Summer So Far!

How's the above picture for the official start of summer?!

We have dear friends who own a cabin on a (usually) quiet lake. They invited us up Memorial Day Weekend and since Andy was tied to his deck staining project (remember, it was raining every other day, it seemed?!), we went for just 1 day of the 3 day weekend. As you can see, it was an absolutely beautiful day. The children swam...well, 3 of the Glynn children swam; Colin wanted NOTHING to do with it. He happily played on their little beach in the sand all day! We had wonderful fellowship with our friends (all 8 children played so nicely together!), Ellie got her "dog fix" with their new little puppy, and Ava and Hannah had a blast together (lower right photo, above). We went out on our friends' boat and it was just priceless, to see the children get so excited to tube and ride in the boat. A super-duper fun time was had by ALL.

We then came home to the deck staining and 1 more week of school....

Then, on the last day of school, our "far away friends", the Lynchs, came to visit us for a long weekend! Karen and I try to see each other yearly, but the last time we saw their entire family with our entire family was when Ava was just 1 year old!

We were watching the rainy weather and determined that Saturday was the day to go to Bay Beach....what a fun day we had, despite getting rained on!

We started off on the merry go round...

and then enjoyed all of the little kiddie rides...some of them, we enjoyed numerous times! The brave adults (Katie and Jim!) went on the Scrambler with the "brave" kiddos....it was a wonderful day! Colin has never gotten "in" to Bay Beach, and this was HIS year. He loved all of the rides--there was no napping in the stroller for him this year!
Here are some more photos from the day:

Upper left: Karen, Jim and Katie getting rained on at Bay Beach--
cheese-ball matching umbrellas!

Lower middle: Andy and 4 of the 6 children holding hands walking to the giant slide.

Bottom right: Nolan and Ava holding hands--they are like 2 peas in a pod and seeing their little good-byes the last 2 years that we've had visits is almost heartbreaking!

The rest of the photos in this collage just "happened" when we were showing our friends Lambeau Field. They wanted to see it, so we happened upon the stadium....

where there was a huge tent sale. Andy bought Ellie a jerzey at this huge sale and suddenly, guess who is spotted? Bryan Bulaga...who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, a former Hawkeye. You all can imagine how Andy dropped everything and ran when Jim said to him "Hey Andy, Bryan Bulaga is in the parking lot!" As you can see, Ellie and Andy got their picture taken with him and Ellie's jerzey now has a former Hawkeye turned Packer's signature. Very cool....even for a non-football person like myself.

And finally, the last day of the visit. It's amazing that it is 2010 and there are now 6 kiddos between Karen and I....we have fond memories of the University of Iowa, of Karen and Jim visiting us in Utah, us visiting them when they lived in Oregon. Fun times with far away friends...and the goodbyes are not so fun. Until next time, dear friends....

And what would June be without strawberry picking?
When I found out that the farms were open, I immediately contacted my super sitter....and yes, she'd babysit that Friday at 7:30am. Thursday, it started raining and the weather did not look good for Friday. Andy convinced me to go no matter what...and even bought me a poncho to wear if I got rained on!

At 545am Friday morning, Colin woke up crying. As I rocked him, my heart grew heavy, listening to the rain and thunder. I LOVE STRAWBERRY PICKING SO MUCH....but in the rain?!?!?! Yet, at 645am, I backed out of my garage just praying to God about the weather. As I turned out of my neighborhood, the rain turned to sprinkling and I wasn't even using my wipers as I got to the farm...but they were closed! DARN IT! I drove around for a little while and then stopped at the "closed" farm to just ask them WHEN they might open. They let me pick...as long as I stopped when I heard thunder. For 1.5 hours, I was the ONLY one in this huge farm, picking the most yummy and beautiful strawberries. It was heavenly (to me!). I would even hear rain sprinkling on the leaves around me, but I was completely dry (without poncho, even!). It was a gift from God...it was just wonderful.

The next day, I took all 4 children and it was fabulous. Colin just kept saying "More...me...more...me...more...me" and Ava supplied his strawberry habit. Jayna helped me pick for our family and Ellie picked a small flat for our old neighbor "Granny". We had a grand time.

We've enjoyed eating the berries...eating pie...and making jam this year:

And this summer, we also entered the world of orthodontia.
Anyone remember Jayna as an infant? If you don't, you probably didn't get to experience the nonstop screaming. When she started sucking (hard) her thumb, it was a little glimmer of heaven...it calmed her down. However, she's continued that calming habit and now we had to make a choice: install a habit breaking appliance followed by round #1 of braces or prepare to have her jaw broken when she's a teenager. YIKES. We opted for the appliance. If you click on the above photo, you might be able to see it in the photos of her in a sleeveless shirt. It's not bothering her much...other than the struggle to fall asleep at night that she's still struggling with....but this too shall pass right?


We have also been to 2 summer swimming meets for Ellie.
They have been: 1) Very fun 2) Very hot 3) Very long (note the lower right photo below--sunset captured on the way home from the last meet....the meets have lasted long into the evening, with her swimming most of her events after her usual bedtime!) It has been fun, though, to see Ellie improve, to see her as part of the team, and to see her cheer on other swimmers--it's really neat.
And finally, we just finished Father's Day Weekend--Yay Andy!!!!
He chose a day trip to Door County....to the beach. We went on Saturday, to try to avoid being rained out....and the water was VERY cold. However, if you know the Glynn Girls, you know that does not stop them from playing in it! A good time was had by EVERYONE, it was very relaxing and very fun.
And then ON Father's Day, Andy opened his gifts, we hung out at home, and ended the day with a trip to Neenah's newest ice cream shop "A Cherry On Top". (It is especially fun for us as they have an item that has NO dairy in it, so Ellie can even enjoy a treat there!)
Andy received painted creations from the girls, a tee shirt with the childrens' photo on the back, and then he was supposed to receive a photo sculpture of the 4 children. When I opened the box that it came in, I discovered a strange lady and little boy! Our order had been mixed up with someone else's! But we wrapped the strangers up anyway, and had a good chuckle about it! (Top left photo)

And that. is. it. For now. Our road-tripping begins soon, so stay tuned for more updates....