Father's Day!

My boys have an Amazing Father!!

He puts in long days at work, comes home exhausted, walks in the door, and is bombarded by the demands of 2 little boys who adore him! And while a lot of guys might find this annoying and wish they could have some time to just sit on the couch and unwind- Shawn never hesitates to get right down on the floor and start wrestling around!

He is slow to anger, wise in his instruction, and has an amount of patience that I only dream of having.

"Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." -Ephesians 6:4

He never turns Kallen away (no matter how "helpful" Kallen is being) and many times finds a way to teach Kallen through things- rather than just get angry with him.
For Father's Day this year we all went fishing! Kallen LOVED exploring the water and learning about fish with his Dad!!

"Can we use that one Daddy?"

And while the big boys were fishing, Lincoln and I had a great time relaxing in the sun!

Happy Belated Fathers Day Shawn!

We LOVE you!!!

Born to be Wild

This year for Kallen's birthday we bought a zoo pass and it has been the best $70 I've ever spent! With 2 small children I love being able to move through the zoo at our own pace (which is pretty fast some days) and never feel guilty about skipping a few things.

And I must say I am excited about the new dinosaur exhibit because Kallen is a bit of a scaredy-cat so I think it is good for him to be forced to step out of his comfort zone.

This was an attempt at getting a "brothers" picture but I mainly posted it because- check out that color difference! Kallen tans super easy and Lincoln is the whitest baby ever. :)

If I were someone who read all the flyers that people hand me, I probably would have known this; but since I am not- I was totally suprised when we found out on Monday that it was "Member Monday" when all members get to ride the train for free!!

This was Kallen's face throughout the entire ride:

He was pretty serious the whole time, but he Loved it!

Let us know if you would ever like to join us at the zoo- I can get one other adult in for free!

Camping!

I love holiday weekends!

(Actually we love any extra days we get to spend with Shawn!)

We spent memorial day weekend camping 10 minutes from home at Acorn Valley in Saylorville with my sisters and brother-in-law.

There are so many things I love about camping, I almost can't think of anything negative to say.

Here are some of the things I love:

Biking!!

I realize you don't have to go camping to bike, but that seems to be when we always do.

We weren't sure if Lincoln was old enough for the bike trailer yet so this was kind of a test run for him, but he did great! The only thing I wish I could change is that I wish the seats would recline...but oh well.
Despite being constantly elbowed by his big brother, Lincoln seemed to love the ride. And Kallen did not ever want to get out! :)

Being Outside!
There is something that is so refreshing about being outside for 48 hours.

Like our lopsided canopy tent? The slouching side would be the side that I put up. oops!

Lots of Quality Cuddle Time!!


Happy Children!!
My boys are happiest when they are outside. So despite the fact that they don't sleep the best, for the most part they are happy the entire time we are gone!!

Boys and their toys!
I'm pretty sure Shawn loves camping just as much as I do because he gets to spend lots of time fishing, playing with fire, and cutting wood to pieces with a hatchet.

Did I mention Happy Children!?

Improvising!
Can't get the fire going strong? Just use your "air mattress blower upper thingy".

The Food!!

Just kidding- this is not what our food looked like, this is just the pizza that Steph tried to make for poor Casey. :P

Perhaps I already mentioned this-

Happy Children!

Great Conversations and Card Playing!!

No Distractions!!

With no housework, tv, laptops, or work you have lots of time to focus on what is really important:

and spend lots of quiet time with God surrounded by his creation!

Almost makes you want to go camping too doesn't it!?