We had a wonderful July! We started off the month with a very quick, but long, trip to SD to see Randy and Joy's family over 4th of July weekend. It was so good to see them again!! We squeezed a whole lot of moments into 2 days with our nephews and nieces!!
Here's a collection of photos from our time with them:
Grandma getting acquainted with her granddaughter, Mandylyn.
Piggy-back rides with the aunties
Playing in the yard
Playing games
All the girls accidentally coordinated!
Mishael with his new nap-quilt from Grandma!
4th of July lunch outside
It was a very hot, South Dakota kind of afternoon, so most of us got to go swimming in their pool.
My dear friend Joanna and I with our nieces and nephews.
4th of July supper!
We had a wonderful time together!
Grandma and Mandy
We went to their park for awhile in the evening...
Elizabeth playing school with Jewelyn and Mishael.
S`mores in the evening
James enjoying homemade ice-cream with strawberries
All together <3
Randy and Joy
Sunday morning we went to their church with them in Ravina. They had beautiful lilies in bloom, so Jewelyn decided to gather some for a bouquet.
My handsome nephew Jonathan in the lilies
Grandpa and Grandma with 6 of their 9 grandchildren
My dear friend Joanna and I with our nieces and nephews.
So thankful to spend some sweet time with Joanna again!
We went to a picnic spot after church.
The flies were very much present, but we got our yummy food devoured before they could.
Skipping rocks in the pretty lake
Sunday afternoon, James and I did some acrylic painting together.
This was the top thing on James' "to do" list to do with me for that weekend.
It was very special. I can hardly believe my oldest nephew is almost as tall as me!!
Last minute bedtime reading together before we had to say goodbyes.
On our way home the next day we stopped to eat lunch with some friends who threw a meal together for us. It was good to see the McKays, as well as our friend Tonya!
Now, that was only the first weekend of our July!! Here is the rest of it.
Sunday dinner guests, Stephen and Heidi Nelson.
Elizabeth and Heidi are good friends and were roommates at GBS for awhile.
One Wednesday evening Retha and our family went to the Stetlers for supper to see old friends, the Poffs.
At Carthage Camp this year, the song evangelists were our college friends, Cale and Kirsten Manley.
And our college friend, Logan Sankey, was the preacher.
Little Daniel H. is getting so big! He's not a little baby anymore.
We had some relative visitors for a few evenings! It was so nice to see Mother's aunt and cousins!
We had some nice visits together, and they enjoyed seeing the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.
July 24, Elizabeth and I went to a birthday party for our friend, Emma Wilson, who turned 16 recently. It was a mystery dinner and each one of the guests was a suspect. It was very interesting. We had scripts to follow to lead us to the right information that would show us who the culprit was.
Emma's mother, Pam, created and wrote the whole thing!
It was such a nice time with these girls!
July 25-31, we went on a family vacation to Georgia. It was a gift from my dad's bosses, and it was a very special time away as a family. We are very thankful!
As we traveled, we got to stop by our friends' home in TN, see around their place, and catch up with them for an hour.
Mother made them a quilt for their expected baby.
Our sweet friends, the Kaus family. We were close with them when we and they lived in Colorado.
Our destination was Big Canoe, GA, where our little villa was located.
The next day was Sunday, and we enjoyed spending time with old friends of my parents, the Thelens.
We had church with them, and had a restful afternoon with them. They have deer that frequently run through their yard.
Walking down to the lake
Mr. Thelen took us out on his boat. It was a beautiful day!
He even let Daddy and me drive the boat for a bit.
We saw a Blue Heron
We also did a little paddle-boating on the lake.
Daddy and Mother with the Thelens. Mother went to highschool with them.
The next day we went to Amicalola Falls State Park to see Georgia's tallest waterfall. It was a beautiful day to hike through the woods!
My parents before climbing up to the falls.
Getting closer!
Had to stop for a rest on the way up the mountain.
One of the photo spots up to the falls.
Continuing on up!
So beautiful!!
We loved getting to see the Amicalola Falls! It was just amazing to stand in front of it and feel the mist on our faces as the water crashed down. We could've gone farther up to where people were "on top" of the falls, but we decided to stop and go back.
I fit inside this tree!
Some of these pictures are out of order because they are from 2 cameras.
Just doing one of my favorite things - trying to capture God's creation through my camera!
I am so thankful for this sister of mine, and that we got to go on this trip with our parents. It will probably be the last for awhile, because she'll soon be moving to her new job in Indiana.
One day we took advantage of Big Canoe's available activities. For only $6/person, we got to go swimming, kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boating, etc.
Another day, we took a walk in the Big Canoe area...
Playing croquet in the park in Big Canoe...
We also played Bocce Ball
Wading in one of the Big Canoe lakes...
Special memories made with my sister! <3
Our sweet Daddy!
Another day was our "History day". We went to the Marietta Museum of History in Marietta, GA.
Of course, we had to wear masks the whole time we were there. We learned a lot and really enjoyed this museum.
We stopped by this old train station, which is now a quilt shop.
Another evening, we went to another of Big Canoe's lakes and waded or sat by the water.
We saw so much kudzu on our trip!!
Kudzu is just crazy!
On our way home on August 31, we stopped in Chattanooga, TN, to go to Ruby Falls Cave.
Altogether, it was a wonderful month! We thank the Lord for His blessings upon us, safe travel, getting to take 2 little vacations as a family, and getting to see friends and family!!
Wading in one of the Big Canoe lakes...
