Family reunion...oh yeah we traveled..a lot.

So we traveled, again, to Colorado Springs, CO.  I had been planning a family reunion for two years.  We were supposed to have it last summer but my sweet grandfather Reuben passed away suddenly and so the whole thing got postponed.  So this summer was the summer and my family is so great and so much fun that I think we all, despite being weary travelers, had a ball!

Jassie Singin' away...so cute!!

We discovered Micah could belt it!  Amazing!

Mary...so funny!

A little tired...

He makes sure he has the blond squad around him always.

Grandma the Great and Micah

Funny cousins!

Kristen, Erin, Ashley, Brenda

Outside the Glen Eryie Castle

Esther, Bob, and Eunice

Jassie, Brielle, and Ruthie

A whole lotta cousins!

He turned 9...

Well I am way behind in my blogging but at least I am getting it done at some point...right?  Hahaha!  I know excuses excuses!  We last month Micah turned 9...oh man that is hard to type and say.  He will be a 3rd grader this year, which is another thing that chokes me up.  I can't believe my sweet feather-haired baby is a big boy.
So for his birthday we decided to have a backyard water party which basically equates to a bunch of boys (and one sweet girl) running around like crazy people.  The day started out with a swim meet and my Mom came up to help with watching girls and containing the chaos. It was a great day...

Micah is the one in the middle with the cap.

The birthday crew!

Decorating cupcakes!

Whole bunch of candles in 2 small cupcakes!

He begged to clean up the streamers...

Birthday boy enjoying some of his loot.

Dear Micah,
Wow nine years seems like a breathe, a fleeting moment I would like to rewind and hold you a little bit longer.  I wonder when the last was that I did pick you up?  What a handsome, funny, smart, young man you are!  I love to watch you talk about your Savior and see the heart you have for telling people about Him.  You are so amazing and your dad and I pray that your hunger for knowledge and a deeper relationship with Him only increases.  You have this incredible knack for drawing people in, I am amazed at the amount of kids who stop by our house so anxious to play with you.  Amazed, but not surprised because you are so fun!  We love you Micah and I hope I can remember to slow things down and snuggle with you a little longer.  We love you so!
Love,
Mom and Dad

Adventures ahoy Part 2!!

Forth of July was a bittersweet day for me.  I loved having Brad and the kids together and my dad's house but I also knew the next day we were going to have to leave, however making the best of it is easy to do when kids are around so we did...Micah and GrandPaul started the day by putting up the flag out of all my kids, Micah has a connection with this country's history, so it meant a lot to  him to be able to put the flag up with my dad who is an Army guy.

The rest of the day was filled with water slides (as previously seen in the other post), boat rides and food.  Of course everyone under 5 foot tall was very anxious for sparklers...they had a blast, well bad choice of words they had a ball!

GrandPaul handing out sparklers, notice all hair is pull back into ponytails.

She needs a little help keeping that sparkler a safe distance away.

Family and friends partaking in 4th of July festivities.

The night ended with a few mosquito bites, a lot of fire works, and a great tribute to our troops with a lantern.  I was too busy staring at it to get a picture but it was beautiful!

The next day we were on the road for our trip across North Dakota to Montana.  Our main stop was at my grandparents house and my Uncle John was there visiting so seeing him was definitely a bonus.

It was so good to see the three of them, hopefully next year we can stay a bit longer...

After time at Grandma and Grandpa's house we left for Grandpa Wes's home, we were definitly anxious to get out of the car...

Are we there yet?!

We got to spend to spend 4 days with Wes and we had a blast.  Starting with a birthday party for Micah and me, it was fun and Brielle and Ruth loved having little cousins around.

Cate, Ruth, Brielle, & Macy

Going down to the river

Grandpa making sure Ruth's head was not in the line of fire.

4 Generations, Brad's Grandma Dorothy