A Weekend Away!!!

On July 26th-28th we were very blessed (by our Jamison parents) to get a weekend with no kids.  We drove over on Friday and dropped them off.  Then we went to check into our hotel room.  When we opened the door to our room, to our surprise, it was already occupied.  There was luggage and other things spread around the room.  After getting a new room we relaxed and enjoyed our evening.  Saturday day we bummed around, just enjoying time with each other.  That evening we went out to Adventure Dynamics in the Nine Mile Falls area of Spokane for a couples date night. 

(Brian taking the leap of faith)

 

 (Laci taking the leap of faith)

 

 

It was so much fun working together to complete the various low and high ropes activities.  The next day we went for a run and then picked up the kids.  It was really nice to have the weekend away especially with all of the stress of moving and changing jobs.

Our Summer Home

We have been living at the Trailer' Inn RV Park in Bellevue for the past five weeks.  It truly has been an experience.  

As you know just under five years ago, when we moved to Wisconsin, we lived in our 5th Wheel for about six months.  This 5th wheel was MMMM feet long.  It had to bedrooms (with doors) and the living room had a slide out that made it a little bigger.  We were there in the winter time so everything was sealed up and we did have to stay inside a lot due to the cold.  Not to mention, there were only four of us in there.

Now, there are five of us (and a cat) and we are living in a 9 1/2 foot camper that sits in the back of our truck.  

The bed over the cab holds Brian and I.  There is a small space beside our bed that is Emeric's "baby" bed.  Angela sleeps on the table bed and the cupboards above that turn into a bunk that Connor sleeps on.  

It is summer time which has been a life saver.  God has been sending us nice sunny weather!!  We have been playing outside a lot.  The kids ride bikes, we take walks, they play at the playground and we go to the pool.  

There are other kids who live at the campground too plus the ones who are here for a little time.  That gives my kids others to play with.  The clubhouse has nice hot showers and a nice coin-op laundry.  

Even though we are pretty squished in the camper, it has been a pretty good summer so far.

RV Park

We have been in Washington for about a month and a half.  The first week was moving from WI to WA.  Then we were in the campground for two weeks.  Next was a week camping on the beach and a week at my parent's house.  Now we are back at the campground.  I will be taking some pictures of the camper and the RV park to show you all a little about where we live, but for now here are a few pictures.

Angela learned that she could fit Emeric on her bike seat (he balances his feet on the top of her shocks) and she can ride him around with her.  He has so much fun being a part of the big kid's activities.

Connor enjoys biking too.

Grandma, Aunt Teri and Hilary came over to visit us.  The kids thought it was great fun to show them around "our space".

I took them out to get their hair cut before we went to spend our week on the beach.  Everything was a little bit shorter for the hot weather.

Angela had a lot of fun jumping off of Grandpa's boat.  Later in our trip Connor and Emeric got into it too and all three of them have been having a lot of fun.  It is so nice that we have a pool here to play in and then the lakes and rivers when we go to visit the family.

Emeric and I took cousin Gabe on a tube ride with us.  Both boys were super brave to go fast behind the boat and they both seemed to have a lot of fun.

Grandma Phyllis enjoyed seeing all of her great-grandkids.  Cousin Jack and Emeric enjoy the snacks and love she hands out.

Grandpa and Grandma took the kids on a 'safari' ride one evening before dinner.  The kids had a great time riding around the property. 

The kids learned a song about a moose while they were at VBS.  They have had so much fun singing it and so many other songs.  I love watching them being so silly.

Now that I have figured out how to get back onto the blog I will try and get a few more things onto here.  Brian and I are way behind on our ABC dating but we do have a T and U planned out.  As soon as we get them in I will update you.  It is much harder to get out on dates when you don't know any babysitters.  Fortunately we have family that will be watching the kids in a couple of weeks so that we can get a couple nights to ourselves.  I am really looking forward to that.  Happy July!!

