West Coast Family

The first week in October, Mike and I got away for a few days (woot woot!), thanks to the generous help from my parents who came down to watch NINE kids!  An added bonus to having Gramma and Grandpa here with us for the week: when Gramma's brother traveled east from Oregon for a family-visiting-midwest-tour, he and his fiance' stopped at our house!

It was wonderful to have a day with Uncle Jim and Gretchen :)

While here, the kids showed off their backyard forts, played basketball (P.I.G.), shared photo books and drew pictures, walked the boardwalks at Cypress Grove park, ate Tennessee BBQ, and enjoyed s'mores roasted over our backyard firepit. 

It was a pleasure to spend the day with Uncle Jim and Gretchen - it had been too long.  I'm so glad the kids had this opportunity to meet extended family and put faces to these names.  We are so thankful for them to fit us into their whirlwind travel trip! 

Wedding

This past weekend, we had the absolute pleasure of attending Mike's sister's wedding!!!

Annie wed Eric, a wonderful man, at a beautiful ceremony Saturday, June 22.  We couldn't be more happy for the two of them, and are so glad to have Eric and his sweet daughter officially a part of the family.  Theirs is a union of two lives and two families.  Annie and Eric are now a beautiful family of four! 

It was definitely a weekend of celebration.

Friday evening, the wedding party, participants, and immediate family gathered for the rehearsal.  The bridal party learned their places, Mike got to practice his reading from Genesis (I got to take pictures!), and the kids had an opportunity to practice their wedding behavior . . . sort of.  The gorgeous chapel at the high school Annie attended, adorned with tile floors, wooden pews, and stained-glass windows, was a challenging place for children - there was nothing to muffle any sounds and plenty of fun places to explore!

For the wedding celebration, extended family drove in from Wisconsin, including Mike's 93-year-old Grandma.  She was so pleased to have her three sons, 5 of her 9 grandkids, and 14 of her 18 "greats" all together.  Eric's large family was also well represented.

Great Grandma with 14 of her 18 "Greats"

*Katelyn, the eldest of the "greats" was a beautiful bridesmaid . . . 11 years ago, she was the beautiful flower girl in our wedding : )

Every detail of the ceremony was simple and elegant - from the soft pink bridesmaids dresses, to the beautiful chapel; the hand-assembled long-stemmed rose bouquets, and classic organ music with soprano solo.  Annie was radiant.  Her gown with cascading gathers, long train, and lace-up back was stunning.  She was a gorgeous bride.

Dad was so proud to walk his baby girl down the aisle.  The joy in both Annie and Eric was evident.  This was an incredibly happy occasion as they pledged their commitment to one another and their future.  Their children, cousin Will and his new sister Chloe, were so sweet walking down the aisle together hand-in-hand as ring bearer and flower girl.  But the best part was Will twirling and tossing the ring pillow while his parents were saying their vows - so cute! 

A fun-filled reception followed the ceremony (we left five kids with a sitter, taking only 3 to the party that went well past midnight).  Hendrick, Tesfaye and Hiwot especially enjoyed dressing up and making silly faces with cousins in the photo-booth - each coming away with 12+ strips of pictures.  They loved the pink flower iced cake, and endless supply of Shirley Temples from the bar, but they had the most fun on the dance floor.  After the touching father-daughter dance, with Annie dancing with Dad, and Eric dancing with his daughter Chloe, our kids began their domination on stage.  They tore up that dance floor!

Hiwot was thrilled to catch the bridal bouquet . . . Tesfaye was a little less sure about catching the garter (which he thought was a hairband) . . . and then the DJ started his magic.  Hiwot was incredible to watch.  She was an absolute dancing queen - moving her little body with each rhythm and "feeling" the beats of the music.  It almost appeared choreographed.  She put on quite the show, refusing to stop for refreshment as long as the music was still going.  The kids did their best following Annie and her bridesmaids during the line dances, but their uninhibited wild, abandoned dancing was where they really shined. 

Mike with his five siblings and one brother-in-law

This day was truly a wonderful way to celebrate the start of Annie and Eric's new life together.
We couldn't be more happy for them and wish them the very best. 

Plan B

We had plans to meet together and go camping in Kentucky . . .

and then we saw the 90% chance of rain prediction . . . 

for all three days . . . 

So instead, we got to hang out at home with Uncle Dann and Aunt Julie - what a treat!

We took advantage of the Tennessee sunshine and took a day trip to Memphis for the zoo and Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant.  Then we celebrated Tesfaye's birthday a few days early.

