Time at the Lake

What a AWESOME week this has been! 

Shane had the entire week off from work and we have enjoyed EVERY.SINGLE. MINUTE of it!!!

Even though we didn't have a lot going on, we still managed to stay very busy and filled each day with loads of summer FUN!

Knowing Shane was off of work...

 

some of our very sweet friends invited us to join them at their lake house for a few days. 

We headed up on Tuesday morning and stayed until late Wednesday night.

 To say our kids had fun would be the biggest understatement EVER!!!

 Our kids had a total BLAST!!!

 It isn't every day you get to ride a boat, 

zip around the water on a tube, 

or go swimming in the lake!

 And if that wasn't enough fun...

the kids also enjoyed playing Wii with their friends, 

community bath time, 

and making smores over an open fire. 

And of course, Miss Sophie was thrilled she got to cuddle and play with precious baby Lucy (who by the way is like the BEST. baby. EVER!!!!)

Oh, my girl LOVES her some babies!!!!!

It was truly a wonderful few days! 

We are so grateful for our sweet and gracious friends, AND (most importantly) for the time and precious memories we made with them!!!

 

God Bless the USA!!!!

We are so blessed to live in a country where we are FREE! Free to worship, free to dream, free to love, free to live! I don't EVER want to take that freedom for-granted, or forget the price at which that freedom has come by! I want my kids to know what a privilege it is to live in America! I want them to understand what freedom means! 

I want them to realize what others have given...the ultimate price... so we can be FREE!!!

The fourth of July is probably my most favorite holiday!

Yummy food, celebrating with friends and family, having fun, and oh yeah... don't forget the fireworks...

It all adds up to one FABULOUS day!

Monday morning the kids woke up and helped me make breakfast!

 Flag french toast, fruit, and sausage were on the menu for the day!

After breakfast, we all got dressed in our red, white, and blue and headed out the door to our little towns 4th of July parade.

We met our sweet friends there and together hunted for a shady spot to watch the parade!

It was HOT, so shade was a must!!!

We settled on a spot and the kids anxiously waited for the parade to start!

They held signs and cheered as the parade passed by!

Most floats threw candy for the kids to grab, 

 

but one float was throwing SNOW into the crowd. 

How fun is THAT?!?!?

PERFECT for a HOT July day;)

After the parade, the boys helped me make these for our Sunday School class cookout later that afternoon.

Some sweet friends of ours, who live near the water, invited our entire class over for food and fireworks.

 The kids had so much fun playing with their friends. 

 

Unfortunately, our outside time was cut  a bit short when a HUGE storm blew in. 

The cook out, was quickly changed to a cook-IN! 

Oh well...

 Thankfully our gracious hosts were okay with having a house FULL of wild and crazy kids running through it!!!

It rained for several hours, but cleared up just in time for the fireworks!!!

The kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows... 

and making yummy s'mores.

The fireworks finally began and definitely did not disappoint!!!! 

There is something about watching fireworks over water...

Just breathtakingly beautiful!!!

Happy Birthday America!!

and...

God Bless the USA!!!

Wrap up/ catch up;)

Lots of play dough--check, yummy snacks...check, fun games...check, great music...check, silly kids...check, learning all about Jesus...check 

A great week...

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!!!

We had the BEST time at Vacation Bible School this year!

It was truly wonderful, but oh my...what a whirlwind of a week!!! 

 

Getting everyone up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:30am all week long proved difficult---

to say the least.

 We had become quite used to our lazy summer mornings around here, so last week was a rude awakening--no pun intended-ha;) 

 I was blessed to serve in Sophie and Hudson's classroom for the week!

 A room FULL of sweet two year olds will keep you on your toes--that's for sure!

 It was an AWESOME week though and I was beyond blessed to be a part of it! 

I LOVE my church AND my church family ROCKS!!!!

Shane was out of town all week long too, so when Friday finally rolled around, 

it brought him home to us too!

We enjoyed a nice lazy weekend, which was a welcomed treat after our crazy, busy week!

 

We got several things crossed off our never-ending "to do" list, 

AND had plenty of time to relax too!

 After church on Sunday, we stopped by "On the Border" to grab a bite to eat. 

 For SO.....long, we've avoided going out to eat. 

With the two babies in tow, eating at a restaurant was not an enjoyable experience. 

Most of the time, Shane or I would usually end up in the restaurant lobby with one or both babies, while everyone else sat at the table and finished eating.

Now that the babies are getting older, eating out is actually becoming a treat again!

YAY!!!

After lunch, we headed home so the littles could get a nap. 

When they woke up...

we headed to the pool to meet several of our friends/neighbors.

We had fun swimming...

relaxing...

 and enjoyed a pizza picnic with everyone poolside! 

   It was the perfect way to end a perfect summer weekend!