The Wetzell Hotel!

This week we had our first set of guests stay for more than a weekend and I hope they didn't get sick of us! My parents were GREAT guests! I hope they didn't mind how busy we were. I think that the Wetzell Hotel Shuttle brought them to every attraction possible in the Pacific Northwest:)!
We started in Seattle on a very chilly July morning.


We headed up to Mt.Baker to find Artist Point. This was a first for Ben and I too!






We parked and walked down a muddy, wet, snowy path to Picture Lake-Amazing! We had great views of Mt.Shuksan.





Once we started walking up to Artist Point we could look in every direction and see an amzing snow covered peak!It was truly one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.







We walked downtown Lynden, which just has a lot of cute shops. It is an extremely Dutch community so we had to get pictures in front of the big windmill! Mom and dad also thought the big hanging baskets were so great, so we HAD to take some pictures:)!




Another great part of the week was heading to Vancouver to see Tom. He was an excellent tour guide showing all of us the most beautiful parts of the city. Mom and dad really liked Vancouver, it is such a neat place to go. Tom also brought us to a restaurant called Waterstreet Cafe it was truly some of the best food we had ever had.





We had beautiful weather all week so one day we wanted to head to a beach. We traveled to Birch Bay. It was definitely not sandy white beaches like on Florida or even like the sand around our MN lakes, but we still managed to have a lot of fun. And like my dad said, "God couldn't make all the beaches the same or it wouldn't be fun to see all of them."





This was dad's find of the day! :)

In between all the busyness, we did manage to enjoy some yummy fresh fish! Mmmmm


On their last day with us we spent our time at all the beautiful areas of Bellingham. We took them to Whatcom Falls, Lake Padden, Chuckanut Drive and finished back at Fairhaven, which is my favorite area of Bellingham.




Then they were off to Victoria for the week! Victoria is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the world and so far it sounds like they are really enjoying it. I am fortunate enough to get to meet up with them tomorro and Ben will head there this weekend!
We love you and miss you all!!
"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." Psalm 33:20-21

MN Vacation!

Now, most people could never fathom taking their summer trip to good ol' Minnesota. Ben and I on the other hand, couldn't wait to get there! Our summer in WA has been unusually cold so getting to MN to be with our family and enjoy 80 degree weather seemed more than wonderful to us! Our trip was filled with Ben being in 2 weddings, one in Chicago, the other in New Jersey and in between those weddings we wanted to spend as much time as possible with our families. It was so wonderful seeing the Carrs and so many others at the wedding!

We spent the 4th of July at the cabin with the Wetzell Clan! We had so much fun!


The boys had fun using a new rope swing at the lake...I think they were the oldest ones there by about 15 years! :)



Then we headed to be with the Wolf's! The kids were so excited to see Ben!



The moths by Emily and Mark's pool were unbelievable. They were everywhere. The girls were catching them like crazy...I think the moth population decreased by 75% once all the little ones got there:)




I was able to help Emily get ready for Gabrielle's Beach Themed Birthday Party. We had so much fun making the sunglasses cake and getting everything organized.



Our time at home was so great but much too short of course. I can say that it was one of the best vacations I have ever had. I enjoyed all of our family time so much and can't wait to get home again.







Fortunately we don't have to wait to long to see family because my mom and dad are flying in on Saturday to stay with us for a week and then they are heading to beautiful Victoria, B.C. And Tom is in Vancouver for business this week so he is coming down tonight!

We miss everyone already and pray that you continue to enjoy your warm summer! :)

"Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart." Psalm 97:11

HOME!!!!!!!

That title has 2 meanings. The first one is that we feel pretty organized in our new home, so I am going to put up a few new pictures (they probably won't look much different)! The second is that we are coming HOME tomorrow!!!!! We can't wait!!! I am so stinking excited to be in MN with our families and friends! WOOHOO! So, this blog will be short just wanted to write something before we are gone for awhile!

Entryway

Living Room

Dining Room

Guest Room/Reading Nook (all I could think of to fill space, since our guest bedroom stuff is still in MN, being put to good use by the Pahls) :)

Bedroom

"He knows the way that I take and when he has tried me I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

Lynden, WA

Well we are now officially residents of Lynden, WA...the official home of "Footloose"! Yep, that's right, "Everybody Cut, Everybody Cut Footloose." We are loving it! We love our space in our new house, we love being able to sit outside in a (small) backyard, we love being part of a family oriented community, we just love so many things about our new home. Ben was a mad man last weekend trying to hang things and get situated, while I am taking my time trying to make it feel home and look cutesy(not even a word!). That definitely describes one of the major differences between us!:) We aren't even close to being completely organized yet, but that has been, and still is, my job this week. So, here are a few pictures. They aren't great, but they will do for now! We will add more once we are all "cleaned up".





These are taken from our driveway, mountains in Canada and Washington! Beautiful!



We love you all! We are so excited to be home in MN in 8 days!
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts."Psalm 139:23-24

More Family!

Last weekend was a busy, fun, cold, wonderful weekend all in one! Megan and Chad came to visit us and we were on the go from the time they got here on Friday until we dropped them off on Monday night!

We spent Saturday driving around, showing them all the sites. We ate at an extremely scrumptious restaurant after church that night called Big Fat Fish Co...It was GOOD!




Sunday was spent in search of Ben! Ben was a part of the Ski to Sea race, which is a big thing in this area. There were almost 500 teams. The race starts at the top of Mt.Baker with a downhill skier, they hand off to a cross country skier, then a runner (which was Ben), he handed off to a road biker, they hand off to canoers, they give to a mountain biker and the last leg is a kayaker. It is crazy! So we headed up the mountain to cheer on Ben and pick him up after the run. We got there and realized the road was closed off right before the runners. So we watched 3 hours of bikers...Ben finally made his way to us after his 8 mile downhill run! At least we were stuck somewhere beautiful and the biking leg was a lot of fun to watch.
Sidenote: I think we we cheered, clapped, etc. for 462 bikers...literally:)




On Monday we drove down to Seattle to walk through Pike Place Market and go to the Twins/Mariners game. I had been looking forward to the game for a long time. And to make life even better, the sun was actually shining in Seattle!







For other news...Ben and I are packing this weekend and getting ready to move to a new home next weekend to a neighboring town. We are really excited to be living in a home again. We feel very spoiled...and blessed because it will be a wonderful home and place to be. I also just decided to be done at the YMCA in 2 weeks. I am really thankful I am able to do that so that I can come home a couple times during the summer and then I will also be able to spend time with my parents when they come to visit.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34