Vacation!

Yes!  We did it!  We went on a family vacation!  Our first.  Except for our trip to Oregon two years ago, but that was mainly to visit family.  Relaxing and fun as it was.

This time we headed up north to the North Shore of Lake Superior.  How grand and beautiful Minnesota is!  I had no idea.  Waterfalls, trees, rocks, lighthouses, lakes, rivers, hiking, fishing, even mountains (sort of) -- it has it all.

 

Vacation isn't an excuse to not work out... according to Dad.

 

The Garden

This was our first year planting a garden in our backyard.  It is certainly not as pretty as flowers, like my green-thumbed neighbors have, but I'm sure we enjoyed it more.  It was hard work.  We tilled and mixed and pulled weeds and even pulled trees out of the area. 

Finally, we planted.  We planted radishes, jalapenio peppers, carrots, tomatos, watermelons, lettuce, cucumbers and squash. Wow!  More than anything, I think I just realized how truly GOOD God is for making such an amazing plant system. 

Here's how to work it:  put the seed in the ground and FOOD comes up!  Good food: organic, fresh and local.  And this happens over and over again!  I know it sounds silly, but we just got the biggest kick out of growing our own food this summer.


This is back in March, when we first planted the seeds.  I won't do this again next year.  WAY too much work and the seeds I put directly in the ground actually produced more!  But, it was exciting to see them come up for the first time -- new life is always a wonder.

Cucumbers, watermelon and peppers.

Lettuce!

Carrots, radishes and more watermelon.

Um, let's see.. squash, tomatos, a tree, a few weeds, a row of dying tulips in the back and gobs of strawberries.

Our first watermelon!

One day, strolling through the garden...

Another harvest!

The boys get so excited when they get to pick ripe fruit and vegies!

Oh, aaaand!  The rest of our yard was so excited about these new residents that one of our trees up and sprouted apples!  LOTS of apples.  This is such a small number compared to what we've harvested. The kids and their friends grabbed apples off the tree all the time for a quick snack while playing. 

I'm pretty sure we're farmers now.  ;)

A Summer of Golf

John has taken up the sport of golf as of late and all of his boys have followed suit.  Slowly, everyone aquired their own bags and clubs and we spent a great portion of the summer hitting balls and golfing together as a family.

Pool Fun with Friends

We put up a seasonal pool for the boys every year, and though it is small, they have a blast in it (especially when friends come over)!

My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of Mathias swimming in this pool.  He really took off this year with his swimming!  He can swim underwater and has no fear!  He may have enjoyed the pool more than anyone.  That kid is a fish.

Micah's 7th Birthday

Micah turned seven!  A pizza party and Go Fish! concert were on the agenda.  Fun times.