More Summer Adventures...
Before we took off for our roadtrip this summer we had a few other adventures. One of which was a trip to Ohio to visit my family....specifically to see this good looking pair. My Uncle Dwight and Aunt Letty are missionaries who have been serving the Lord at Echo Ranch Bible Camp in Alaska. Before Alaska, Dwight was a missionary in Holland though, and it was there that he met my aunt.

They now have two handsome boys, and after a decade at Echo Ranch, they are moving back to Holland to work with American youth on a military base with MYCM, an organization that plants missionaries on military bases to establish a "Club Beyond" ministry for the youth. Such a perfect fit for their family!

We had such a busy weekend! We started by spending some time at my grandparents' house. Madeline and Timothy had so much fun playing with their cousins David and Ruben.

Here are Madeline and Ruben setting the table for a yummy brunch...

Mike and the kids playing with a fussball table outside grandma's clubhouse...

Grandma has the inside all decked out...the kids had a ton of fun...

They even talked grandpa into sawing off an old ladder so they could fit it inside the clubhouse and climb up to the "loft"...

Later that afternoon, we were able to go visit my great-grandma Lenola....that makes her Madeline and Timothy's great-GREAT-grandma. Timothy told her he was turning seven. You can imagine how impressed he was when she informed him that she is 97! The kids had fun doing a puzzle with her...one of the same puzzles I did when I was their age.

If they look proud it's because she went on and on about them the way she always did me and my sisters...."look at them! this is the fastest this puzzle has ever gone together! they don't need our help at all!" and just like it worked on me, Heather and Laura...those kiddos worked all the harder and faster...it was precious. I am so glad my kids have been so blessed to know so many of their grandparents.

The next day after church we had ourselves a cookout at Spring Lake.

In addition to good food, there was swimming and fishing. Here Madeline and David show off the first catch of the day...

It took awhile, but Timothy mustered the courage to go down the slide...

Here he is checking out a turtle one of the boys found for him. Right after I took this picture he leaned over to grandma and said, " Look Grandma Elaine! The turtle is reading the nutrition facts!" (I'm not kidding.)

Madeline had fun paddle boating....we fit a lot of activity into our weekend away!

After we got home, we discovered a very cool new place to play. It's called Bremen Bounce and it is a warehouse full inflatable toys that the kids can play on. They had a great time!

plus I got to catch up with this little peanut's mama!

I even got to hold her sweet little sister =)

We weren't home but a few days before we headed down south to see my family in TN. The kids had fun at a splashpad...

Then later we celebrated Timothy's birthday! Check out that cake. I mean he doesn't ask for much...just a cake that is "half white and half chocolate and has all the United States with the lines between them and a dark blue frame..." (Way to go Mimi!)

Upon arriving home (again) the kids were off to a week of day camp at IUSB. I stopped in to see them one of the days when they were visiting the library....

Madeline read so many books in that one week that she maxed out the library's summer reading award program and got prizes, coupons, and a free book of her choosing =)

I can't say enough how much I love this lady! Miss Jennifer has had both our kiddos in her class at IUSB Child Development Center. She is such an amazing teacher who really makes my kids feel loved. We're so glad God put her in our lives.

Since I was at IUSB...I stopped by and saw Mike. Doesn't he look thrilled to see me??? ;)

That weekend Timothy had his long awaited birthday party/sleepover. We started out at Chuck E. Cheese so the kids could play...

See, the kids?

Timothy was so excited that this buddy could come to his party....especially since he is a friend from his old school. They're a pretty sweet pair...

Again....see how much fun the kids are having...

We finally headed back home for cake and presents.

Timothy was tickled with the thoughtful gifts that his buddies picked out for him...

There was a lot less pressure on me to get the perfect cake, since he'd already had it....but we did get another to share at this party....

One of the gifts that Timothy got was a remote controlled car. Mike and the kids came up with this (extremely safe) game....the kids stood on the trampoline with the car and then Mike steered it around trying to tag them out...last one on the trampoline wins. They could have played it all day.

Here's the whole gang playing inside...

Mike and I decided that our little man had grown enough that it was time for a new bike!

The whole slumber party came out to see the maiden voyage...

Phone calls home to reassure mom....no homesickness here!

Finally asleep!

Here's another treat....we got to spend the afternoon with some good friends after church, and wouldn't you know it? They let me cuddle their sweet little boy. Don't I look happy with a baby?

Mike and Kevin and all the kids...I think they were watching "police chases gone wrong" on youtube or something...

