Girls in the Tent

With the summer winding to a close, the girls got to have a sleepover, enjoying each other's company and putting up the tent for some extra fun. 

Goodbye Dodge Caravan

The Dodge Caravan has treated us incredibly well over the past many years!  We've had many road trips and greatly enjoyed having it as part of our family. . .if cars can be as such.  But it is time to probably pass it on to another user, in the hopes that we can avoid another year of storage and look for a new vehicle in a year's time. 

These pictures taken in the hopes of finding a quick sale.
 UPDATE:  Thanks to Grandpa Barrie (of course!), we didn't even need to advertise for the vehicle!

Aunt Marcia's

One of the highlights of each summer is visiting Aunt Marcia's condo.  This year, we hit some spectacular weather.  It was a lot of fun in the pool, great food (as always), and fun to look over Lake Erie, seeing such a beautiful setting.  It was a great day with family and lots of fun. 

It is always so fun to experience Aunt Marcia's hospitality.

Now we just have to figure out how to ensure we get this great weather every year!



There was some fun posing (can you wonder who is in the background?)

There was lots of jumping.

We managed to go out on the kayak. 

Lots of fun playing in the water!

Plenty of silliness.

Cute girls - one especially!

In the end, it was a wonderful way to end a special day with family.

Special Lunch

Grandma was generous enough to take the girls out for a special lunch / brunch.  Today was Gabi's turn as she got to go to Cafe Marie's for some delightful quality time with grandma.  How special!

Family Time

Not sure if the our time together as a family, wrapping up the weekend, was interrupted by a crazy mummy who was attacking someone who seemed a lot like his brother.  Jason and Nicole got to see our photo book, which came belatedly for Tracy's birthday and as a memory from a few years ago. 

Cafe Marie

After church, we went to Cafe Marie's for a nice meal together as a family.  Yummy food, and the bottomless French toast is always a hit among some members of the family. 

Rania Photo Shoot

Rania had a chance to get her photo taken, in our attempt to update the kids photos during the summer.  Which one do you like best? 

New Backpack!

During the summer we catch up with a lot of the shopping that we need.  Sometimes this comes in the form of deliveries - like Rania's new backpack for the upcoming year.  When you order on-line, it is always fun to check to see if the reality matches the images on the screen.

Ice Cream at the Park

While mom and dad were making their way back from Indiana (and seeing some of the historical sights around Noblesville), the kids got to have some ice cream at the park.  Yummy - and fun to get have some time with cousins, as Aunt Carrie and Uncle Scot were off on their honeymoon.  Yum!

James Taylor Concert

As Tracy had always wanted to go to a James Taylor concert, and his tour through the Midwest happened to coincide with some of the time when we were in the area, it was a perfect opportunity to make a drive over to Nobelsville, Indiana and hear James Taylor.  What a great experience and truly special concert.  Fun memories! (Hopefully we can add a couple of pictures later).

Visiting Dr. Grof

One of the highlights of the year is always seeing Dr. Grof, learning from his wisdom, discussing possible changes to diet and improvements to health.  It is always so great to learn from his wisdom.  With appointments on July 14 & 15, we were able to get all the family to get checked and have a rich dialogue about how we can help improve our health.

Grandpa's Motorcycle

With the beautiful weather, Grandpa got his motorcycle out and the girls got to sit on it for a photo op!  What a great ride!

Grandpa, of course, keeps great care of his bike, and when the weather is great, he'll get some good riding in.

Fun to have these photo shots for the album, even if we aren't ready to ride yet!

Reeve Football Camp

Wrapping up the TCS summer camp season, Reeve attended football camp - which was a chance to play with some of the high school sponsors while also working on his skills.  He trained with the wide receiver group for the three days of evening camp. 

Concert Under the Stars

How great to get to hear the Toledo Symphony Orchestra performing in their free series at the zoo.  It was a great environment, beautiful evening and, of course, beautiful music.  What a great evening of music. 

The Reception

After the wedding, the reception was in a great setting with some great food and super company.  The club sodas were sure a big hit among the kids!

We had a fun time getting to celebrate the big day with lots of great conversation for all.  There was also a brief video of advice and congratulations which was passed to the happy couple. 

The Wedding

What an amazing day, and what a beautiful setting in order to celebrate Carrie & Scot's wedding.  The ceremony was definitely short, as requested, but really special.  Reeve did a great job recording the ceremony, and there are definitely a lot of pictures!    Here is the full album, though you can see a handful of the photos in this post.