August 2022

Only a few pictures from this month.  It seemed full, but getting into the school routine was the focus of this month.

At the beginning of August, we said goodbye to our dear friends the McDonalds, who moved to Missouri.  :(  We treasure the years we got to spend in close community with them, and we pray that our friendships can continue even long-distance.

Eli started 9th grade at Providence Academy, which is a new school for him.  It's a "university model" school, meaning that they are in class on campus 3 days a week, and then they work and study independently at home for 2 days a week.  So far, this schedule has been such a blessing to our family, and we are so thankful the Lord led us to this school.

And this is what "home days" look like.  :)

We had record-breaking rainfall and flooding one day this month- this is straight out our back door!  We have neve seen the creek higher than it was on this morning.  Thankfully, the water never came quite high enough to get into our house!

And that's August- short and sweet!  LOVE to you!!

 

July 2022

Happy August!  We had a great July and are a little sad to say goodbye to summer and move back into the school routine.  That said, we're so thankful for the summer we've had, and we're looking forward to what comes next.  These are, as always, backwards in order, but here is July...

This just makes me smile.  :)  

We got to see Garth Brooks in concert!!!  This was an unforgettable experience, and we're so happy that Phil and Kelly and the two of us got to go together.  

Airsoft gun battles in the "course" they have made in the woods behind our house...  we love these kids!

Kelly and I took the boys to Hawaiian Falls.

We went to a nice hotel in Rockwall for a night this month, just for a mini "getaway."  This is the only picture I took- on the balcony overlooking the pool and the lake.

The youth group went to Burger's Lake and had a blast.

CJ slept over a couple times, and we always love having our "second son" with us.  :)

And now we're all the way back at the 4th of July!

Back to Garth Brooks for some reason.

And another airsoft battle at Ronan's house- great kids!

And that's July!  LOVE to you!!

June 2022

 June!  The first month of summer went by quickly, but we really did enjoy every minute.

Eric turned 50 at the beginning of the month.  We celebrated with his favorite foods, desserts, restaurants, and activities.  We could not be more thankful for his life and all that he means to us.

The youth group had a picnic to kick off summer.  We ate picnic food and played a bunch of fun games.  What a great group of kids.

Another birthday picture...

There is always fishing going on, no matter the month!

The hi-light of June was our vacation to California.  We spent a few days in Yosemite National Park, and then we headed to the coast and spent a few days there, near Big Sur and Santa Cruz.  We had a blast, enjoying being outside in God's beautiful creation and spending concentrated time together.  We are so grateful!  These pictures are in reverse order, as always, but here we go anyway...

Our house near Santa Cruz was a short walk to the beach, which we took full advantage of!  This is sunrise on our last day there...

Eli and I braved the ocean.  It was FREEZING, and the current was super strong, but we got in anyway and had a blast.

Fish sandwiches on the pier in downtown Santa Cruz.

Eric and Eli spent some time fishing off the pier and only caught this one tiny little fish.  :)

This is one of Eli's all-time favorite activities- "tidepool-ing."  We found so many crabs, anemones, and starfish.  

The walk along the coast in Santa Cruz is beautiful.  I logged a lot of miles here!

Back to the beach near our house- this time at sunset.

We took a super long hike in Big Sur.  The hike is about 4 miles uphill, which is challenging but absolutely worth it to take in the views once you reach the top.  And 4 miles down feels easy after that!  :)

Another sunset at the beach- this time fishing.

On this day it was cloudy, chilly, and sort of foggy.  We really enjoyed walking on the beach and just listening to the waves crash in.

Alrighty, on to Yosemite, which was actually the beginning of the trip.  This was on our first hike of the trip, along a beautiful river.  Eric and Eli spent a long time fishing in this spot.

Obligatory national park sign photo.

We took a long hike to see a grove of sequoias.  These trees are unbelievable- huge and majestic.  Everyone hikes down and kind of goes silent when they hit the grove.  There really is no other response to seeing such beauty and majesty.

This was our favorite hike- a super long one up to a waterfall.  We started at sunrise and made our way up.

There really are no words to describe this experience.  We had hiked up 2,000 feet to stand here at the foot of this waterfall.  The pounding of the water was a roar, and the spray was all around us.  It was worshipful and unforgettable.

The house where we stayed near Yosemite was on a private lake that was so pretty!  We spent some time here swimming and fishing and eating ice cream.

Back in Yosemite- beauty all around!

This hike was gorgeous, but the mosquitoes were awful on this trail for some reason!  It was hard to even stop for pictures.  :)

Eli Capitan...

More fishing...

On this hike we ran into some Aggies from the Dallas area, coincidentally!  It was fun to talk with them and take pictures for each other.

We loved the month of June, and we are thankful for another month of summer ahead of us.  Love to you all!