July 4th Baby

Michaela is our firecracker...literally!  Our first born was born in Wurzburg, Germany on the Fourth of July!

It was fun to celebrate another year with her....  Happy Birthday!

Fourth of July in Raymond

We love our little town...

Our favorite celebration is Fourth of July in Raymond.  Floats, float waving,  children involvement,  food on The Common with games and activities!  It is so fun...here are some photos of our little town!

Family Camp

Community....faith....friends....some of the words that came to mind when I think about the second year that we attended Family Camp at Camp Maranatha in New Durham, NH.

Because it was our second year, we had connections ...and the kids were super excited to reestablish the relationships that they had formed the previous year.  As each family rolled in, they were so excited to see the kids leap out of the car and say hello.  Even though all the families weren't able to come this year, we had a wonderful group.  

Our days were spent fellowshipping as a family, attending different teachings, games of Gaga ball, swimming at the pond, tubing on the lake, late nights chatting, campfires....mmmm... marsh mellows....and even fire works.  I can't describe the closeness of the families, a safe place for the kids to meet with other likeminded kids...it was just an amazing.

The talent show was a fun night and we just could believe what the families were able to pull off....we laughed...a lot, were awed by some of the talents and celebrated the uniqueness of each family.

Although it's been over for a few weeks...we had many discussions about the sweet memories we had that week...and yes, the kids are planning for next year.  We keep telling them we will see where the Lord wants us and they are making plans.  

Toy Story 4

We love movies and it’s so excited to see them when the are in theaters...a wonderful treat once in awhile!  We headed out to see Toy Story only to meet Woody and Jesse at the theaters...added a bit of pizazz to a fun night!

Braces

Ben has his long awaited braces!  He was so excited to have them put on and was Ana amazing trooper to sit through the whole process!

He took his own photo—just love it!

Sand castles

Every year, we say we are going to try and make it to the Hampton Beach Sand Castle contest....well, this year, we actually made it!  They boys were away so it was the girls and mom that  made the trip.

It was fascinating to see the amazing things that were created from simple sand!  There were quite a few interesting folks around too... long it was a fun evening.  Check out some of the creations....

Happy Birthday!

Darrell celebrated his birthday this past June!

Kiara made an amazing three layer cake that happened to be gluten free.  It was a lot of cake!

She then had a bright idea to place a candle for each year he celebrated!  That was a lot of candles, oh boy!  It was hysterical watching the kids all trying to light them and a few fingers probably got toasty but I am sure we will remember it!

Happy Birthday Darrell!