July 2015

On the road again...July was our month to travel and visit family and friends in the north. We had a great trip filled with many wonderful adventures. Read on for more details.

Before we started our journey, we celebrated Thad's 5th birthday with family and friends. It was so cool to have his cousins from Albania be able to partake in the festivities this year! His secret agent party was complete with a secret mission, encoded messages, clues, and a minion pinata. The kids looked awesome in their undercover disguises (see the smilebox at the end). It is hard to believe that our "little man" is now 5. He is an articulate, sweet, funny, spunky little guy!

Next on our agenda was the long journey to visit Nana and Papa in Michigan. It seemed like an eternity was spent in the car but it was so worth it! Our adventures in their neck of the woods included swimming in Lake Superior, visiting cool playgrounds, touring a copper mine, celebrating Thad's birthday again, reading stories, playing games, and so much more. Thank you Nana and Papa for so much fun!

Our next stop was Grandma and Grandpa Rice's and the Rice Ranchers in Wisconsin. Our adventures there included swimming in Uncle Doug's pool and taking tractor rides, playing games of monopoly, battleship, and cards with Grandma and Grandpa, running around with our cousins, celebrating Thad's birthday again (the little man got thoroughly spoiled), and so much more. It was fun to go thrifting with our cousins and find silly things to put on (see the smilebox for a good one of Thad). It was also sweet to be able to finally introduce Marie to the Rice Ranchers. Her cousins were great with she and Ava! It was a blessing to have our good friends Pete, Dorothy, and their kids come for a visit. It was precious to meet the newest addition to their family and fellowship with them.

Next up was the Rice Tribe in Illinois. Our time there was a whirlwind with all the preparations for nephew Caleb's wedding. The kids loved seeing all the animals, playing with their cousins, helping pick berries, and more. The family all converged there for the big wedding and it was such a blessed time to celebrate Caleb and Mariah's union before God. The Lord truly blessed the day as it was supposed to rain and he gave us sunshine and hundreds of family and friends to celebrate with! Thank you Lord!!! Thad was also given the honor of being the ring bearer. He couldn't have been cuter! (see the smilebox again).

We returned home exhausted from the travels and so ready to sleep in our own beds. There were mountains of clothes to wash, mail to sort, and communication to get caught up with. It was so worth it though! During our time away, Auntie Meredith gave birth to our new nephew, Gabriel and we can't wait to meet him. Jeff also continued working on his Master's degree and is finishing up another class. We hope that your summer has been blessed by friends and family as ours has. See you next month!

Free slideshow made with Smilebox