July 4th!

Our absolute favorite place to spend the 4th of July? Lake Freeman!!! Cousins, sunshine, games, cornhole, and water volleyball are just a few of the things that make July 4th at the lake so much fun!

Kristen and Maggie...best buds!

 Jason and Sam loungin' on the hammock.

 Gramma and Elizabeth

Abe's quite the pro at cornhole!

 Grampa enjoying a relaxing boat ride...

...and the little kids enjoying the huge waves splashing over the front! :)

Maggie, tuckered out after a long day of swimming!

 This is what happens when you give boys marshmallows, but no fire to roast them with...they get resourceful. :) 

 Sparklers before the fireworks!

Cal, Katelyn, and Jed

I think just about everyone felt like this by the end of the weekend...tired, but happy!

Happy 4th of July!

Sam: Class of 2013

 1995

 2013

Sam graduated from highschool this past Friday! Here are some pictures from his open house! Congratulations, Sam!!!!

 The proud parents with our graduate! 

 Rissa and Ben

 All the kids waiting for a ride on the tire swing. :)

Playing Catch-Phrase after the open house with friends and cousins.

We're so proud of you, Sam! 

Ouch!

Well, we made it home safe and sound! The past week has been crazy busy as we try to get back into the swing of things. But...the "crazy busy week" ended nicely with a trip to Lake Freeman! In the middle of a game of volleyball, however, Abe somehow hit the ball wrong and dislocated and fractured his finger. Here are some pictures...

No...that is NOT normal. :)

Always smilin'! :) 

Thankfully, he was never in too much pain, and I think the first thing on his mind was "Does this mean I can't swim?!?!" 

Travel Update: Carlsbad Caverns

Since we had some free time this week, we were able to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park! It. Was. Amazing! Absolutely breathtaking! We had been to caves before, and didn't think this would be much different...were we ever wrong! :) If you are ever near Carlsbad, New Mexico...it's definitely worth stopping! 

Behind Jed and I is the cave entrance. It was about a mile walk down to the bottom and at least another 1.5 miles from there. 

 The rock formations down there were absolutely stunning! We probably took over a hundred pictures all together, but I just posted two. :)

 

We're now in Tulsa, Oklahoma and tomorrow is Ike's 14th birthday!

Travel Update: New Friends & White Sands

While we were still in New Mexico, one of the board families from the Albuquerque convention invited us to their home in beautiful Los Cruces. After having a blast with them Monday evening and Tuesday morning, we all went to White Sands for the afternoon! 

Note: Never go to White Sands when the wind is blowing approx. 40 mph! :) We learned the hard way. 

Between the two families there were 12 kids. 

Here we all are at the top of the dune...

...and here we all are "sledding" down the dune. :)

One of the perks of RVing??? All the great new friends we get to make!

Travel Update: Albuquerque, New Mexico

We have now been "on the road again" in our RV for a little over one week. After a great homeschooling convention in St. Louis, Missouri, we are now stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The trip thus far has been pretty uneventful, aside from driving through a dust storm with our awnings beginning to unroll, and having to get our generator's fuel pump replaced. :) Here are some pictures we took while driving through the beautiful...though very barren West!

New Mexico countryside! 

We literally "blew into Albuquerque"! :) It's ALWAYS windy out here apparently...but this was a little crazy, even for the locals! The picture above is the view through our windshield during the dust storm we drove through. Between the wind and the dust, our big awning began to unroll (after our smaller awnings were already tied down with ropes), so we pulled off and tried to fix it...along with all the other semi-drivers who were having problems. 

Anyway, we're here in New Mexico, half-way through our second convention in the RV. We don't have any conventions next week, so we're planning to do a little sightseeing in the area...I'll try to keep you updated. 

February Birthdays!

Since we have a LOT of birthdays around this time of year, I thought I'd just give you a quick rundown of who turned what in the month of February. 

Most recently, on the 26th, Maggie turned 9 years old (that's so hard to believe...already?)

Our birthday girl with her new friends, the Bitty Twins.

Blowing out the candles on her "horse cake".

Next up: Sam turned 18 on the 17th! I can't believe he's 18 already!!! 

This guy prefers ice cream cake over any other! :)

My "sweet sixteenth" was on February 10th. 

It's become something of a tradition that Maggie and Dad make my cake every year. They did a great job!!!