Kid Swap

Each summer we do a kid swap for a few days with cousins. This summer Josiah went to Dan's brother and sister-in-laws house to play with his cousin Ethan, while their daughter Hailey came here. The girls had a great time playing!! They swam in our little pool, we went to a city pool, we went and saw "Winnie the Pooh", we went to the zoo in town, I did mani's and pedi's for them, all in all...it was a fun few days for Alayna to have a girl to play with! :)

Good Times at the Fair

We took our family + grandpa Holder + Dan's sis, brother in law and their twin boys all to the fair and though it was pretty warm, the kids had a BLAST! The cousins only get to play together once a year, but they look forward to it and pick up right where they left off.

Josiah was a good sport willing to ride on the 'kid' rides...he did get a chance to ride quite a few of the bigger rides like this one (that even his mom and dad won't go on)...he's a thrill seeker when it comes to rides...YIKES!

We watched a high dive show (supposedly about pirates, but really about diving)

We also watched a reptile show, the boys couldn't resist waiting in line to hold the snake.

A weekend at the lake

A couple weekends ago we went and stayed at my brothers lake cabin. For the first time, while we were there, the weather was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l!! The kids love playing with any of their cousins and so the combination of playing with them, seeing grandma and grandpa, swimming and boat rides...well, all of that equaled LOTS of fun!

My moms first jet ski ride ever...and I was her driver.
We took a nice ride along the shore...no, I didn't dump her!

Josiah trying to ski for the first time...he even got up...not for long, but he got up!!
Way to go buddy!

This is the life! One tired fella found a great place to rest.

NY!!

*click on the collage to see it bigger

Dan and I had such a great time in NY celebrating our 10 year anniversary! We saw and did a lot of things while we were there, but we also had plenty of time to relax and just enjoy time away talking about what we've seen God do in the last 10 years, as well as studying God's word together. It was very refreshing!! So thankful that my mom was able to watch the kids while we were away...they had a blast as well...which makes leaving them a bit easier.

Where's the bathroom?

I have SO many things to blog about, but I have to write this down before I forget. Last weekend we went to my brothers lake cabin (pics to come in another blog) and while we were there Seth realized how fun it is to pull his pants down and pee off the dock, pull his pants down and pee by the tree, and pull his pants down and pee off the boat. The other day we caught him pull his pants down and pee in our yard, we explained that it wasn't appropriate (with backyard neighbors, I don't think they want to see that show) and to top it off, last night Dan walked upstairs and caught him with his pants down peeing into the empty trash can in his room. Ok, I think we need to have a guided tour to show him WHERE THE BATHROOM IS!!

Fun Times in June!

I'm kind of failing at blog land lately. So, here are some fun pics of what we've been up to the last couple of weeks. We don't really do after school activities during the school year, so summer time is when they each can pick a few things to be a part of. Josiah chose basketball camp (apparently can't find a pic of that...oops!), science camp, and MAYBE flag football later on this summer. Alayna chose basketball camp and an art camp later this summer. They will all 3 be in swimming lessons this year starting early July, we shall see how that goes. Seth is a TOTAL fish, but I'm wondering how he will do with a lesson rather than just swimming for fun...we shall see. Maybe he will surprise me. :) This week the older 2 at in St. Cloud with many of their cousins for 'cousin camp' at grandma and grandpas. We've enjoyed helping Dan's dad some this week as well as hanging out and playing around with Setharoo...he sure is a fun/funny kid!

Child Like Faith

Seth: Mom I no want a bad guy to come eat you at night time
Me: I don't think a bad guy will come eat me
Seth: He might
Me: Let's pray and ask God to protect us
Seth: Ok! God, protect and no let a bad guy eat us at night - Amen

Simple as that...no fear for him about it anymore. If only my own faith trusted HIM that fully all the time.