July 2018

June 29-July 4: Grandpa and Grandma Tintle's Lake House
We enjoyed flying instead of driving out to New York this time so we could make it in one travel day!  What a beautiful view!

Dorian and Levi were really excited to do some fishing!  They used the kayaks as their boats and found a reef really close by with a lot of fish!

 Bruno was well loved!

 The boys soaked up all the time and attention from Grandpa and Grandma!

The boys enjoyed the challenge of the labyrinth game and Dorian wouldn't give up until he could make it all the way to the end!

 Dorian loves tubing!

 Mason's turn tubing!

 Levi's turn tubing!

We had very warm, dry weather every day we were there which was perfect lake weather!

 It was fun to go on a morning excursion to Whiteface Mountain and climb to the top!

 The water was so clear so it was perfect for snorkeling!

 Mason loved to jump in the water off of the dock!

 Nice catch, Dorian!

 Grandpa and Grandma bought fireworks and sparklers to celebrate the 4th with us!

Our flight back home was on the 4th.

Japan
Early on the 5th, Nathan flew out for a work trip to Japan for a week!

The boys and I kept busy at home.  Levi had his first Jr. PGA League golf game!  He did great and discovered that he really loves to golf!

We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary!

 The boys had fun at the family golf night at The Ridge.

 Nathan did a little exploring in Japan in addition to his work.

 Dorian and Levi participated in the Dordt soccer camp together.

Cabin Adventures
When Nathan arrived home, we decided to spend the weekend together at the cabin.

The signature cinnamon roll at The O'Farrell Sisters Restaurant was a delicious breakfast appetizer to try during our first time there.  :)

We joined Mom, Dad, Aniah, Eden and Adria at Uncle Darryl and Aunt Twyla's house to swim and ride their jet skis!

Flowers
Mason has been diligently watering his flower and is so proud of how much it's grown since he planted it at preschool!

No Training Wheels
Way to go Mason!  It's going to be so fun to ride a bike with no training wheels!

More Cabin Adventures
We made a stop at Arnold's Park on our way to the cabin for Nutty bars.  Then the boys ran through the Tipsy House a couple of times and went down the carpet slides.

We decided to bike to Spudnuts to get donuts for breakfast!  It was a 20 mile ride there and back.  Nathan took the bike trailer along so Mason could ride for part of it and he ended up biking himself about half of the way!  That's pretty impressive considering he had just learned to ride without training wheels a few days before!

 It was fun to take the boys tubing behind our boat on Big Spirit Lake for the afternoon!

 After supper we went fishing and Nathan caught the only fish.

Vacation Bible School
I was a crew leader at VBS and Mason was in my group!  Levi had a friend in his group and also had a lot of fun!  Nathan and Dorian enjoyed the 4 quiet evenings we were gone...including one night at the cabin together.

 Mason was concentrating while making his craft.

Happy Birthday
The boys spoiled me with breakfast in bed for my 39th birthday!

 Nathan and Dorian made me a special birthday dessert....tiramisu!  Yum!

 It was sweet of Dorian, Levi and Mason to get me some of my favorite treats.  :)

 On the afternoon of my birthday, Levi had his last golf game of the season!

 So proud of how well he did for his first year!

Woodworking
I was very thankful that Grandpa and Grandma Bolkema could have Dorian, Levi and Mason at their house overnight.  I really enjoyed having time to relax and catch up on some projects.  When I arrived to pick them up I found out that Grandpa taught them how to use his saw, sander, and nail gun to make rubber band guns!  Dorian was so excited!!!

Wilderness Camp
I was fighting back tears as we approached Inspiration Hills to drop Levi off for 5 days and 4 nights away from home.  When we found out at registration that Isaac and Lucas from his class were in his group, Levi was happy to send me off.

Nathan, Dorian, Mason and I went to lunch and the final chapel on Friday.  Levi greeted us with hugs and tons of stories!  His enthusiasm was contagious!  He informed us that he hadn't changed his clothes in days because there wasn't any time to!  He informed us that when you sleep on plywood floors, it's best to sleep on your back.  We knew that one of his meals was going to be eaten with no silverware but found out that most of them were that way in Wilderness Camp.  We heard about how they threw sausages at the other campers at the sunset campfire.  We heard them sing the new songs they learned.  It was super hard for him to say goodbye after such an exciting week.  I'm so thankful that he had such a great experience!


So many fond memories.  What a busy month!!!