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

Family!

Hello All! We are enjoying the exact same weather today that you are having! Sunny and 70! We have had beautiful weather the past week, Ben and I have been loving it!

We were even more thankful about the weather because Emily, Mark and Macie visited us last week so they were able to see how beautiful it really can be here! We can't explain how wonderful it was to have them here. It was definitely such a blessing for so many reasons...God is good! We had so much fun playing nertz, going on walks, eating junk food, showing them the sights, playing with Macie and the list could go on and on. If you would ask Emily the best part of her trip she would say "watching HGTV!" No joke! She thought that was unbelievable! So, for that reason alone I am glad we have cable! :)

Here are some pictures I took while they were here!
And let me mention that Macie absolutely LOVED Ben! Ben loved her just as much! :)










I will end with sweet little Macie LaVae!





We are really looking forward to our weekend! Ben is working from home today (he really needed a break from the office) so that we can head down to Seattle for a marriage conference called Weekend to Remember! We are so excited to spend a weekend together in a hotel. The conference should be awesome! Then our friends Luke and Caitlin Hill are going to spend Sunday with us, so that will be awesome again! And in 2 weeks Megan and Chad are coming! Another WOOHOO from the Wetzells in Washington!

We feel so blessed to have such amazing families and friends! Thank you to all of you! We love you and miss you all so incredibly much! And I am so thankful for my amazing husband, who is such a strong man of God!

Here is a verse that God has just put on my heart. It has given me a lot of peace in the last day! It seems so simple, yet I needed that reminder.

"Be still, and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10