAY

It had been a long time since Brett, Emma, and I had hung out. So today we planned a day o' fun. We had a blast! We went hiking at Bear Mountain (and chased the Roaring Camp train) and then went creekwalking in Zayante Creek. We went up to Pondy to play pool and then ended our day with a visit to the Bird Sanctuary nearby where you can set out food and watch birds, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. up close. Basically you get to watch the birds dive-bomb each other for the food. It's awesome.

My 2 favorite quotes of the day:

1) --we were in my car driving to Bear Mountain and I was laughing at something they had said--

Emma: "Sarah, I love your laugh. It's so full of joy."

(She's SEVEN! What 7 year old says something like that?! It was so cute! She made my day.)

2) --we were creekwalking and the water was getting quite high - the kids had their swimsuits on under their clothes, so Emma had chosen to take off her shirt and shorts so they wouldn't get wet and just had her swimsuit on--

Brett: "Man! I'm getting all wet!"
Me: "But Brett, you're wearing your swim trunks. You're fine."
Brett: "I know, but my shirt's gettin' all wet."
Emma: (in her cute tiny voice) "You could take your shirt off and show your boobs."
Brett: (in a matter-of-fact tone) "Guys don't have boobs. Just nipples."

(If that's too inappropriate to share, I apologize, but I wanted to DIE laughing!)

I love these kids.