Harvest

 Imagine the shocked boy on your left (above) being carried away by a helium balloon!

 (above) Up, up, and away! There he goes........

 And here both boys being carried away, while their dad keeps them grounded

 This harvest fest had fun booths, that bring our thoughts  back to Jesus

 Blindfolded, stick the sheep on The Good Shepherd [like Pin the tail on the donkey game].

 Our friend was hosting the "Jonah and the whale" booth

 Jonah flies directly into the whale's mouth!

Pumpkin Time

 It's that time of year again when the weather cools off and fall baking begins around here. Some moments, the conversation reflect on God's abundance and how He provides greatly for us. We made pumpkin muffins to share with friends, and tried a new recipe, with the addition of molasses. Our boys loved 'em.

 Sweeter to me than the muffins, was their response to the baking. The boy shared their happy memories of me baking, especially when they were younger ("When I was 3, we used to bake ALL the time"). Those were the days before regular exercise and outside routines.

They love mama's baking

Fall Festival

 Ninja turtle, Mario, Ninja, Clone Trooper, Detective, Agent P

 The ART of painting pumpkins

and on the right is our clown fish -- Nemo

The petting zoo had rabbits 

Lego Team Build

I really feel blessed at how the Lord's provided an outlet for my boys unique to who they are. They are like fish in water and love to swim. The are creative and imaginative and love to build.

These boys work together to build a LEGO structure that is motorized -- preparing for the sciences of physics, robotics, and mechanical engineering... while kids can be kids

15 years

We've been talking about our past favorites as possibilities to celebrate our wedding anniversary. For the two of us personally, experiences have been more of our memory keepers. 

 It's been about 10 years since our last date on a gondola and this cruise was as romantic as the first.

 The two of us turn our eyes to Jesus in gratitude for being the strong Tower we go to in marriage. 

I am so excited for my long time friend, who has had an everyday miracle happen in her life, and has all the blessings, that come along with, to look forward to! A BABY!!! Praise God for his blessings overflow and He knows the desires of our hearts.

We were thankful to celebrate with our friend on her wedding day. It had been quite some time since we had spent time together, so it was a blessing to be a part of such a momentous day.

A good bye hug before Pete and I headed out

Amy and Blair were shining with joy and laughter. Her laugh is infectious.

We spent the last hour of this beautiful outdoor wedding "dancing in the rain" amongst the twinkling lights and shining stars! 

Pit Stop at the Pier

Even though their and our prior commitments almost kept us from getting together, we were able to figure something out, so we crossed paths while our dear friends were in town. I call it a "pit stop" because it was brief gathering where we caught up with each other as we walked along the pier.

Pete, Gina, Meg & John

Our  kids spent some time watching the surfers catch waves

Here are Pete and John, who grew up together, with their own children now. While we were out, it even started to drizzle a bit

This side of the tracks

 This young man wanted to step on this side of the train tracks to check out the water collecting in the dried up stream....

 Here it is...

 and off we go...

Fin-A-Thon

Our boys are bundles of energy! Even with daily trips to the playground and getting out and about, they've had energy to spare at the end of the day. Given their love for water, we decided to give them an outlet by swimming regularly. 

Their swim team hosted a swim-a-thon, which was a lot of fun, and a good change of pace.

The parents that are counting laps for the swimmers

A Fin-A-Thon RACE, the high school swimmers towed the younger swimmers 

and they are off!

The swimmers were treated to pizza as the sun set. 

Pete and I were so enthusiastic to see our kids grow in endurance and perseverance. Aidon swam 1,050 yards and Josh swam 775 yards. They've really increased their skills after just a month!

Zoo Zany-ness

 Our two families enjoyed as our plans to hang out at the zoo came to fruition at long last. Here are the boys making faces. Can you guess who is peeking at you behind that monkey face?

hint: younger brother

hint: older brother

hint: older bro, with younger one peeking thru the back

hint: younger bro

 See the hand placement? This was a slippery shot (above)

 The camera was too slow to capture the quick-footed youngin' of the group (above)

 Mamas getting into the action

 that's all of us!

 Monkeying around on the bamboo bars

"Time to head home. That's a wrap!"