Can a Horse Smile?

Well, yes, she can!  We started some ground driving with Spirit while we work on a cart that we recently acquired.  This is certainly her first love.  She was a cart horse in Lancaster County, PA before being shipped to a breeding program in NY and then to NH where we purchased her.  I can't wait to try her driving skills.  Devon is doing the training with me.  He is also excited!

And then this horse makes me smile because it was Michaela's when she was 2.  And now, Gabby is loving it!  How sweet it is!

 

Canada

Thirteen of us pilled into 3 different cars and headed to Canada to the Daneker cabin in Ontario.  It was an adventure that none of the kids that went had ever done.  Visiting Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Dan's cabin led to lots of excitement and it did not disappoint.

One of the things we did was take a boat tour of the Thousand Islands.  We had to travel back to the US side to do so.  We got to see many spectacular sights and enjoyed the humor of the guide.

We stopped at Boldt Castle and explored the grounds.  Many changes to the last time I had been there and it was beautiful!

Back at the cabin, the newlyweds, Brandon and Alivianna had quite time some mornings while they did prayer and read their Bibles.

We played many games and ate together.  I loved hearing the laughter and fun around the table.

We did some shopping at the nearby town, Westboro and had some ice cream of course!

We spent a day in Ottawa and saw the guard change and heard a concert by the band.

                                We had to get a picture of China town in Ottawa. 

After stopping at the ChickfilA that had just opened 2 weeks previously (think crazy long lines out the door), we headed to the Royal Mounted Police Stables for a tour.  Here is the gang inside the facilities.

The week was hot and humid so the 'black thing' got a lot of workout while there.  Lots of laughter floated up to the cabin and screams when they saw the huge water snake (ick!)

I have to admit, I did take a few long naps but we did have some down time.  And there was a trip to the emergency room with Becca who rebroke her toe and had to have it set....never a dull moment! We also used the kayaks, canoes and paddle boat to explore the lake.  It was a fun time!
 

Beach Day at a Hampton

It is summer time and well, we haven't stopped much along the way to enjoy it.  It has been one of those summers so we decided to just jump in the car and head that way one afternoon.  It was glorious!

I did have other motives...of course!  Jacob needed some saltwater time to help heal up something on his foot and it helped a bit to do so. 

Check out these 3 amigos!  Devon, Eli and Joe.  Even though it was a warm day that water was cold! 

Rebecca loves to get down and digging and that is just what she did.  She also explored a bit in the water with her brothers. 

 Sunshine, sand and water lead to a perfect afternoon.  Summer is whizzing by and we hope to get another day in soon!

Some PA Summer Fun

We were down at Oma and Opa's to hang out with them while the Daneker's traveled.  Ben and Eli invited some Alert men over to hang out with us.  They had attended the Academy with them in Texas. I did not grab any photos of their friend that came up from VA.  On Friday, 2 friends came from different parts of  PA for the day. They had a game of trying to catch the football in the pool.  Eli was the thrower and their were all a bunch of dare devils.  They managed to catch the ball and pass it while entering the ball with 3 guys in a row.  It took many attempts and may laughs but they did it!

Sara was the photographer for all of these great shots!  I don't have any photos of her but wanted to give her credit.

 And I had to end with Becca's socks...on the way here I noticed she was wearing her Tommy socks.  It was so funny to see little Tommy's face plastered all over her legs.  They were given to her at our family Christmas swap were we obviously have become very creative in our gift giving.  She wore them with pride and a big smile!

So thankful for the fun week here swimming, visiting the farmers market (boy,was it HOT!) and just chatting with Oma and Opa!

Fourth of July Week

Fourth of July week is always a fun time at our house!  We did our town parade while we hung out at friends house.  They are on the parade route and it is a great spot!  Some traditions are just meant to be! 

Above is one of our cats, Joy.  She sat on Michael's car looking for something good to chase.  She is a great mouser which we are thankful.  She is a very sweet cat.

We decided to play some games on July 4th.  Joe begged for Axis and Allies.  These were the brave ones.  The others went and played Uno, Spoons and another card game.  Those of us brave enough to play Axis and Allie took an hour to set up the game.  The second hour involved us each taking one turn-it is an intense game with a thick play book.  We gave up after 2 hours and agreed, no thank you to another game.

Darrell and Jacob are twins at church-totally unplanned but fun anyway.  Had to get a shot.  This actually happens a lot.  We will say, " I see you got the memo!"

On Saturday, we went to pick up our friends from Texas who were attending Camp Maranatha.  We then headed over to the Bibeo's place for tea, snacks and some games.  We enjoyed the fellowship and the chatter of the kids practicing their Chinese with Ruby and Meiling.

A fun week and then we were off on our next adventure....another trip to Oma and Opa's to hang out with them while the Daneker's traveled.
 

Summer Happenings

Lots of summer happenings here--we spent part of June at my folks house.  My sister was traveling and we went down to hang out with them, cook, visit and of course, swim.

We've had some guest through but I neglected to take photos of all of them.  This is Ben's friend, Jacob.  He is an Alertman and the two of them traveled to Maine to attend another Alertman's wedding.  So fun!

And then there is the endless list of projects.  It was exciting to knock this one out!  We drained our pool and are in the process of filling it up again with clean water!  So glad for the help.  Devon has had the brains of this project but needed help to execute it all.  Ben, Eli, Joe and I helped figure it out with him.  Yeah for projects getting checked off!  

We are off to a great but busy summer....waiting for the slow down!
 

Celebrating Darrell

Happy Birthday to this guy!  We had so many places to be that it was quite a different day for him.  I had some of the kids in PA with me (he had traveled with me earlier in the week before heading back home) and some of the kids met with him and took him out to dinner on his big day!  So excited he got to be celebrate 3 different times!  How fun was that?

We celebrated with my folks at a special dinner with them and some of the kids in PA!  Yum, cheesecake!