Daniel's Birthday!

It's Dan's birthday, and he's having some friends over tonight. He really loves this outfit from a very special grandma! Happy Birthday to my cheerful, ambitious, and sweet-spirited little cowboy!

Sam is Seven!

Sam is seven now! For his birthday, we spent the day playing on Adventure Peak at Edinborough Park! Boys are so easy...he just wanted to play all day at the park, and then watch a movie. We opened presents when we got home from the park. He loves all of his gifts! I'm so thankful for my easy-going, smart, and compassionate boy!

Becca's 12th Birthday Party

Here's a cute picture of Becca and all her friends at her 12th birthday party. She wanted a "Frozen" themed party, so we did the best we could to accommodate her request. There's nothing like a house full of giggly girls to bring a smile to your face! :-)

A Live Christmas Tree This Year!

Our kids helped set up and decorate the Christmas Tree, and then Tom & Troy volunteered to be in the picture! We opted for a live tree this year, and my house smells incredible! ;-) It always takes longer when we let everyone help, but we had a great time! We thank God for fun traditions, and memories made.

First Snow

The kids are excited about our first snow! We're ready for it...we have all of the snow gear, sleds, and everything else that we could possibly need to enjoy our winter. Since we have excellent hills on both sides of our house, sledding is so much fun! :-)

Texas Trip

We had a fantastic trip to Texas, visiting my parents, sister & her family! The weather was perfect, the company was terrific, and we had some tasty food! It went by way too quickly, and it was hard to get back "in the groove" when we returned home. However, we have some incredible memories that will last a lifetime, and some great pictures! :-)

Hidden Bluffs Campground

We wanted to give our kids one last week of summer fun, so we took a trip to Hidden Bluffs Campground in the beautiful bluff country of Minnesota, near Lanesboro. We went fishing, hiking, swimming, creek-splashing, crawdad-catching, mini-golfing, and bluff-climbing! We cooked over a campfire, sang songs, and enjoyed God's creation together. It was an incredible trip! Here is Eric with all of our kids on a giant wooden swing at the campground:

Each of our kids enjoyed the creek in their own ways...some liked wading around, some enjoyed the peaceful scenery, some caught crawdads, some wanted to fish, and others just wanted to splash and get wet!

However, most of them agreed that catching crawdads was their favorite activity at the creek!

Sam really enjoyed wading around and finding cool rocks!

Tom & Troy wanted to be like their older siblings, so we bought them a "little kid" fishing pole to share...

Enjoying the great outdoors with the whole family together is what it's all about!

There were many beautiful trails to hike, and we were impressed with how well everyone kept up (and without whining!)

We all climbed a bluff, and there was an overlook area with a pretty neat view:

At the end of the day, the best part was cooking over a campfire! Eric even made some sticks for the boys to roast their own marshmallows! All in all, it was a great trip to reconnect with God, each other, and nature. We're hoping to go back to Hidden Bluffs one more time this year, to enjoy the autumn colors. It will be breathtaking!

Summer Kids

North Shore Vacation

Here are some pictures of our trip up to Duluth with Eric's parents! We all had a great time, and there was something for everyone to enjoy! :-)