Summer recap: July

The kids went to camp by themselves for the first time this summer.  They have gone to Camp Mack's Grand Camp with Todd and Cathy since they were 5, but this year they also went to Sampler's Camp.  They were gone for 2 nights and had a blast!

Landon with his new friend Bryce.

Emmy with her new friend Jenna.

While the kiddos were gone, Matt and I celebrated our anniversary (year 17).  We went shopping for some new furniture and out to eat at Corndance.

We made our trip to Potawatami Zoo even more fun this year with Erin, Alaina, and Nadia.  The kids had a great time checking out the animals, riding the train and carousel (well Caleb did not like that part!), and having a picnic lunch.

July was a busy month because the kids were in 4h this year for the first year.  They participated in Poultry Club and each showed 7 chickens at the Elkhart County 4h fair.  They absolutely loved the fair.  On Friday, they picked a favorite bird and participated in the Showmanship Contest.  The judge asked them questions about their bird and had them take the birds in and out of the cage.

Then Saturday was the big show where they had to show all 7 of their birds to the judge.  Landon ended up with 1 honor bird and Emmy had 4.  2 of the birds were on the final table for Grand Champion!  We were pretty excited for them for their first year!

We also had some time to do some other things at the fair.  The kids participated in the rooster crowing contest where Landon won 2nd place and the chicken fly off contest where he won 3rd place.  He won $15 total.

Circus performers

 We got free track seats to the Casting Crowns concert from one of Matt's student's parents.  This was Landon's first concert (Em went last year to see Danny Gokey).

 On Wednesday,  it was Kids day where each ride is $1 so the kids each took a friend and we spent the afternoon riding 11 rides each!  They had a ball!

Landon with Micah

Emmy with Claire

Landon with his chicken Lennon who got 3rd in the fly off.

 We also spent a day at Ox Bow park riding bikes and playing on equipment.  The kids loved pretending this was a Ninja Warrior course and wanted me to time them.

End of Summer Pictures

Well, with school starting in less than a week (AHH!), I thought I should make sure my blog was all caught up! :)  So this will be a hodgepodge of the pictures I haven't posted yet from the end of July through now!

4-H Fair
We had a great time at the fair again this year.  Matt and I had a date night with Amos and Jess to watch Danielle Bradbury and the Swon Brothers (country contests from "The Voice") in concert.  Grace had pigs for the first time so we spent a day watching her show them.  And, of course, you can't forget the yummy food!!

Matt scored this for me!

Landon was quite content to ride the little rides, but Emmy wanted to follow Tyler and Grace on the big kid rides so I didn't get her picture! :)

Way to go, Grace!

Kitchen Back splash
I convinced Matt that it would be "easy" to put up a back splash in our kitchen.  Watching HGTV makes it seem so simple and rather inexpensive.  We tackled the project in about 3 days from painting ALL the individual stone tiles with sealant (day 1) to sticking up all the tiles with mortar and cutting them with a wet saw (day 2) to grouting over all the tiles (day 3).  The grouting was the worst.  It was so messy and took a long time to clean, but I really love the end result.  It helps give our very brown kitchen some character.
Before:

 After:

Grand Camp

Although I don't have any pictures to show (I've heard Emerson took about 99 on her little camera), I heard some wonderful stories about the experiences both kids had at Camp Mack with Todd and Cathy for Grand Camp!  We are so blessed to have grandparents close by to help our kiddos experience God in new ways.  They are both already looking forward to going back!!

Horse Rides

We live next to some great neighbors who have horses and Emerson frequently asks to ride them.  So Tammy set up a little obstacle course for her horse, Sugar, to walk around and the kids had a great time riding her.

Lake Time

The Mathis Family, Dad's first cousins, rented a house on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver and invited us and mom and dad to come visit for the day.  Everybody had a great time and a relaxing day.

And this is what happens after a full day...watch out Kindergarten :)

We had such a wonderful summer and it is sad to see it end, but we are beginning a new chapter in our lives and can't wait to see what God has in store for us next!