1st day of Kindergarten

New clothes

All ready to go

Here it comes!

So excited to be on the bus:)

Arriving home after a good first day!

So far she is doing really well. Her chief complaint is that she has to wear shoes all day. I don't blame her:)

last day before school

Raquel started Kindergarten on Sept. 1, so the day before that we did fun things. First we went shopping for a first day of school outfit and a lunch box. After that Raquel and I went to the Museum where we saw the butterfly exhibit and then watched 'Under the Sea' at the IMAX

She really wanted to hold a butterfly

Almost!

Getting closer...

Success!:)

Cute Kids:)

Old World Wisconsin

On Lydia's last day before leaving for La Crosse we spent the day at Old World Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day- I bought a bonnet for Raquel since she was complaining of the sun in her eyes. Those prairie people knew what they were doing and it worked like charm.

We started the day out in the oldest church in Wisconsin and sang a hymn

Gideon was a more charismatic worshipper

Then Raquel and Elise tried their hand at washing clothes by hand


fed a horse

watched a blacksmith make an S-hook

Gideon chased a chicken

and we went back to school

First and second cousins

While in California we were able to visit my cousin Allyssa one day. Her husband Josh (please pray for them as Josh was just deployed last week) and their four boys live near the Air Force Base in San Pedro. The kids had a blast playing with the boys and Allyssa and I got in a few games of cards:)

We went to a park and fed the ducks

I tried to let Gideon feed them but he ate the old bread we were giving them and then attempted to dive into the water.

Oupa and Ouma!

At the beginning of August we flew to California for 10 days of fun in the sun with Dylan's parents. We got to do lots of fun things like go to the beach and Disneyland!

All our dreams came true:)

Reuniting with Buddy and Jessie

The beach was pretty fun too!

Fun and tiring

swimming in the back yard

hanging out with Oupa

And of course we enjoyed lots of yummy food! (well, for the most part. I skipped the oysters:)

Thanks Philip and Tirzah for a wonderful visit!

Bay Beach

A few days after the wedding, we went with my sisters, Kristen and Carrie and their families to Bay Beach. It's a small amusement park in Green Bay that we used to go to when we were little. When we were growing up the rides were mostly 10 cents a piece. Times have changed, so now most of them cost a quarter or 50 cents, but it's still a pretty good deal! The kids all had a blast. Fun times:)

My mom and two youngest sisters, Jenna and Elise met us up there.

Gideon even got to ride all by himself!

Sweet cousins:)

The big boys had some fun too:) Evan maybe a little too much...

Gideon loved the kiddie pool. It was about to rain so it was getting a little chilly but he just kept running in and was highly amused by the other children.

All that fun makes you tired!