Open Wide like an Alligator!

We had a family dentist appointment a couple weeks ago. I usually schedule everyone to go the same day, Josiah is a pro and can go on his own, Alayna likes to have someone with her because she is still getting used to it and we were gearing up for Seth's first visit. I have to be honest and say that I was just hoping that he would let her look in his mouth and count his teeth...anything more than that would just be a bonus. What a TROOPER! Of our kids, Alayna has always been the most nervous about the dentist, the boys...no biggie. Mom...not a huge fan of the dentist either...maybe it's girl thing?! :)

Ready for the fun to begin!

A cool dude with shades and the dentist bib!

What a pro!

Seriously, she actually cleaned his teeth...I never would have guessed we would have gotten this far. Way to go buddy!

Time to Get Caught Up

Everytime I think about blogging, I get overwhelmed because I'm sooooo far behind. So, instead of doing multiple blog posts, I chose to do just 1 with a bunch of pics to get you up to speed. I know I'm missing a bunch of other things too, but I'm not a great picture taking mom, so I had to go with what I had. Enjoy!

This pic is from my birthday night with Dan...I know you've seen pics from that night, but this is one of my favs so you get to see it again. If you have kids, you may be like Dan and I and RARELY remember to take pics of the 2 of you anymore, so when we do...I always hope it's a decent one. :)

A mini golf date with dad

On my actual birthday we took in our first movie as a whole family and we went and saw Toy Story 3....we had a TON of fun....it's going to be a rare thing though because taking a family of 5 to a movie is NOT a cheap adventure.

Josiah was in tumbling when he was 4, I plan to put Seth in tumbling this year during the day maybe and poor Alayna wanted to try gymnastics and never found a time to make it work until this summer. She had a great time! Not sure if we'll continue though because it's very time consuming and during the school year we try not to get too busy with activities.

Here she is on 'Parents Day' with flowers from Grandpa Holder...she felt very special!

The 3 Muskateers at Family Camp. They are friends from church and Seth loves running and playing with them.

Zoo fun...how cute is this????

And this???

Our animal lover!

We visited family friends at a lake cabin...always fun and refreshing!
Josiah and Isaac have been friends since birth (their parents forced it at first, but they have continued it on their own really well!)

Alayna and Ruthie enjoying their ride on the 'slow boat' -- pontoon

Unfortunately, Josiah wasn't feeling well while we were there...big bummer! This is him sleeping/resting during the pontoon ride.

He LOVED driving the jet ski with dad...surprised aren't you?? Ok, maybe you're not.

A cool geocache site...treasure hunting according to the kids...free fun according to mom and dad!

Fishing Fun...I used to go fishing ALL the time as a kid and I loved it...now Josiah really enjoys fishing so tonight I got my fishing license and we set off to go fishing.

Our/MY catch of the night...I was the winner of not only the biggest fish, but the only fish...Josiah was not deterred though and he plans on going again SOON...sounds good to me! :)

Show the frog to mom

Another funny moment in the Holder House!

Family Camp

Once again...I'm WAY behind in updating all the happenings in the Holder Home. Instead of back-tracking I'm just going to push forward for now and maybe go back in time later.

This past weekend over the 4th of July we packed up (what felt like our whole house) and headed to Crystal Springs Family Camp. We enjoyed great fellowship with old friends and new friends. The weather was perfect for playing outside, enjoying the beach and spending a great time as a family.

Taking our 'circus act' isn't always easy, but we made it! We knew this year would probably be harder then next year and the years to come as our kids (mainly Seth) gets older, but we didn't want to miss out on the memories that could be made right now. We enjoyed great times together and here are some pics that I...oh wait, I'm a horrible mom who forgets to take pictures...that Amy took...enjoy!

Geocaching

The weekend fun continued today....

I had told Dan about Geochaching a few weeks ago and today we took a couple minutes to figure out how it works. Well...it's fun! Using the GPS on our phones we enter coordinates for various locations and then we go to them and have to find Geocaches. They come in all sorts of containers and are hidden in all sorts of locations, but when you find it, you sign your Geocache name and sometimes add a small trinket to the box (if it's big enough) and then move on to find another one somewhere else.

Today, we did this for the first time and it was a lot of fun, the kids loved it! It's free and it's fun -- that works for this family! :) We found one in a railing in a bridge, one hidden in a fake rock by a waterfall, another hidden handing in a tree, one more in a tree stump and then the last one of the day was in a tube in the ground. It's a great game of Hide and Seek or Treasure Hunting and yet, it's free!

We found some not far from our neighborhood, but then later we took a family surrey bike ride in Lindenwood while we were Geocaching around there. It was great!

At the end of the night we put our hands in the middle and said, "Treasure Hunting" and when we were done, Alayna reminded us that our greatest Treasure is Jesus. She's so right! She loves the song, "Treasure" by Desperation Band.

Birthday Fun!

Ok...if you don't know my hubby and I here are a couple things about us you should know. We don't keep secrets from each other...if we try, we usually fail. We are more connected then probably most married couples and so if either of us tries to get away with something we usually fail because we always know what the other is doing. You should also know that we have been married over 9 years and my husband has yet to surprise me. Don't get me wrong...he has tried. He's come close once or twice, but I've ALWAYS had an suspicion and then it was proved true in the end. Even when he proposed, I had a suspicion it was going to happen that day, I just didn't know how. I digress.....

Anyway, friends of ours were in town for the weekend. We were planning a double date for Friday night. I KNEW my husband was up to something. I told him that and he admitted that he had a surpise for me after we went out to eat. His surprise (or so I thought) was a boat ride on the Red River. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun relaxing ride with our friends, but it wasn't anything to write home about (sorry SS Ruby!). We had to get home early because Grandma and Grandpa had to leave to get some work done by 7pm (it's not uncommon that they need us home a little earlier then we had maybe planned, so again, I thought nothing of it) and so after our boat ride we went and got some Dairy Queen and then headed home.

I walked in the door first because I was moving a bike out of the way for Dan to park and then when I walked in the door I saw some food set out, but it still didn't quite sink in yet....then I walked into our kitchen and saw a bunch of our friends starring at me and then saying, "SURPRISE!" He got me...he truly got me! I thought there might be other friends at the boat ride...when there weren't, I assumed it didn't work out, and that was ok. Then we got home and I realized I fell into his trap. He was grinning from EAR TO EAR! Thanks for making (3 days before) my 30th birthday really special!

Our ride on the Red River

Another Bloggers Post...

I read this tonight and thought it was well written and so I wanted to share it. I don't know who all reads my blog and I don't know where your marriages are at...but it would be worth your time to read it and reflect on your marriage.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/06/5-ways-to-make-marriage-last.html