Camping with the Jones

I had to post a few more. Evan and Owen's favorite part was throwing ants in the fire. Should I be concerned?

Here we go camping

We are once again headed up to go camping with our friends the Jones. The kids have been excited all day. I think they're more excited to be with their friends than they are about camping but that's OK.
Check out Taylor's cool hat. He insists on wearing it despite our protests.
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We got back from Chicago on Monday. Olivia sprained her ankle at uncle Randy's rock gym which made traveling through the airport difficult. Also, Taylor left on an early morning flight to go to work so I was on my own. But we made it. We spent most of the time at Nana and Tata's lake. It was 100 degrees most of the time so we played in the water. Whoever wasn't in the water chatted in the shade of tables and umbrellas. Poor Nana is pretty far gone with dementia.  She referred to Tata/her husband as "that man who stays here".  She's 84 and he's 86 and they celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this summer. They've both lived a long and happy life, most of it together. I think there were about 35 people all together between cousins,  aunts, uncles, inlaws, etc. Now we're planning a reunion with my family in Nashville in December.

Driving to Wheaton

We just got to Chicago,  got a car, and are driving to Taylor's parents house. Evan's pooped and his sisters are soo excited to see him. Family reunion, here we come.

Still Quiet Here

Emi and Olivia are still in Chicago and Evan isn't sure what to think of it. On the one hand, he's getting all the attention from us and there's no one to tease him. On the other hand, there's no one to play with. We leave on Thursday for Chicago.

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I've been totally swamped today helping Taylor with "office stuff" and also doing my other bookkeeping. This merge has been a lot more work than we realized it would be. Hopefully things will even out soon. Evan spent the morning watching cartoons (a total guilt trip for me). But then I took him and Viggo to the park and we played for a while then came home and had lunch. Then Viggo's mom took them swimming. We are sad they are moving away next month. Evan and Viggo are like brothers.

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Here's what I've been thinking about lately. Our belief in God is really shaped by our belief of why things happen. If we believe that God gives us trials to shape us, help us grow and make us better people, then we can see Gods hand in our lives and turn to Him to help us through what is hard. In other words, if we can see God's love for us manifest even in our trials, we will come closer to Him and rely on Him to get us through. On the other hand, if our belief is that God manifests His love for us only by improving our circumstances, whether it's health, wealth, or general good fortune, then when the hard times come that inevitably will, we assume He has forgotten about us or simply doesn't love us. Then we turn away, because of our underlying belief. I hope I can always see God's hand in the ups and the downs of life and turn to Him in everything. I know whatever he throws my way, it is for my good.

Bumper boats

My Girls Are Gone

I sent them off to Chicago yesterday. Their first big trip on the airplane all by themselves. They were sooo excited. The airlines make it pretty easy to ship your kids around. They get tags and everything seems totally safe for them. I got to go right to the gate and watch them board and Kandy waited for them when they got off. They've been sending me pictures of their activities today, which I'll post later. They went up to Nana and Tata's house on the lake, which is always fun. Between swimming and looking at all their "old stuff" there's always lots to do there. Taylor and Evan and I head out next Thursday for 4 days for the big family reunion. Which is turning out to not be as big as everyone was planning on since several families couldn't make it. But there will still be lots of grankids, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. to catch up with.

I'm watching a lightening storm out the window. I love storms.

Evan was slightly bored with me today. He went to Ian's house up the street for the morning. Then he and I went swimming. But when we were just here at home, the two of us, he was wandering around all forlorn missing his sisters. Then when Taylor came home the two of them went for a bikeride to Gelato's, Evan's favorite ice-cream spot. I have a feeling it's going to be a long week and a half till we go out there. At least for Evan. And maybe for me too. I have plenty to do (oh do I always have plenty to do!!) but the house is too quiet. Well, I'm glad they're having a good time though.

Rhythm on the River

An annual summer tradition here in Longmont,  the kids love it every year.

Evan and Tristan

This was a conversation I overheard between Evan and Tristan, our nieghboor.
Evan: "Tristan, do you go to church?"
Tristan: "Yeah, I think so. I mean sometimes."
Evan: "Do you believe in God?"
Tristan: "Of course I do."
Evan, as he puts his hands on his hips: "Then how come you keep sayin his name in vain?"
Tristan: "I don't know. I guess I don't really know what that means, his name in vain.."
Evan proceeded to do his 5-yr-old best to explain what that means and why he shouldn't do it.
They went on playing after that. But I've noticed since then in conversation with his family that they don't take the Lord's name in vain anymore.
This experience taught me two things. One, that there are always opportunities to share the Gospel and we shouldn't be afraid to share. Two, that the Gospel is pretty black and white and there's not too much we have to wonder about. We may not always be living it to the standards we know we can, but the standards are clear. If we believe this way, then we need to act that way. I think it's a good goal to try to achieve the same sense of clarity that 5-yr-olds have about life. I'm glad at it's root the Gospel is simple. We believe in Jesus Christ, that He atoned for us, and if we repent and humble ourselves and make and keep our covenants with the Lord, we can have eternal life with Him.

On a boat at Grand Lake

Sledding and boating on the same day. Only in Colorado. The kids are having fun and we're not thinking about work today.

Sledding in July

On trail ridge road

Trail ridge road today