Been a little busy.

Andrew left. Mom and Dad came bringing Abby + 4. Mom and Dad left again. 6 kids. 2 moms. I am running a tight ship around these parts, and there are some cute kids having a lot of cousin fun.












Gavin is loving holding baby Maggie, and he puts her to sleep he is so calm and gentle!


Audrey


Hannah


Isaac is here, too, but wasn't mugging for the camera today. I will catch him soon. Tomorrow I take 5 kids to church by myself. If you hear from me again you will know I have survived the experience.

Introducing...

...Maggie Elizabeth Anne. My newest niece.

Daddy date.

Before Andrew leaves he likes to plan something special to do with the boys. Today he is taking them together on a surprise date to see Cars 2. They are going to be so excited. I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home. They even got Daddy haircuts today.









Nice face, Andrew! Just so everyone knows...I am having trouble getting good shots of the boys these days. Every time the camera come out, so do the tongues. Sigh. Love these guys!

A little bit of color

I have had limited gardening success so far this year. Half of my gardens are overgrown with weeds . The other half have been in continuous bloom since the first crocuses and daffodils. A landscaper is coming to my rescue soon to dig out the last of the garden rock and bring me a huge load od mulch! Yay!!!! Here are a few close ups of the pretty parts.

Fourth of July

Soccer

Seth and Gavin both got to experience playing on a soccer team this spring. They loved it!






Seth was a great defender, and Gavin was great at offensive play and scoring. It was fun to see them enjoy playing so much and to see Seth grow in confidence. He even scored twice in their last game. We have enjoyed kicking the ball around with them as a family, too. Here is one of my favorite pictures...Seth was melting after his game, so Daddy sent him over to sit in the shade of the tree to cool off. :o)!

4th of July Weekend

We got to go camping this weekend. I biked most of the way to the campground before dark overtook me. We were joined by our friends, and we love camping with them! I took my camera, but was too busy trying to squeeze in bike rides and not miss out on anything. It was HOT the first day (97 - 106 on my bike computer) and I was staving off heat exhaustion the whole four hours I was out there going into the wind, doing hills. Total miles was only 25 for the whole time.

Friday after my ride we spent the rest of the day at a water park. Everyone had a blast. Saturday morning I woke up early and the temp was in the 80's. 26 miles of hills in 2 hours. We went to a safari and got to see elk, buffalo, and other great animals that no longer inhabit the plains. Amber and I took off for a girl's afternoon - ice cream and Bible study in the air conditioning! The awesome Daddies took the kids swimming at the state park beach and bathed them for us.
We had a fun time playing games after the kids went to bed, and then the rain really set in. Can I just say that our tent needs to be sealed? we loaded out at 5am! The good news is that we made it to our home church this morning! After family nap time we headed out to a minor league baseball game and stayed for the great fireworks.



This was one of those peaceful perfect moments when you are all together and doing well and enjoying life together. It was particularly sweet because of the many summers it has been since Andrew could be with us, and we know he is leaving again soon. We are so thankful...