Here are the stories of our busy life. We hope that you see God's Hand at work in our various adventures! Running/Flooring Vice President Al, Teacher/Photographer Lisa, Swimmer/Writer Addie, Master Mischief Maker/Swimmer Alden, Jewelry/Hello Kitty Lover Annalise, and Water-Obessed/Car Expert Asher.


Tuesday, August 12, 2014

KC Visit

We took all the kids to KC to meet their 9 cousins, 2 Aunties and 1 Uncle (1 Uncle was out of the country), and MarMar Young and PopPop Old!  Thanks to air miles we earned during the adoption, we only needed to purchase 1 ticket!!

The kids were all excited- the airplanes, the bus ride from the parking lot to the airport, to the airport playground, to being allowed Sprite on the plane rides....  They all did great traveling!
Excited to start our journey!!
Fun in Minneapolis!
Plane Fun!
Happy Kiddos- whew!
 Once we arrived, PopPop and MarMar picked us up and we had fun with them!  The kids loved the ping-pong table and the poles in the basement!
Alden LOVED this!
Alden and Annalise were in love with PopPop's garden!!
Her favorite- cherry tomatoes!!  She ate her weight in these while we were there....
The kids were fascinated with the lake- and loved getting to put their toes in!
 Sunday, after church, we all headed to Ian and Annie's house- all 9 kids had fun in Oliver's pool!
Swimming!
Alden used the umbrella to combat Uncle Ian's use of the hose...
 Monday we all met at a small "farm" in Kansas.  It was a blast!
PopPop and his VA Admirers
Ready to go!
These were lots of fun things to see and do- lots of playgrounds to climb on, little tractors to ride, baby goats to feed bottles of milk to, ponies to ride, a cow to watch get milked, a garden to explore....  It was a morning and afternoon full of adventures!!















After the farm, we went to Weatherby Lake and let the Little's have their first Lake experience!  They loved the sand and the fact that they could jump off the dock and swim!!

After swimming, we headed to Aunty Emily's house and enjoyed time with the cousins and a taco feast!

Tuesday we headed to Smithville Lake!  Daddy, PopPop, and Uncle Aaron (Young's son), prepared the 2 sailboats.  We had a blast even though it was a pretty perfect day for skiing....  Thankfully both boats at motors so we were still able to move around- and put anchor in a good place and swim!!




Boating wears kids out....
We had a birthday party for Alden after sailing- it was such a fun time!!


Wednesday we all went to Kaleidoscope, a hands-on arts-and-crafts place sponsored by Hallmark.  The kids had a blast creating!  Alden actually missed part of it since he, finally, got to go fishing with Al and PopPop!!  It was an exciting morning!!  

After lunch, we headed to a local water pad- all the kids had a blast!!  We concluded the day at Uncle Ian and Aunt Annie's.  The kids had such fun playing together!!

 It was a great visit- and we are looking forward to hanging out again- and we may bring ear plugs since 9 kids tend to be a little loud....






Relationships

Even though our families do not live near us, we have amazing friends that help us!  
Sisters wearing sweet dresses from MarMar!
Addie and Alden are honorary life guards!  They love, and are loved by,  all the lifeguards!
These 2 are great friends- too sad they have to move to Ohio!
Girls Night at The W's house before they moved to Ohio- so happy to celebrate them!
Alden received Most Improved in his age group for swim team- his Coaches admired all his hard work!!

Asher's Eye

Asher's eye have been a concern for us since we first started learning about him.  He has had 1 surgery and has now seen 3 specialists.  We hope to finally have a path and plan to help him maximize his vision.  He had a blast at this appointment- not sure if was because he missed naps, or that he had one-on-one time with Mom....
Fun waiting....
Such a big guy
Pirate Asher- he enjoyed it then- not so much the times after that....
We are thankful for amazing doctors who desire to help us help Asher reach his potential!!

Nate Visits

Nate came for a surprise visit with MarMar and PopPop!  The look on the kids' faces when they saw Nate jump out of MarMar and PopPop's car was priceless- too bad it was raining and I didn't jump into the yard to capture it....  The boys had a BLAST together.  It is so sweet to see these two just connect as if no time has passed whenever they see each other!  I do fear that we will be in trouble when they get older....


Monday, August 11, 2014

Crazy Times

The slower pace as been such fun!!  We have explored Goodwills, eaten lots of ice cream, giggled with friends, splashed at the pool, and created, I hope, lots of happy memories!!
Annalise is obsessed with these Hello Kitty PJs she found at Goodwill
Goofy Asher- always making us laugh!
Sweet Sisters working together
Adeline is pretty awesome if you mustache!
A special Dunkin Date with my bookends!
Making Goo with friends!
Such sweet friends- this was right before a huge storm rolled through!

Off to Ohio

I refuse to say "good-bye"....  Our very good friends the Ws are moving to Ohio (or Hi-ho as Avery says).  We were honored to be a part of a celebration honoring their time here.  Our kids have all spent enough time together that they fight like siblings!  Mike and Al met the first week of college and have been close friends ever since.  Karen and I are best friends- how amazing is that?!?  We refuse to think of them as leaving, but just moving so that we have to sleep at their house when we visit!
Our sweet kiddos!
Celebrating together!!
Trying out a new ice cream place!
Great friends!!
We love you guys- and will forever be friends!!