Summer Vacation (Part 2)

After leaving the Siefka's, we headed 9 hours south to PaPa and Grandmother's house in Louisville. We stayed with them for a few days, which we spent doing various activities together. We went over to Uncle Gary and Aunt Diana's house for one evening, visited the nursing home, took a walk around the block, enjoyed a free lunch for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A, grilled out, went to the park, and celebrated William's 12th birthday. In the morning (on William's b-day), PaPa, Daddy, and the boys went out to play "soccer golf" somewhere (sorry, no pics of that=(), while we girls went shopping with Grandmother. Later, we met up and went bowling! William LOVED it, and so did his siblings=) And for supper, we went out to a seafood restaurant by the Ohio River, along with Uncle Gary & Aunt Diana, and Uncle Steve & Aunt Joanne. (Aunt Diana is Daddy's sister, and Uncle Steve is PaPa's brother). It was also Uncle Gary and Aunt Diana's anniversary, which we celebrated along with the birthday boy. 

Those times were special, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with family!

Eating dinner at Aunt Diana and Uncle Gary's house.

Lots of catching up to do!

Grandmother goes to the nursing home every Tuesday morning, so we went with her! We sang a few scripture songs, and Daddy preached.

Lounging around waiting for the others to catch up...

Grandpa "Mooer"!

Grandma "Mooer"=)

Getting lots of spots and hats cut out!

Yum, yum... that was a great meal!

15 "head o' Feldmans"!

Emaline teaching Frank to say "rain!"

Lovin' on PaPa!

"Hey, don't take him away!"

Grilling steaks...

Playing corn hole!

At a park nearby

"Way to go, Russell!"

On our way to the bowling rink! I have no idea why the sign was flashing up different names, but my younger siblings were telling me "you got to get a picture of that sign for Farrah!" She was riding separately, but she probably got a pic too=)

Bo was over-all the best... 

I beat Lily Ann once, and she beat me once... But she had a higher score when she beat me.... And, since we had some younger ones playing on our alley we had the bumpers up, so we had it easy=)

Miss Emaline Rose

"Good throw!"

Most the bowlers=)

Russell was so funny... he would run up and throw the ball as well as himself down the alley!=) One time he made it halfway down, and had a hard time getting back because it was so slippery!

He had a good running start...

But not quite long enough for his liking...=) Then, he would sit there in that position, and watch the pins to see how many he got!

My turn!

Birthday boy!

It was neat seeing everybody's different ways of throwing!

Justice always poised with one arm behind his back, just like that=)

There was a train track by the seafood restaurant, and we happened to be there when an engine stopped and sent someone inside to get their supper! It was neat getting to see that!

Aunt Diana with Mama and the little guys.

The playground by the pavilion we ate in.

Some of us walked down to the river while waiting on our food!

That fish was really good=)

Uncle Gary and Aunt Diana

Happy birthday, WILLIAM!

It was a great visit with family!

Frankie woke up with his hair spiked=)

And that concludes part 2!
Part three coming soon=)

Summer Vacation! Part 1

Our family was blessed to be able to get a way  for a three week vacation this month! It was a refreshing time spent with many dear friends and family. The first 10 days were spent with the Siefkas in Michigan, and the next week or so was spent with our grandparents in Kentucky, and some dear friends in Indiana. Enjoy the pictures!`

By the time it was light outside, we had been on the road for 5 hours! We ended up leaving at 1:30 AM, since Daddy was wide awake at that time and it wouldn't matter to us since we can sleep in the van=)

Farrah was especially excited=D

After 14 hours of driving, we reached our dear Grandparents in Louisville! We spent the night there, and then left the next morning heading to MI. We decided to spend the larger portion of our time with them when we came back from MI.

Re-uniting!

Frankie was SO happy to be out of his car seat=) However, he was very good and did not cry at all on the drive up!

That evening we went to Uncle Gary and Aunt Diana's house for supper and fellowship! We played  traditional "corn hole" with them=)

Pure Michigan! It really is pure air up there!

Re-uniting with our dear friends!

This is "Pine lodge", upstairs where we slept and kept all our stuff.

Biggest bro and littlest bro=) Some of my favorite!

On July 1st, a very special promise was made between these two... Joshua and Farrah are now engaged!!!

Getting things ready for us to butcher 400+ chickens with the Siefkas and several other families.

This was the morning after they got engaged, so they were still a little excited...=)

Adorable helpers make the job so much more fun!

Bo and Stephen had a great time building and flying airplanes!

One day we girls went to the river just down the road and waded around. It was cold at first, but not too bad after the first shock.

Another day the boys in our family, and the Bidlack family who were staying with the Siefkas  over the 4th and 5th, went bike riding to the river!

Joshua and Farrah gladly made supper for us one night=) We are so excited for them! 

At the dunes! 

We ate lunch there, and rode the quads and the suburban on the dunes.

Glory got this picture of me taking a picture!

The kids swimming in Lake Michigan right by the dunes.

Glory and I=)

We were there for a litter of puppies being born! Joanna has a Australian Shepherd dog breeding business; you can check it out here: http://palacepupsaussies.weebly.com/

4th of July came with lots of people, fun, and games!

And, of course fireworks!
What a blessing to be born in a country that has freedom! Just think of the men that gave their lives for our country... So that we could be free. I am so blessed to live where I do,  be placed in the family I'm in, and most of all - chosen from before the foundation of the world to be a child of the KING! And right now, we're able to worship Him freely because of our fore fathers fighting, and many dying- for our freedom. Don't take it for granted!

Patriot Sunday... The three oldest Siefka sons and their wives did not plan on matching by wearing red, white, and blue shirts! Farrah and Joshua will be matching next 4th of July, I'm sure=)

One day everyone went down the river in canoes and kayaks... that was just too much fun=) I think that was my highlight!

Even the Siefkas were cold when we got out after 3 hours!

But we had ice cream anyway=)

Something was funny!

Cherry picking was lots of fun too! And fresh cherries are indescribably scrumptious!

Since they were multi-tasking, they didn't accomplish as much as we did...=)

We went to a " U-eat" cherry place! All you can eat for little 3 year olds=)

LOTS of cherries!

Playing a game of soccer one of the last nights.

Russell took a nap in the tire swing! He slept for over an hour!

To close the visit, we all drove out to lake Michigan and ate icecream and stood in a big circle and sang a few hymns. When we got there, there was a huge double rainbow, that this picture does not do justice for it's brightness! It was beautiful!

Those 10 days were crammed with so many activities, and we had a sweet time of fellowship with them!
Stay tuned for part 2!

"The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can EVER tell!"