June Memories

When I looked back at our pictures from June, I realized just how much we did and how much we've been enjoying summer!

Baseball season began!  Levi was on the orange team.  He played on Monday and Wednesday nights. He was very excited to play and did very well.

Levi is 7!!!  It was a day filled with many fun adventures!
We met Grandpa and Grandma Bolkema, Great Grandma, Kerry, Emma and Claire at the Sioux Falls Zoo.  When Grandpa and Grandma Tintle arrived, they also joined us!

 The birthday boy was very excited to see penguins!!!

Our plan was to have a picnic supper in a park, but since it was very windy, we went to Kerry's house instead.  Levi opened his presents with enthusiasm.  :)

At Levi's request, we had dirt cake for dessert!  Yum.
What a blessing he is to our lives!!!

By the next day Levi had built his new Lego City arctic base camp set!  We're thankful that he is now old enough to follow the directions and build new sets completely on his own!  He did graciously let his brother help with some of it.

On Monday Dorian and I biked to Sandy Hollow and met Dad, Levi, Mason, Grandpa and Grandma for a picnic and fishing!

 The boys both caught a fish!

 Mason was having fun with Levi's new game!

Levi went to a nature class at Oak Grove with his friends Adler and Jacob.  We car pooled and I enjoyed our drive with 5 boys in the van!

Dorian was on the yellow baseball team!  He went to practice and to one game, but didn't wish to continue.  He did really well though and still loves to play in our backyard!  He looks good with all that catching gear on!

 He had a supportive fan club.  :)

 Nice swing...and he had a home run!

Dorian and Levi took golf lessons for the very first time!  It was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dorian's friend Jayden was also in their group!  The boys both discovered that they loved this new sport and would love it if we would take them again.  We've discovered that it's expensive.  :) Nathan did take them to a family night golf event and said that they had a perfect night together.  I could tell by the smile on his face that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Unfortunately, I was home with strep throat that night.

Off to watch another one of Levi's baseball games.  He was super excited to be the catcher!

 Life is good when you get to eat a fudge bar while playing outside in the pool!

 Levi went to a week of drama camp and loved every minute of it!

Dorian's friend Anderson is back in the United States!!!  I took Dorian to the pool with his friends Anderson, Graden and Brady.  They were very excited to play together again!!!

The Wallaces and Schuttingas were able to come to our house for supper!  What a fun night!  We miss not seeing them as much anymore.  What a great group of friends!

 Wish these 2 lived closer together.  Maybe they'll be college roommates someday!  :)

 Levi couldn't wait to see Will again!

Nice look, Mason!

Happy Father's Day to this amazing dad!  Playing games with his oldest sons on Sunday morning before church!

 Happy Father's Day to my dad!!!

 It was a gorgeous day to relax in the backyard at Mom and Dad's house.

 Levi didn't want me to take a picture of him.  Not a huge surprise.

On a Monday I decided to take the boys to Getting's Garden to pick strawberries.  We got to ride on a gator to get to the strawberry fields, we got to pick strawberries and eat them right out of the field, we got to eat ice cream, and they even had a little petting zoo.  On the way home we stopped in at Grandma's store in Sheldon and she took us to Hardees!  It was a fun outing!

Our first time boating for the season thanks to Grandpa and Grandma.  Nathan enjoyed a quiet evening at home while we enjoyed a relaxing ride on Lake Okoboji!

 Dorian wanted to go tubing and couldn't get enough of it!!!

We also went to the Mirror Maze and the Tipsy House at Arnold's park!

In addition to the things I've already mentioned, we also signed up for the Summer Reading Program. Dorian was motivated to get his charts filled out and read for hours on end at the beginning of June.

Our friend Scott DeVries was visiting from MI so he came to our house for lunch on a Sunday and on another Sunday we had Nathan's research students at our house.  The highlight for the boys was Mario Kart racing on the Wii!

I got to spend some time with my friend Tammy and also with Dave and Kristin who were visiting at different times.

We are very thankful for loving family and friends to share our lives with!