family + celebrations + baseball = summer

I love summer and all the fun times that come with it.

Mother's Day

Father's Day

Birthdays

Outdoor fun

Vacations

So many things going on.

Here's a little recap of some of our fun times with family so far this summer...

We got together for Dave's mom's birthday (actually about a month ago now)

Dave's sister and our nephew Tyler

 baseball lessons from Uncle David and Papa

And then we celebrated!!!

Father's Day with Dave's dad (Papa)...

Taylor made him a card and drew a picture of a treehouse, so she could tell him that we are all helping him build a treehouse for his grandkids, something he's been wanting!

someone just turned 4 and is pretty proud of it...

Dave and Stef have a brother too (in Michigan), unfortuneately we have to miss them on most of our family get togethers.

toddlers and tball just crack me up.

no idea how to hit, where to run, how to stand on base

but it's so fun watching them play

 even grandmas can play t-ball...

I still can't wait to share with you our Father's day surprise to Dave!

I know I'm way behind - but it was so fun, and we have some cute pictures!

colorado adventure finale: some of God's handiwork

We left bright and early Sunday morning and decided to take a little bit of a longer route home so we could drive on Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved road in the country (elevation over 12,000 feet).

We were suppossed to have done this Friday night, but the wreck messed that up.

Most of us were dressed for the Kansas heat - so we were a bit cold at the top of the mountain.

I'm so glad we took the time to still fit this in.  It was unbelievable.

I am in awe at the beauty that God has created.

And am so glad we got to experience it up close and personal.

We are so blessed to be a apart of this group.

And we had an amazing time with them.

Thanks to Good and Beverlins (especially you two girls :-) for planning and organizing such a fun weekend for us all.  You went to so much work for us and we are so thankful.

This is definitely a trip we'll never forget.

Happy 4th of July!

A little flashback to July 4, 2009

We celebrated in Branson/Tablerock Lake with my family.

Mason didn't like firecrackers at all.

He hid his head in my chest and fell asleep.

Taylor loved them - go figure.

This year we are enjoying vacation in Michigan with Dave's family.

It's been 2 years since we've been here.

Mason was 4 months old.

And although Taylor was only 1 1/2  - she was just as much a daredevil then as she still is now.

I can't wait to show you what she's been doing!

We flew here in 2008 - because both kids were free.

This year who braved the 17 hour drive - and the kids really did quite well!

I hope I can say the same about our trip home.

Hope you enjoyed your FIRECRACKER Day!

colorado adventure part 3: rafting day

On Saturday of our trip half of the group had plans to go white water rafting.

We were afraid that sore necks and only one vehicle would ruin our plans - but it didn't.

3 couples were stuck at the cabin waiting for a vehicle, and the rest of us headed out to Idaho Springs.

We ate breakfast at this little joint...

We ate in 8 minutes.

Then it was rafting time!

We had to listen to lots of instructions, some that could really make you chicken out.

But no chickening out, right Shannon?

And then we got to put on some really cool gear.

Are you ready for some laughs?

(you may want to click on this next picture and zoom in on Aaron's water shoes.

An Alco treasure.)

are you laughing yet?

It gets better.

And then I had to put my camera away. 

And we were too cheap to buy the pictures they sold of us in action.

But it was A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!

Dave and I had never done it before and we loved it.

We did an intermediate trip - and although it was intense at times, it wasn't quite as intense as I had expected.

We decided we'd maybe go for a harder one next time.

We spent the rest of the evening in the quaint little town of Idaho Springs.

And the rest of our group met up with us for some yummy BBQ for dinner.

We are SO blessed to be in a group with these couples and we LOVED this trip that allowed us to get to know everyone even more!

Matt ditched Rachel and found someone else...

The guys weren't thrilled to take a group picture, this is what we got from them..

A few of them were much more into it than others.

I loved this waterfall across the highway.

And I just can't get over how cute this picture COULD have been.

Silly Joel. I think he is out to see how many pictures in his lifetime he can ruin.

Are you tired of Colorado yet?

Just a few more pictures to come - and they are some BEAUTIES!!

colorado adventure part 2: back at the cabin

The cabin was beautiful!  We are SO thankful that the Beverlin's grandparents opened it up to us!

Breathtaking views every direction...

Inside there was lots of fellowship...

and World Cup...

and yummy food thanks to these two! 

Thanks Bill and Olivia!

Oh yeah, and this...

don't worry, she's not searching for lice.

She's pulling out glass.

The 3 of us girls found glass in our hair and had to shower to get all the glass off our bodies and out of our hair.

We were thankful that the wreck didn't ruin our trip.

We took it easy the evening after the wreck - we were drained, in shock, oh yeah, and kind of stuck with 14 people and only one car.