Living By Faith

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

My parents both took a day off work this summer and took our family to the Indianapolis Zoo. It was supposed to be the whole family, but because of work, Lance and Jardon couldn't come. It was still a fun day though.

Petting the sharks

Penguins!

Snakes....

Maddox being Maddox:-)

We watched an elephant take a bath

Of course we had to enjoy the waterpark!

First Day of School

I can't believe another year of school is here again. So far it's been a great year (for the kids and me too!).

Maddox wanted in the picture too:-)

Landon - first day of 1st Grade!

Kelsey - first day of 3rd Grade!

Camping Fun

We were able to enjoy several camping trips this summer. It is so nice to be able to get away from everyday life and just enjoy each other. No TV, video games, iPods, etc.....you get the picture! Here are pictures from our camping adventures!

Nascar RV Resort, Monticello

We took Gerardo and Vanessa on a camping trip with us this summer. The kids all had so much fun!

Waterpark!

Ferry boat ride to Indiana Beach

Tippicanoe State Park, Winamac (Summer Potluck)

Some of the guys playing Washoes

So many boys!

Lunchtime

Landon loves hanging out with Elijah

Most of the kids. Such good friends and great memories!

France Park, Logansport

We went to France Park with Nick and Sandra and their kids and had a blast!

Hiking

We hiked to a waterfall....pretty cool! I can't imagine what it would have looked like had we gotten rain this summer!

Just like one of the kids:-)

Beach time!

This was the kids' favorite place to play....it was their little cave right by our campsites

Mississinewa Campground, Peru (Labor Day)

A group of us have started an annual Labor Day camping trip, and let's just say this year was quite interesting! It rained and rained. The kids had an absolute blast with the rain, making some wonderful memories together.

Thankfully, Leman's brought their 'smoke tent' so we were still able to enjoy a fire during the rain.

Riding bikes in the rain

I really have no other words for this photo than....Oh My!

They had so.much.fun. in this mud pit!

Buddies

Mud puddles

Playing games:-)

All the kids (minus Ellie).

Thursday, June 14, 2012

10 Wonderful Years.....

Lance and I recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a vacation to the Dominican Republic. Why the Dominican? Well, we actually searched everything....Cancun, Riviera Mya, Jamaica, St Lucia....you name it, we tried it. The Dominican is where we found the best deal. It was absolutely fabulous....best vacation ever! We still randomly talk about how much fun we had.

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which was wonderful. We did venture out a little and went on an Outback Safari throughout the country. It is a beautiful country! We also walked down the road a little ways and shopped at the markets, which was quite the experience to say the least! We met some amazing new friends who happen to live in Chicago, so we are able to stay in touch very easily.

This was the most amazing vacation ever, and we really hope to go again someday and take the kids. They would love it! Who wouldn't, right? Here are a few pictures from the week.....

Going to dinner

All ready for our Outback Safari excursion.

We went to one of the public beaches during our excursion....it was so beautiful!

Our tour guide, Angel. He was great!

The schoolhouse we visited

We were able to visit one family's home

The view from my favorite spot every afternoon. We came here almost every day after lunch and I would either read my book or take a nap. Lance couldn't sit still long enough and would usually end up finding a game to play or heading out into the ocean.