Special Summer Days

 Strawberry Rhubarb coffee cake - I've never done a lot with rhubarb, but some friends gave us a bunch of plants, so I hope to learn some really wonderful things to do with it :) After all, it grows around here, is easy to care for, is plentiful, and easy to harvest - what more could I ask from a fruit?

 This sweet little boy fell asleep in his high chair.

 His little fingers and toes :)

 Mom posted pictures of the G. family picnic/reunion, so I'll just mention it - We also got together with some of the extended O. family on the 4th...I really enjoyed catching up with relatives I hadn't seen in years - as well as though I see a lot. There's nothing that can take the place of family!

 Two pelicans down by the lake -

 It's higher this year than normal, as you can see the docks are almost under water!

 6 months old on June 26th! Aaron Joseph enjoys playing in his bouncer now...except for when he knows I'm just putting him in there b/c I'm busy making supper :)

 He also likes to be bounced on Daddy's knee -

 The girls were excited to go see their new baby cousin - Jubilee Amanda - born July 3rd - so tiny and pretty :)

 Aaron spoke at a service the morning of the 4th..

 Aaron and I :)

 The cousins waiting for the parade to start -

 People lined along the street to watch the parade -

 Aaron helping the girls put candy in their bags - Esther remembered this special event from last year!

 This was one of my favorite floats - two baby fawns!

 Of course, our very favorite float was the corn maze one :)

 Anna with her "corn maze" shirt -

 I put an extra shirt on the girls (didn't think I'd need hoodies...) and Esther was still cold - it rained before and after the parade, but was fine during it.

More cousins and friends -

Spring Update 7

 OK, this is the last of the catching up pictures - hopefully next time it'll be more current! Esther and Anna at the Roseau park -

 Esther isn't really into swinging the right way :)

 Anna is much more adventuresome -

 Our swing set behind where we're living - If you're wondering why all the clothes in June - it's because it really was cold out!

 Since our living arrangements have been rather uncertain, Grandma gave us a bunch of her garden to use for the summer. Compared to some of the soil we've gardened in, it's wonderful!

 Squash starting to come up -

 A birthday party for Grandpa who turned 72 - most of my pictures turned out with people's mouths full of homemade angel food cake, strawberries, and fresh whipped cream...

 Esther and Esther -

We are, Lord willing, going to buy this church building! Our current plans are to do some remodeling in the basement for a home and use the upstairs for "house church" :) Hopefully everything will work out smoothly and quickly...

Spring Update 6 (VBS)

 I believe this is May 26 - 5 months old!

 That beautiful smile :)

 Looking at books with Daddy...

 We were able to go to a bunch of VBS at my parent's church - Aaron even taught a few lessons.

 Since the girls are a little young to spend all day - we normally stayed just in the morning. Sometimes Anna even played outside during sessions or we hung out and visited in the basement...but we sure enjoyed the week :) I thought it was one of the best years ever! - or maybe that's just b/c I haven't gone in a while...

 Miriam at the back table -

 Anna helping Miriam at the back table :)

 Esther was able to say some of the verses -

 Hannah at the back table -

 Esther is under the table - she thinks she's such a big kid!

Esther hanging out with Priscilla :)

Spring Update 5 (Trip to KY)

 Aaron's grandmother passed away at the end of May - They had her funeral in Kentucky where her first husband was buried and so we made a trip down there. We stayed with a couple different friends on the way down - at one of the homes, Anna found this chef hat :)

 The girls and Aaron during one of the stops -

All Aaron's siblings - Rebecca, Nathan, Angela, Aaron, Scott, Joshua, Christopher - Even though Grandma was not from KY, almost all of the family came - from 6 different states. Aaron and other relatives did the whole service.

 Esther, Leah, and Anna at the graveside -

 A quick family picture taken at the hotel after the funeral -

 KY is so pretty!

 It "just happened" to be the weekend of the family reunion Grandma loved so much and so most people were able to stay an extra day and enjoy being together. The county has a very active historical society - they find old log cabins, take them apart and reassemble them at this historical village. We took a little tour of it before the picnic.

 This is an old jail cell that was used not that many years ago :)

 Some of the children in an old one room schoolhouse -

 There's an old family cemetery up a mountain and Aaron went to see it and took some pictures.

 A lot of the railroad tracks in the area have been taken apart because of less coal mining, and they made this old railroad bed into a walking/bike trail. There's a tunnel that goes through "Fletcher" mountain and some of us walked over to see it.

 I'm not good with distances, but it was probably a couple hundred yards long and probably 15 degrees cooler inside than outside.

 A monument to the first known Fletcher in the county -

 They grilled outside the hotel that evening - I've been to a couple of these reunions, but enjoyed this one the most because I met some relatives I didn't know and visited with more people...This is Aaron's mom with baby Aaron and the other man has Daniel, the cousin that's 3 weeks older.

 Esther and Anna like to ride on the carts as Aaron loads the van.

Hosanna with the children - We were able to stop and see her for a few hours on our way back - It was great to see here again!