We cut all the snapdragons from our garden and brought them into the house to enjoy before our big road trip. Aren't they beautiful?

Another quick visit before our big trip. I met up with a friend of mine who is starting med school in the fall...here's my oldest holding her youngest.

A visit to the park to run off some steam...

Even more fun when you meet up with friends!

So, as you can see, we've been as busy and blessed as usual. We had so much fun on our road trip too. I look forward to sharing our adventures from all over the U.S.!

-shannon

The Cruise
I will start by saying that vacation pictures are way cuter when there are kids involved. So, unfortunately for the blog, Mike and I went on a "grown up vacation" while the kids were still in school. Grandma was so wonderful to come stay at our place and take Madeline and Timothy to school (she even got to go to farm!) while we were away. I missed the kids so terribly, but it helped a lot knowing they were with Mom Renfrow while we were gone.

This first shot was taken the night we flew into Orlando. We went with some friends of ours from Nebraska who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this summer! So, we took them out for some delicious seafood to treat them for their anniversary. We got them another gift too, but that's a very long story.

Here are Rick and Linda on the ship the next day. They were total newbies. They put their life vests on the very first time the cruise director made the announcement that there was going to be a safety drill. ;)
They got the hang of cruising pretty quick though, and we had lots of fun. Our first port was Nassau, Bahamas and we rented segueways and took a tour. We watched Paul Blart Mall Cop the day before to get ourselves ready.

It was a bit overcast, but we didn't get rained on except for a few sprinkles, so it was a pretty nice day. Mike was excited to be somewhere with palm trees. I was excited to be somewhere he couldn't use his cell phone or check his work e-mail!

The food was awesome that night on the ship. It was a formal dining night and they always serve their best meals that night so we all had lobster!

Rick and Linda...looking sharp!

They wouldn't let me take a picture of them without getting one of us too.

Our server, Igusti, was awesome. Mike figured out how to work him so he could get the lobster and the steak, or the next night the veal and the shrimp....and so on. OK, if you must know I might have finagled myself the tiramisu and the "bitter and blanc" bread pudding for dessert one night. I just wanted a bite of both of them...how's a girl to decide?

Of course there was a towel animal on our bed each night when we got back from dinner. My favorite was the elephant.

After a day at sea, we made a stop at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We took a jeep tour when we got on shore. Here are Mike and me in the back seat enjoying the scenery while Rick chauffeurs us around the island. =)

It was beautiful!

Some people took extra measures to ensure that the experience was properly recorded for posterity. ;)

We got behind a school bus and got to see all the kids getting off in their uniforms. It was pretty cute.

Back on the ship for dinner that night.

Did I mention the food was yum-o? Prime rib and veal parmesan....mmmmm.

HA! This one cracks me up. Because this picture is from right after we got off the ship at St. Maarten, when we realized that we had ourselves a cash limitation. Everyone was trying to figure out whether or not we'll be able to afford a taxi back to the ship if we take one to the other side of the island to look around.

No worries....we had enough. We rode over to the French side of the island and went to the open market, which was very cool.

This day held probably the best weather we got during a port day. It was beautiful and sunny and hot hot hot....but not as hot as Texas.

Awww....I know. We're so sweet. I told you vacation pictures are better with kids. Are you sick of seeing us yet?

SO HAPPY to be in a taxi on the way back to the other side of the island.

They told us that the Dutch side of the island was a lot cheaper than the French side, but the prices seemed about the same. I think the taxi drivers turn a faster profit if they stay on the same side of the island...

Ok, so this was supposed to be all four of us with the ship in the background...complements of Rick's long arm. However, after so many tries we gave up on the ship and were happy to just get all four of us. =)

Look at that...back on the ship for dinner. We were so good looking every night Linda couldn't help but take our picture. ;)

Someone ask Mike what time it is.

Awww...the swans the last night.

Even cuter now.

We are so awful....our steward took the divider out between our balconies so we went over to our wonderful neighbor's cabin and altered their towel animal display. Mike looks cute and mischievous...I look like I'm about to have a cow because we're not running back to our room. I think it's obvious who is more accustomed to getting into trouble.

Fortunately our dear friends were still our friends even though we had ruined the romantic display. Here they are on the beach back in Orlando the next day before we headed to the airport.

The best part of this vacation for me? Getting home to see these little turkeys! They're donning the souvenirs we picked up for them in St. Maarten...made in India, of course.

So...that was the cruise. I'm doing pretty well with this blogging stuff. Don't get terribly used to it. You know how I can be. ;)

-shannon