One Crazy Summer Part 2

August 3rd was a day we had been waiting for. Everything hinged on August 3rd. What would we be doing? Where would we be living? Would we be looking for another job or looking toward a November election? Where would the kids go to school? And on and on these questions went in my head...all the time. It is really hard to turn off the wondering and the worry about the future when everything seems so uncertain. It has been a big struggle for me this past year, but especially in recent months. Everyone says to trust God and be patient. I know that is what I am supposed to do but I guess I'm learning that I'm not very good at it.
So August 3rd came and went and the events of the day gave us some direction, but little clarification. We learned that the campaign was over and now we are faced with the daunting task of finding a good job in a bad economy. We are hopeful that something will come our way soon that will be fulfilling and enjoyable for Bob and will also meet the needs of our family. For now we search and pray and we keep learning how to be patient. That's August 3rd...but you want to hear about August 4th!
We all hit the road in Overbeek fashion and drove to my aunt's house in Iowa. It was the first time in a long time that I was not the only driver and we could stop for me to go to the bathroom...even if the kids were sleeping! Fabulous!
We spent a week basking in the sun at Lake Manawa. My aunt and uncle's house has it's own beach, a boat, a jet ski, kayaks....what more could you ask for? It was wonderful. Aunt Sue and Uncle John are amazing hosts. We ate awesome food and played lots of cards, which we hadn't done in a while. My parents were there as well as my dad's other sister and her husband and my grandma. It was great to see everyone! The kids got lots of attention. Josiah even convinced all the big guys to crawl under the table into his secret club! Bob and I got to sneak away for dinner and a movie and I also enjoyed some time with all the girls shopping at the Omaha farmers market. This was a great way to wrap up our crazy summer!
This is what you look like after one C-R-A-Z-Y summer!

An historic shot of my dad in the water! He doesn't even wear shorts so this was BIG!

Mom was feeling adventurous and wanted to ride the tube with me! She giggled the entire time!

The neighbor built this party island, it was awesome! The kids were jumping off the top and going down the slide. It even had a basketball hoop and built in radio. That is one cool dad.

Chloe and Aunt Sue snuggling on the boat.

The ladies of the lake...this is what we did to pass the hot afternoons

Uncle Leonard is a farmer with his very own John Deere tractors! That makes him very cool!

Hanging out in Josiah's secret club!



My mom, dad, Aunt Sue, Harry, Grandma, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Leonard. Uncle John is missing because he was busy driving his train.

Captain Josiah giving Uncle John a few pointers while driving the boat.

Classic Josiah face

Grammie and Abigail enjoying an evening tootle on the boat

Joshua brought me a lily, how sweet

All four kids got to kayak and loved it. We didn't think Chloe and Josiah would be able to manage the paddles but they did great!

Mama's boy

Joshua woke up one morning with this horrible growth on his nose...thankfully we were able to have it removed without any permanent damage to his handsome face. :)

Daddy and Joshua

Bob showing off!

Is there any question where he gets it from?

Lily pad hats are the new thing this season.

Chloe paddlin' along

Abigail is a pro!

Getting pulled in on the tube

Summer fun at it's best!

One Crazy Summer! Part 1

This summer has been one for the books. I'm not sure if I'll remember it more because so much happened...or if I'll have a harder time remembering it because it was so crazy (mommy's sometimes repress stressful memories). Only time will tell.
My last post on 4th of July seems like a lifetime ago. Since then we took a trip to Dayton, had a house FULL of live-in campaign volunteers (who were a tremendous help and I'm very thankful for, but it made for some tight quarters in the house...one bathroom for 11 people!), visited Saginaw, took a road trip to Albuquerque, helped Bob finish up the campaign, and took a trip to Iowa to spend time with my extended family! WOW! Even now Abigail is having another adventure in Florida getting Grammie and Poppi all to herself! I think the kids will have plenty to say when their teachers ask, "What did you do this summer?"

Our visit to Dayton: After long days of playing the kids crashed and watched a movie

Days in Albuquerque
The sprayground was finikie that day but it came on long enough to get wet.

Kate didn't mind being the baby and Abigail and Chloe didn't mind being the mommies...a perfect combination!

We had a wonderful time with our buddies from school. The mommies even got to see a live Star Wars show! Fabulous!

Miss Susan took the kids to see the ponies up the road

This could have been disasterous...Miss Susan to the rescue!

Love this picture!

Doesn't look like Chloe objected much to being squirted.
Joshua taking you to the Gun Show!

Miss Margaret with the kids who would cooperate for a picture.

What a wonderful time we had seeing all our friends. I'm so glad we took the trip. Of course it seemed WAY too short but we are thankful for the time we had!

Stay Tuned.
One Crazy Summer To Be Continued...

4th with friends

Chloe is such a girlie girl. She said she was ready to go fishing...complete with sequin purse, fingerless, full length gloves and shades. She's SO Hollywood!






Turns out brothers are good for something...taking the fish off your hook!

The little one makes me so nervous!

Notice the feet.

Gorgeous sunset! Those blue stripes were even more amazing in person!




Our good friends Barb and Dan invited us to spend 4th of July at their cottage. The kids and I had such a fun time swimming, fishing and playing! Abigail and Joshua even got to drive the golf cart...well that is until Joshua backed it into a tree and then Mr. Dan said we needed to be done with the driving lesson. The fishing was fun too. Both Joshua and Abigail caught fish. Josiah didn't get anything but he really loved it and I was amazed at how quiet and still he was while waiting to see if a fish was going to bite! He is still trying to talk me into buying him his own pole. He saw some kid's poles at Target a while ago and hasn't forgotten. Chloe had a ball playing with Barb & Dan's son James. She just loves entertaining little people and they love her! The fireworks were nice but it was hard to concentrate on them because the boys were break dancing in front of us to the music some other folks were playing. Joshua and Josiah didn't watch the fireworks at all...they just boogied on the beach the entire time. The adults enjoyed the bon fire after all the kiddos were in bed. It was a great way to spend the holiday weekend! We can't wait to visit Barbie and Dan's cottage again! I hope you had an enjoyable 4th of July too!

Offroad Adventures

Uncle James (Bob's brother) suggested that we go to the West Michigan Offroad this weekend. It's like a demolition derby in the mud. Unfortunately the forecast for Saturday evening was pretty bleak, 60% chance of rain. We decided to chance it and headed out anyway. We saw a few races with just a light sprinkling and then it started raining for real. We brought our umbrellas and toughed it out for several races. Abigail really enjoyed the powderpuff races and the boys thought it was super cool when one car flipped over! By the time we were ready to leave most of us were soaked and Joshua had been standing so close that he even got splattered by some mud from the cars (I learned that this is very cool to a 7 year old boy, he didn't want to wash it off)! The kids seemed to enjoy it even in the rain and I suppose it was extra good because the rain was creating a super muddy track. I think I would go again...just not in the rain.

Fun with Grammie and Poppy

Grammie and Poppy were here for a visit and we filled every moment with activity! They got to go on two field trips, one to the zoo with Josiah's class and the other to Dutch Village with Joshua's class. They also got to see all four kids play in baseball games. We got lots of ice cream and I made some of my favorite desserts to share with them too. Our time together is always sweet and always too short! We can't wait to see them again in August when we meet up at my Aunt Sue's house!

Here's pictures from the zoo. The ride on the camel was definitely the highlight!






Dutch Village in Holland Michigan was lots of fun too!