Summer Fun At The Lake

Wednesday Scott's mom invited us out to their camping spot in Holland State Park. It was one of those wonderfully, muggy, hot days that we get in Michigan once in awhile. After our walk out to the beach, we were all ready to jump in the lake. The water temperature was perfect and we had a nice day with family.

The kids enjoyed playing cards.

Grandma, Hank and Kendra watching the game.

Scott "manning" the grill.

After dinner s'mores were a hit!

Troy being Troy.

Caught ya, Kam!

Apparently I was finding s'mores funny.

CousinsRelaxing by the trailer.

Fireworks Extravaganza

On Monday we completed our fourth celebration with a fireworks display on our driveway. Scott does enjoy lighting off fireworks and no worries- no one was injured during the show.

And The Answer Is...

We have had SO many people ask us over the last months where we are going to be after Seminary. We are very thankful and honored to say we are moving in the next few weeks to Redlands, CA to be a part of the ministry at The River Christian Reformed Church! Although the process has been long and at times confusing, we are thankful to God for leading us and guiding us in discerning his place for us. We covet your prayers as we hope to sell our home in Grand Rapids and make a smooth transition back to California.

A Weekend of Celebrating

It was kind of fun this year with Fourth celebrations being a bit drawn out over the weekend. We kicked off our weekend at the parade in Cascade on Saturday morning. The kids enjoyed seeing some friends and collecting much candy, of course. The rest of the day was low-key. We were blessed to have our friends, Geoff and Ashley stay with us for a night. We had a BBQ and then watched the Ada fireworks with them.

Fun on the Fourth

The fourth was a busy day. Scott preached at Cascade Fellowship and then we had lunch with some of Scott's family at his mom's. We then headed out of town to enjoy time at a lake where some of my cousins live. It was a neat time of catching up and playing in the sunshine and water. We decided to forgo the fireworks display and get our tired kids to bed.

Setting up for the fireworks.

Going on a tube ride.

Playing "bags" with Boppa.

Troy in his element.

Katie on a successful knee boarding ride.

Troy and cousins.

Blessing of Friendship

Tonight we had a great time of fellowship with a special couple. We began our Seminary journey at the same time as Matt and Gail. They also made the move from Central California to Western Michigan. Scott and Matt share a background in Youth Ministry. We have many great memories of time spent together in Grand Rapids. It's been a wonderful thing to have close friends to share the "life" of Seminary with. (As Kamryn put it, "They understand what we're going through!") We look forward to keeping in touch as we both move forward in our lives and ministry. We thank God for you, Matt, Gail and Anna!

Katie did a photo shoot while babysitting Troy and Anna...

Surprise!

Tonight Kamryn's friends are throwing her a surprise going away party. They have been hard at work for months planning this. The great thing was that Kamryn had no idea what was going on even after we pulled up to her friend Gretchen's house to drop her off. They were all so excited! I'm sure it will be a late night filled with lots of laughter and fun.