Katie Turns 18!?

Last week we celebrated Katie's 18 years of life! This brings mixed emotions as she often reminds us, she is now an adult. (Hmmm...) On her b-day we had a fun day spent at the beach with just our family. After a nice dose of sun and sand, Ruby's Diner on the pier was Katie's choice for dinner. Our family is now focused on the next stage in life for her. We are now in the final stages of sending Katie off to college. She's super excited and we are excited for her! God has blessed Katie with many gifts and talents. It has been so wonderful to watch her make so many deep connections in our new home in just the past two years. She is leaving a great group of friends (may the "fab four" live forever!), many children who adore her as their babysitter, and an awesome faded green minivan behind! But, she's ready to hit Calvin's campus running. We know God has great plans for you, Katie, continue to follow His lead in all you do!

The River's Got Talent

Our church had a little talent show the other evening. It was a great time of celebrating so many God-given talents in our congregation! From young to older, everyone did great!

San Clemente

We are definitely taking every opportunity we get to spend time at the beautiful Southern California beaches this summer. We have friends who are fortunate enough to camp out at the beach for several days each summer. (Jealous!) We were invited to join a group out in San Clemente recently. What a great day it was! The kids all had friends their ages and were entertained all day. Jumping waves, rowing a sketchy raft out to an "island", riding "the banana" too many times to count, beach volleyball, chatting with friends, enjoying great food, sharing a ride on a bicycle built for two with one of your best friends, and many more memories were made that day! Gotta love summer!