This may have been "Plan B" for our weekend, but (as always)  it was great to get to spend time with Dann and Julie.  The kids were thrilled to play "Show and Tell" for three days straight . . . they were amazing sports - I'm sure they heard enough about fish and tadpoles over the weekend to last them a lifetime : )

We appreciate them being willing to make the drive (and for bringing Charlie!)
*We'll have to try for another camping trip this fall.

 It was a big treat for Tesfaye to not only celebrate a birthday at home (his first ever!), 

but to have Uncle Dann and Aunt Julie with us. 

Family

We are very fortunate that Mike's job rarely requires traveling. . . but when he does need to leave for business, we are fortunate to have family to visit. 
We sure do miss daddy and it's hard to have him gone - but having a fun week with family, not to mention some extra help with the kids, is a special treat.  

Last week, while Mike traveled to Michigan, we drove up to Cincinnati to stay with family.  As usual, we kept busy! 
We spent time with two cousins, six uncles and aunts, and three grandparents, and had many special treats!  The girls joined Gramma and two cousins for a special girls afternoon at the Nutcracker Ballet, while the boys went bowling with Grandpa, we ventured out to the Natural History Museum and the Children's Museum at Union Terminal, drove through a spectacular light display at Sharon Woods, and even did a bit of school work.  (and it's always fun to play with the toys at Grandpa's and Gramma and Grampy's house : )

We are so thankful for our family who so generously welcomed us for the week and for people making the time to visit with us! 

Queen Bee

The Queen Bee came for a visit!  Amy's Grandma, Great Grandma Vee (a.k.a. Queen Bee), has been eager to come visit us to meet baby Maclaren.  

Thanks to Grandpa's chauffeuring (2,000 miles round-trip), we were blessed to share our home and spend a few days with this very special lady.  The kids had fun hearing stories, giving and getting lots of hugs and kisses, showing off toys, and playing with Grandma Vee.  At nearly 95, Grandma Vee is quite impressive: kneeling on the floor to challenge Davis to Jenga, building Snap Circuits with Hendrick, dancing with the girls, pushing Maclaren's stroller at the playground, and showing off in a competitive board game Camp . . . not to mention helping with meals and dishes.  She was very intentional spending special time with everyone.  Our week with Grandma was quite the gift.  

Thanks to Grandpa, Amy's Dad, for making this special visit happen - he came equipped with new magic tricks, special meals, and pockets of tootsie rolls : ) 

*We are quite proud of our lovely Grandma.  She's extraordinary, with the best stories (married and living in Honolulu in 1941), a wonderful attitude, very active (she teaches a weekly line dancing class), always eager to help, incredibly loving and intentional, and a great sense of humor.  We look forward to celebrating he 95th birthday in February!

Mammoth Family

When family is spread all over, it takes effort to get everyone together.  We're thankful Amy's family is intentional about getting together each summer - a week at the beach, or a weekend outing - it's always a treat to spend time with family. 

This past weekend, we gathered together at Mammoth Cave National Park for a family adventure.  The whole family (17) enjoyed picnic meals, chasing wildlife, playing with cousins, ranger talks, and cave tours.  The cool cave was quite a treat on a hot and humid weekend.  We explored 3 of the 392 charted cave miles, traveling through "fat man's misery", and "tall man's misery".  We ducked and squeezed and hiked up stairs to marvel at the "frozen Niagara", "bottomless pit", and learned more about the rich history of this cave system. 

We also celebrated together: our 10th anniversary, and and early surprise birthday celebration for Amy.  We did have to chuckle at the fact that we spent our 10th anniversary in separate lodgings - our family had to divide into a boy's room and a girl's room (too many kids for a single room!). 

Some day, God-willing, our 8 children will all have families of their own, and very likely with homes spread all over.  I hope we will be able to have regular family gatherings too.  It takes being intentional.

 

Our family ventured into the cave on the "Historic Tour" and the "Frozen Niagara Tour"

Between cave tours, we enjoyed lots of down time, playing with family: 

siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

It's always nice to catch up with family.  Earlier this summer, Uncle Dann and Aunt Julie enjoyed a grand trip to Italy and Switzerland.  Gramma and Grandpa just returned from Austria and Italy.  It was a treat to hear about their world travels (we can't wait to see more pictures!).    
Thanks for sharing your trips with us!
*The kids were thrilled to receive postcards and special souvenirs!