Weekends

I LOVE  Thursdays!!  These past four and a half years Brian has been mainly working four days per week.  This means that our weekend starts on Thursday evening.  Yes, the kids still have school on Fridays and most Fridays I still have daycare kids but that is beside the point.  For me my weekend begins on Thursday evening once Brian gets home.  Well now Brian is looking to get a utility job which means he would be working five days per week.  It will be so weird to have the weekend starting on a Friday.  I know it means he will be home much earlier every day but I think I will miss our three day weekends.  Enough of my bemoaning!  I will just enjoy the fact that today is Thursday and that the weekend will start in about five hours.

 

 

Happy Wednesday!!

Spiritual Thoughts

I have been reading through the book One Thousand Gifts by: Ann Voskamp with a few women from church.  We were discussing the difference of lamenting to God versus complaining to God.  The author says a lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts, a God who transfigures the ugly into beauty.  A complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief in any benevolent God in this moment, a distrust in the love-beat of the Father's heart. *  While we were having the discussion this story (anaolgy) came to mind.

 

Brian and I went rock climbing the other day.  This is not something that we do regularly so I was really feeling the fatigue in my legs and arms.  I was on my last climb for the day and then we were going to get lunch.  I was about half way up and it was getting really hard for me.  I was tired, my fingers hurt and lunch was sounding really good.  I was thinking, "should I just give up and go back down or should I finish this one?"  Quitting was not really an option for me so I decided to finish it.  I tried to grab one more hold.  It just seemed too difficult!  This climb was a bit tougher than others I had done that day.  The holds were either much smaller or pretty smooth.  Either way it was difficult to grasp onto them.  I sat back into my harness to take a little break.  I had already made the decission to finish but the idea of quitting was pressing into my thoughts.  I just didn't know how I was going to do this all by myself. 

Then it clicked!!!  I was not all alone.  Brian was there with me.  Where I was, pressed tight to the wall, I was having trouble seeing the bigger picture.  I could not seem to find the best holds/steps for my tired arms/legs.  So I hollered down to Brian, "where do I go from here?"  What an amazing step that was.  I was able to let go of my inner struggle and listen to him.  From his vantage point he was able to see the whole wall.  He confidently guided me by letting me know where the next hold was.  He was albe to tell me how close or how far it was to get to the easier holds so that I did not have to strain my already tired body.  By listening to him and pushing my body I was able to make it to the top of that wall. 

 

How much does that make you think of our God.  He is so big and so amazing!!  He can see the whole wall.  He can see the BIGGER picture.  When we are exhausted and worn out by life.  When we feel so tired that we can't continue.  When we can only think of quitting because we don't know what to do.  When we feel all alone.  We can just holler out to God!  He will lovingly guide us to our next step and our next one(s) after that.  God wants us to succeed.  He says "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 (italics are all mine)  All we have to do is take that step and holler out to him!

* Voskamp, Ann.  One Thousand Gifts.  Zondervan Publishing, 2010.  Page 175. 

Rock Climbing

On Friday March 8th Brian and I headed down to Madison while the kids were in school for our "R"date.  We went to the Boulders Climbing Gym the was near Hwy 30 & Hwy 51.  We had a great time trying to push ourselves and each other to new heights. 

These next few pictures show a progression of Brian scaling a wall that caused him to go partially upside down.  It probably would not be difficult if you climbed all the time but I tried it and it was tough.  Brian made it look like a piece of cake!

These out of the "norm" dates sure have been a lot of fun for us.  I have contemplated what we will do when the alphabet is over?  Maybe we will start it all over again, after all, there are a lot of ideas that each letter could stand for.

Who Is It?

Aren't these curls super cute.  They just wisp off of his head.  I know it is most definitely time for a hair cut, but he is not ready for one and I love the look of it.



Happy Emeric!

 

I love the holes of missing teeth.  I am not very good at reminding him to wiggle the teeth but it is super cute to see the smiles when they are gone. 



 

Of course, Connor is 'hamming' it up in front of the camera!



 

Beautiful, long, toned, young lady legs!  She would kill me if she knew that I typed that but boy oh boy she is growing into such an amazing young woman.  I am so very proud to have her as my daughter!



 

You got it, my gorgeous Angela!!



Do you recognize this man with the beard that is oh so short?



He decided it was time for things to be trimmed up a bit.  Boy is he still as handsome as ever!