Summer Picture Overload

I have pretty much decided to chronicle our lives in pictures because my kids are just so cute and I know you all prefer their pictures to all my words. So, here we go...our last couple of weeks in pictures and captions.

A missionary and our two female interns volunteered to watch the missionary kids on Tuesday mornings this summer. Nate clearly had a blast the first week because he scarfed down his food and then fell fast asleep in his chair. 

 We took the boys to Krispy Kreme - Nate's first time. Nate had a blast, but only took a few bites of his donut!

 

 We have tried to stay cool by playing in the water!
On this particular day, Ben insisted on choosing those pants even though it was 100 degrees!

 We walked to a friend's house to partake in their lemonade stand. Ben was a natural! He immediately started trying to take money and pour the lemonade. He wanted a cut!

Mama-D (my mom) came to visit! She came to watch the boys while Ryan and I both worked during our Candidate Assessment Program (World Impact's week-long interview/assessment for potential missionaries).

We didn't just work though - we found some time for fun. 

Botanica - feeding the humongous goldfish.

 Found a ladybug.

 Craft time - in the AC!

 Both boys made a caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly! Did I mention it was hot?

This picture has a great story. Notice Nate's hands. He is trying to push Ben off. Ben got off and sat in front of Nate to tell him who's boss. Nate retaliated by trying to push Ben off. Ben jumped off the front and Nate fell flat on his face. Ryan and I call that "natural consequences!" Brothers!

 Do you see us way up high?

 Nate was hot and tired.

 Nate was not loving it and Ben was waiting for a butterfly to land on his hand.

 A happy moment.

 HOT - we were getting cranky.

Even though we were well hydrated and only outside from 9:30am-11am, Ben must have gotten overheated. He emptied the contents of his stomach on the drive home. It was awful. He didn't keep anything down the majority of the day and ran a fever. We were a bit worried, but he woke up bouncy and happy the next day and has been since. 

 So, we went to the local peach orchard to pick our own peaches! We had a blast. The morning was lovely, the shade was perfect and the peaches were delicious. The local owner told us to sample as we picked and we did! Nate ate at least four peaches and Ben was thrilled to pick. I hope this is an annual event.

 Reach

 Delicious

 Nate didn't want to take the picture.

Peach pickin'

Our doctor recommended putting Nate on a dairy-free diet to possibly help with his eczema. We noticed an immediate change for the better! We noticed the change when I gave him a yogurt a few days after we started the dairy-free diet. I didn't mean to, just habit. His skin immediately flared up and we new! So, now Nate enjoys his soy yogurt - so much so that he usually puts the yogurt cup on his nose and mouth and sucks out what he can't get with his spoon. He also has been getting about six teeth these last few weeks. Whew. Why do my kids do this? All their teeth at once? It means he gave up his morning nap and is only sleeping exactly 90 minutes during his afternoon nap time (what is so special about 90 minutes?) which means Ben is napping longer than Nate! Oh well.
Nate is also talking like crazy! Lots of words! It is so much fun watching and listening to the boys talking to each other. They have full conversations. Ben seems to understand Nate's little gibberish and words and they have a blast together.

When my mom comes to town she lets Ben use some of her make-up. Crazy! Ben loves it! And loves looking at himself with it on - mostly concealer, especially on his lips.

 

My boys love the water!

 July 2010 - July 2012

When watching a friend's kid we might have watched Dora while eating a pancake. It's a hard life!

My sweet boys loving Dora tha Explora.

Cheese

8 Years

Eight years ago we began our "happily ever after!" There have been a few highs, a few lows, a master's degree, a big move, two amazing sons and the promise of much, much more joy ahead! We love all of you that have supported us along the way!

Family Camp

Each summer, our Christ the Victor Churches gather at Morning Star Ranch for Family Camp! We have one English-speaking church, two Spanish-speaking churches and the families from Club4.12, our English-speaking youth program. This year we had 80 people laughing, learning and growing together as the family of God. While it is a lot of work for our family personally in preparing for camp and teaching sessions, it is also a lot of fun to get away for the weekend and play! I enjoyed myself more than I thought to take pictures for the most part, so I don't have as many as I normally would, but here is a sample and then a video that I put together for the ministry. 

