A Visit with the Warrens!

What a treat!  Michelle and Dave Warren were back in Ohio visiting Dave's family.   They managed to get away for a day to spend some time in NW Ohio.  How fun to spend an evening with them.  It was way too short, but how inspiring to hear their philosophy of family vacations, Michelle's new work in public policy and the excitement of getting a bill passed in Colorado. 

And what a reminder of the blessing of health after hearing of Michelle's challenges the past year.

Oak Openings

We had a fun hike through Oak Openings.  Laura came along with us on the Sand Dunes trail -- and Rania didn't stop every few feet to get sand out of her crocks! 

Despite the heat, it was a nice walk in such a beautiful setting.  The girls were also eager to pet the few dogs we encountered on our walk. 

We are definitely lucky to have such a nice park so close by.

Year in Birthdays

Instead of trying to keep track of all our cousins birthdays and try to buy gifts ahead, hopefully remember to have then taken out at the appropriate time, and try to make sure everyone has their birthday presents on time, in the great wisdom of the adults, it was decided to have the Year in Birthdays -- the cousins version.

So the Woodwards gave all their gifts to the Sandlin and Quockert kids for the year, and the Woodward kids received their birthday presents for the year. (Gabi wasn't feeling so good -- so she didn't make the picture from this angle.)

What a fun day -- and even a cake and lots of good times to go with it.

Laura also decided that Rania needed to have a "photo shoot" so she made up Rania's hair and directed a photo shoot -- telling Rania how to hold her hands and how to look as we took pictures around the house. (If only we had a photographer who knew what he was doing!)

10 Commandments Song - Video

Slip'N Slide

Back in Ohio, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Perry got the Slip'N Slide out again. How fun!

Indianapolis

 

After Iowa, we headed to Indianapolis, where we were able to spend some time with friends.

It, as always, was a huge blessing to stay with Amy & Doug and for our kids to get to play with their kids. It was also lots of fun to see the Vanests and their new baby. The time went way too fast, and much of it was spent working on our house, which we would desperately like to sell. A bit of landscaping, some cleaning, and some sorting of our things made for a busy day.

Unfortunately, we lost several hours due to a bit of an adventure when Rania stuck a bead up her nose instead of on the craft she was making. After a call to Dr. Gil, we realized a trip to the emergency room was necessary -- so several hours and $383 later, we were very grateful that all was clear. Once the doctor came in with the right tool, the bead was out within a few seconds. It might have been easier, except for the hole in the middle of the bead, which meant she couldn't blow it out her nose. Even Tracy's attempt at one nostril mouth-to-mouth couldn't get the bead out. But it is a good technique to have for any future beads in the nose.

It was good to have some time with good friends. And how fun to see our kids pick up with their friends so quickly and rapidly.

Fireworks!

Aaron, David and Kristen helped us have a wonderful evening with some fun fireworks.  They had some smoke bombs and a bunch of other fireworks which were lots of fun for our kids as we got to watch the big ones. 

We had a fire, got to grill hot dogs and had lots of fun playing with sparklers before Aaron, David & Kristen lit off some bigger fireworks. 

Family Reunion Photos

Thanks to Grandpa Levi, we had a celebration at Bangor Liberty Friends Church to connect with everyone.  There were family photos for each group, groups, parents, kids, and grandkids.  Then grandpa led us in a wonderful celebration and brief introductions of what we were all doing. 

Some of the fun photos of the day.

Scenes on the Farm

How fun to spend time on the farm.

One night provided a spectacular rainbow.