Abundant Recompense Copy

Yesterday Nate and I dropped the kids off with some friends and ran a race first thing in the morning. We pounded out 4 miles in 41 minutes and a few seconds. We ran together the whole time and it was so nice. Like a hot date to start out the day. Bonus: Nate totally won a raffle prize and hooked us up with free mini golf and a loaf of Great Harvest bread. HECK yeah. We headed from there to pick up the kids and hit up our library's used book sale, where we walked away with 11 books and 6 cds for $8.00 total. Later we got to do finances, which is never a favorite and unfailingly leaves us feeling grumpy and poor, but it was time for dinner at that point, and we decided to head outside and pick a few ears of corn from the garden to go with our turkey burgers. About an hour later here's what we had:  AKA: the windows of heaven opening up and pouring out a blessing we haven't room enough to receive. Somehow I think we're going to make it. Then Nate and I made dinner togethe...

These are some of my very very favorite pictures from the reunion. Mom and all her girls (except Amber again, darn it - we missed you!) L-R: Kaylyn, Michelle, Shauna, Megan, Brianna, Jenna, Rebecca, Mom Some favorite toys: Dart gun Uncle Russell's helmet for his new "motorcycle"  Shauna copied everyone's clothes:   Juliann and Bryn in matching dresses that Shauna made for them. SO cute! Gramps and Jackson. I could squish that little baby! Check the cheeks!  We got to visit my Grandma: 4 generations I used to play with this little doll (Sarah) and sit in this chair when I was Bryn's size!

I really enjoyed the plain old unplanned time with the family more than anything. Here were some of the more spontaneous things we did. Snipping and snapping beans Coloring magnet board scripture stories Singing around the piano Missionary tag Watermelon! I think this is everyone but Shauna, who took it. Gramps took Addison for a ride on the tractor. My heart melts every time I see these pictures! The womenfolk did a lot of sewing for Amber and little Miles and we put together a care package that we sent to them. Plenty of man time playing NBA Jam Try squeezing the pointy end and the bottom end of an egg. Impossible to break, but hilarious to watch!

One major perk of staying with the folks is 24 hour a day acces to the pool. Addison and Bryn would've spent all day everyday in it if they could have. They got pretty comfortable in the water, which was fun to watch. Jackson and Doug Poolside ice cream sandwiches Addison lovin' it! Bryn and Jenna  It was also quite a novelty for our kids to get a chance to hang with their cousins from my side. We missed Amber and Camden and Jarett (but baby on the way was a good excuse!). They had fun with Juliann and Jackson. Juliann opened their eyes to the world of Dora the Explorer Bryn and Juliann having lunch Addison loved Jackson! The novelty of it reminded me that Bryn's not a baby anymore! Bryn and Juliann examining the chickens Swinging with Kaylyn Sandbox time

Toward the end of vacation, we all combined forces to erect the coolest tire swing known to man. Dad, Nate and Doug were the dudes who made it all happen and the rest of us were big helpers. It was a BIG job. We had to head home before it was completed, but we hear that it's really fun and could hold an entire family plus their pet elephant. Addison was in heaven. He spent all day out there with the menfolk and really loved selecting tools from the magnetic strip in the barn and then taking them out to go and "work." Helping Daddy saw. Gramps, Doug and Nate. Me and Megan drilling holes in the tire. Grammie taking out her frustration on an ill-placed root. We were all sweating like pigs, but Gramps spent a lot of time up a tree with a chain saw over his head, and the sawdust stuck. The tree-raising.

Kaylyn had a birthday while we were in Georgia, so we all got to celebrate with her!  It's a tradition in our family to take a family picture at all the birthdays. I'd say Kaylyn had a pretty impressive turnout! Part of our 4th of July celebration included frosting some delicious sugar cookies. Emilee has some serious frosting talent - way to marry up, Russell! We also had a good ol' weenie roast on the 4th. We had a great time laughing as we watched each other trying to sit on the tiny camp chairs without falling over, just like in the good old days.  Bryn seriously dug the macaroni salad. Haha - Beck must be beautiful. Emilee was the choco/marshmallow regulator when we made s'mores. I've gotta say that Reese's instead of Hersheys in s'mores is the way to go. Bri and Bryn. Side note - their names are really close - Brianna Elise and Bryn Annalee.  If you say them out loud it's a little crazy. Front row seats for our own personal fire...