This past weekend, we headed up north to Andy's parents' trailer at Sandy Shores. Last year we were able to go visit a man who had his own private model train track that we were able to ride. He went by the name of Frosty. Well, Andy's dad was able to secure us another ride for the weekend and Frosty gave us a hearty welcome for the second time.


Here he is driving the train with Mikaela in front of him and Aiden directly behind him.

Mikaela with cousins Grace & Caity.

The Weller girls had to take a ride too, since we didn't take advantage of the offer last time.

That's me, Amber (Nick's wife), and Cathy (Bob's wife), with Aiden (and Bob) as engineer.

We were able to go inside the caboose again too. It's very interesting to see what the bunks, woodstove, and other things were like inside.

Aiden enjoyed the map. The pushpins represent visitors from all over the nation.

The best part - Frosty does all of this for free. He just enjoys sharing his love of trains with anyone who would like to know more. Thanks, Frosty!

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Just Swinging Around

The kids really enjoy the swing that Papa and Grandma brought out with them.

Our neighbor offered up a free baby doll bed for Mikaela to have. As you can tell from the picture, she doesn't like it very much...oh, wait a minute...she loves it.

Mommy, can you make my chair lay down? I'm tired.

Here's the garden. It's getting big!

Swim Party at the Kreigers

Both this weekend and last weekend have involved one of the kids' new found favorite things to do - swimming! Last weekend we were at Andy's boss' house for his annual pool party. That was nice because the kids were able to get their feet wet, literally and figuratively, for this weekend when we got to go swimming with our good friends the Kreigers. Their little boy was born only one day earlier than Mikaela so they are practically the exact same age which has been fun to watch them grow up together.

Here are some pictures and videos from today:

Aiden was very proud of himself when he jumped into my arms over and over. He also thought that Eshton's swim goggles were pretty cool so he wanted to wear some too.

Eshton and Mikaela

Mikaela has become braver and braver by the water. Thankfully, the Kreigers pool has a shallow 3.5 foot side so she didn't have to worry when she jumped in - she would be able to touch the bottom. However, she's still getting used to the idea of letting her head go under the water. I think with some more practice, we'll have our own little fish on our hands :)

Eshton, on the other hand, is a little fish. Elena said that they have been in their pool pretty much non-stop this summer so he is very used to jumping, diving, and even doing tricks like somersaults and everything.

And this little guy loved being there so much today that he literally cried when we had to go home. He would have loved to have stayed there all night playing cars with Eshton if he could. I promised him that we would come back again someday. He was so tuckered out that when we sat down to supper tonight he told me, "Mommy, when I'm done eating, I want to go to bed."

But before we did that, we made sure to try out Mikaela's "new" soccer shoes and shin guards that we borrowed from Eshton. In a few weeks, she'll be starting off player soccer with AYSO, and Andy has volunteered to be her coach. I'm sure we'll be posting some fun pictures of that soon. Her first game will be Sept. 11th. She is very excited. Aiden was disappointed that he didn't have special shoes and special shin guards, and he's already voiced his disappointment that he won't be playing soccer on a team either. Unfortunately, he's going to have lots of moments of jealousy because he will always be younger than her. How do you explain this to a 3 yr old? :)

Well, I'm off to bed, I think. I love the tired feeling from a fun day in the sun and water. I only wish summer could be all year long! :)

Camp Out...Well, Sort Of...Camp In?

So we're hoping to set up our real tent soon in the backyard at least, but we decided to do a "camp out" tonight with the kids sleeping in their sleeping bags and in their playtents. When Daddy suggested it earlier in the evening, he acheived "The Best Dad in the Whole World" status in the eyes of his kids! :)


We also made sandwich pies for dessert tonight with a little twist. Instead of dusting with powdered sugar, we used cinnamon sugar (Andy's idea...don't want to take the glory all for myself ). Dee-lish!


And here are the kiddos ready for bed....I'm not sure how long it will take them to fall asleep, but we'll find out...

Scavenger Hunt Day at the Library

Today we headed over to the library for a scavenger hunt! Here are the kiddos in front of the bears statue outside the library. We must visit them every time we come :)

Here they are at the last "find." We were supposed to go into the Children's Reading Garden and find three small gnomes hidden somewhere. If you look behind them, maybe you can see them...

At the end, they each received a prize filled with crayons, a drawing tool, a tattoo, watercolors, and bubbles in the shape of a guitar, and a little critter. They also received free books for visiting. All in all, a great time...

VBS - Day 5 - Final Day

Today was the last day of VBS. The kids have had a wonderful time, and are already talking about going back next year.

Today's theme: "God's Word is for Everyone"

Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. Psalm 119:90

Today was also "Crazy Hair Day" so they were excited about having funny hairdos. Even Aiden let me gel up his hair so it was sticking up!

And here's their craft for the day:

And just a reminder:

VBS - Evening Program - Oh, Jesus Loves Me So :)

So here are a few shots from tonight's little program. The kiddos got to share what they have been learning and sing a few songs for us. Unfortunately, Mikaela and Aiden chose to stand on the top even though they weren't the tallest kids in the bunch! So here are the best pics I could get from vantage point! (We'll have to prepare them for next time, huh? Mommy needs to get better pictures! ;) haha!)

They are right at the bottom of the cross on the top row...

Here's one of their little diddies - only wish I could have gotten a closer shot...next time, next time... :)

VBS - Day 4

Wow! There is only one more day left of VBS. The kids were already commenting on how they will miss it when it's done...

Today's Theme: God's Word is Life-Changing

"Give me life through your Word." Psalm 119:37

Today was also "Mismatch Day" hence the following outfits:

The kids were mostly excited about being able to wear two different colored socks and two different shoes. They were so thrilled! And Mikaela thought it was hilarious that she was able to wear a pajama top along with her "normal" clothes. :)

And here was today's craft

They are little turtle piggy banks with stickers. I have to confess that when they brought them home they each only had 4 stickers on top. Mikaela asked if I had any more at home (which I did) so I let them put more on there. They were actually garage sale stickers that I hadn't used, and wasn't sure if we would need them anyways. Then she wanted to color hers so she asked what colors were in between the spots and what other color spots they had. Anyways, hers is much different now that she made it her own:

Tonight is the ice cream social and program so I'm hoping to post some more pictures later!

VBS - Day 3

Today marks day 3 of VBS already! This week is flying by...

Today's theme was "God's Word is Surprising"

"Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions."

Psalm 119:37

Here is what the kiddos made today:

:)

And just to give you an idea of where they are -
here is a photo of Faith Lutheran that I snapped today:






And some shots of the wonderfully decorated inside:

Today was also "Hat Day" which is why they are wearing their caps. :)

Tomorrow will be "Mismatch Day" so that should be interesting! Then, tomorrow night is the ice cream social/program where the kids get to show us what they've been working on and the songs they have been singing. Stay tuned! :)

VBS - Day 2

VBS - Day 2 - Theme of the day: "God's Word is Comforting"


"Your promise revives me. It comforts me in all my troubles. Psalm 119:50"



Since it was "Sports Team Day," the kiddos were decked out in their sports related shirts - Aiden in his "soccer" shirt, and Mikaela in her "Sports Camp" shirt from a previous VBS at our church.



Their craft today was a fishing game. They each got to color a sheet full of fishies, then I cut them out (Mikaela helped with this too), put a paper clip on their mouth (if they had one ;) and they were ready to fish. The VBS staff provided them with the fishing rods which were made of a stick, yarn, and magnets.

Here are some of the fun little sea creatures they colored!

Tomorrow is "God's Word is Surprising" and Hat Day...see you later!