Ben looked a bit over-protected since he chose to wear the swim wings and ride in Nate's boat.

 Nate was NOT a fan. The water was cold and crowded and he let us know he wanted no part in it.

 He came over to tell me about his Daddy putting him in the water. He was very serious!

 He finally ended up like this as we watched the loud pool raucous.

 We took a little stroll that ended up being too long for my napless little ones. At one point I was pushing the stroller and Ben was on my back. Not wise planning! And the sun was beating down on us. Live and learn!

Helping Daddy run powerpoint and sound.

Watch the video here.

We are so grateful for our church family! Even though some don't speak our language nor do we speak theirs, there is an unspoken bond that unities us together in Christ!

STL

This past weekend we were able to take our first trip to St. Louis. Ryan was asked to come give their staff a 4 part training following the recent church plant school. None of us had ever been to St. Louis, so the boys and I tagged along for the ride. It is about an 8 hour drive for us. The boys always do great on the drive, but this trip was a little rushed since it was just a weekend. We drove all day Friday, Ryan did a session that night, three sessions on Saturday and then we drove all day Sunday. 

While short, we had a great time. I took the boys to a really cool place, Magic House, on Saturday morning. There were tons of hands-on things for the boys! We also were able to enjoy some adult conversation with the other missionaries in St. Louis after putting the kids to bed or during and after dinner. The STL staff took great care of us and we are already hopeful of going back again someday! 

Rest stop along the way.

 Magic House

There was a huge tree slide of sorts that started on the second floor and went to the first.

This picture proves a point. Ben insists he is older and wiser than he really is. He couldn't stand on the hole a little smaller because he insisted he was tall enough for that one. Obviously not!

Amazing water table.

 

The 2 year old and under area.

 A fully stocked grocery store.
It had a cash register with play money and the scanner beeped when you moved items across it!

 Shopping

 Automotive shop.

 Veterinarian Clinic - Nate loving on a cat.

 Ben getting the cat's measurements.

 The fishing pond.
The kids could "catch" a magnetic fish, take it off and then put it back in the pond on the other side of this area and then watch it float back down to the pond in the river in the floor with plexiglass on it. I don't know if that makes sense, but it was super cool.

Awesome sand table.

Net tunnel in the littler kids area!

The tunnel led to the slide.

Nate crawled up to the top of the slide on his own, but got his foot caught under himself. He screamed! I had to climb up, free his leg and then he slowly slide down. I had enough time to grab the camera, but forgot the flash so it is blurry.

 Head gear was a fan favorite when playing with friends for some reason.

 The best part of home - your own bed!

Riverfest

Each year Wichita's big deal is the Riverfest. It is a week-long carnival type atmosphere and for a $5 button you can enjoy free entertainment, all the fried food you could ever want and some other activities for minimal costs. For our first Riverfest in Wichita we took our three month old baby to the fireworks, but we haven't been back until this year. I encouraged our family to enjoy it and I think we did!

First stop - the parade.
Jodi, a missionary friend, and I have two kids each and we packed our dinners and kids and braved the crowds together. We had a great time!

Our great spot along the parade route until people starting standing in front of us! Ben intentionally turned for the picture. Ugh.

 Nadia's chair was a huge hit!

 There is room in my lap for two!

 There is room in Ben's lap for one!

There is room in Jodi's lap for two too!

 

Ben and Nadia doing a little street dancing during the parade.

Another day we took a family trip to Riverfest. We bought Ben a ticket to ride a horse and then he freaked out. So, Nate rode in his place. After walking around for an hour or so we started to leave and Ben put on his brave face and decided to ride if Ryan would ride with him! It was a big deal for Ben.

 We saw Curious George. The boys waved and were so excited...from a distance. When we got close they both freaked out. I forced Nate to try because I thought he would warm up. He didn't!

 With our $5 Riverfest button we got in free to the Wichita Wingnuts baseball game. We arrived during the second innings (after naps) and the boys lasted the whole game! We even ran (walked) the bases after the game! It was also "Bark in the Park" day so there were dogs everywhere. They were a welcomed distraction. And it wasn't very crowded so the boys jumped from bleacher to bleacher without distracting anyone and we enjoyed the game. It was great fun!

See ya next June Riverfest!