Sand Volleyball at the Park

We joined the Missionaries for a day of fun in the sun and good friends. It was a great day. We went through lots of water!

Pike's Peak and Marquette

We had so much fun boating, we missed Effigy Mounds but we still got to go to Pike's Peak and it was a sight to see! We loved the hummingbirds. Then it seems so sad to miss 4 of our siblings. Maybe next time! We had a trash pick up race and Brad gave out pickles for prizes, but we saved the day with Jolly Ranchers. (Gay Farmers, as the kids kept all referring to them as) Funny. Anyway, it was a busy, fun, great day!

Gifts of Charity

McDonald's loves to see us coming, however, frequently they don't believe me when I tell them how many I need. Anyway, Princess gave a fabulous Family Home Evening last night on Seeking the Gift of Charity and it reminded me for some reason of our trip to the Field of Dreams and I guess because this whole earth is our field of dreams. We get to reap and sow our hearts desires. So as I ponder this concept, I am reminded how important it is to keep track of our treasures and to truly appreciate our families and create lasting memories! Is this Heaven? No, it's close, My Family, in Iowa. (tee hee)

Boating Adventures

What do you do when a train breaks down in front of you? Take a picture for the blog!
This was just the start of adventures with our family in Marquette. We fished, we played, Puppie ate half a worm and didn't seem to like it much. Boat rides for everyone courtesy of Uncle Chris and Aunt Marianne. It was a great day with awesome food and even better company.

Fireworks

What Your These Fireworks Say About You

You are focused, single minded, and intense. You don't let others see your intensity often, and when they do, they are quite surprised. You burn brightly, but you also burn steadily. You have the endurance to get the one thing you desire most.

The Fireworks Test

Canon in D (Johann Pachelbel) - Piano Version

This is what was played at our Wedding during the Wedding March.

Canon In D - Not Quite My Wedding March

Memories Last Forever

Mem-ries... light the corner of my mind.. .(Can you hear Tom Hanks singing this from BIG in your head?)

So I found this on Dexter's Girl blog and thought it looked pretty fun! Humor me okay?! I'm curious if you remember things that I don't--or if you remember me at all... haha.
Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. Just let me know which you prefer.

What a Great Quote!

I just saw this on a friend's blog that is the QUOTEMASTER! It reads,

If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!

What the perfect solution to rude comments about how do you deal with ALL THOSE KIDS??
I don't deal with all those kids, I relish the fact that I am able to join in their lives and document their growth and be a living testimony to their accomplishments, failures and resilience as they stand up again. I see them stumble, straighten and move ever forward and faithful and am in awe that my Heavenly Father would allow me the honor of being part of their lives and blessing me with their presence. My heart is full as full can be. I am just grateful to have my husband as my eternal companion, and that his heart is just as full as his hands.

This Old House

These are old pictures taken of our house. These people stopped by our home and I thought they were stopping to look at our neighbors home as it is for sale. Alas, no, they were headed to our home. The older gentleman was 5 years old when he used to stay in this house when it was uptown, his Grandparents owned it and he had pictures of his family and changes the home had gone through over the years. He took some more pictures to chronicle the transformation. He was able to tell us different places where staircases were located and everything. It was an amazing day! He also shared his family history with us that I think probably ties into mine!!! Isn't that crazy? We found a picture of his mother and a flour scoop and newspaper articles hidden in the walls during renovations. My little house of horrors is turning into quite the puzzle as we try to connect the dots between the past and present.

Scariest Tornado Footage Ever!

Kooky Activities

No matter what we try our hands at, it always seems like it is more fun than we first envisioned. The handcarts were a blast. These are some friends of ours that used to work with us and my visiting teacher and their kids. We had so much fun running around together and playing. It was great. Frosty did his imitation of a crouching tiger. Puppie is doing push ups on the watermelon and trying to figure out how to get into his favorite fruit. We are riding the Thomas Train and Annie. Fishing in the fishing pond and trying out stilts.