A Busy Month

Whew! July was a busy month in the life of our family. Here's what we have been up to...

I turned 30 and enjoyed a birthday blueberry pie from my mom - a tradition that has rarely been missed in the past 24 years.

We enjoyed fireworks in Wahoo just a couple of blocks from our house. Lydia was a little emotional about the loud noises because she was exhausted but did SO well!

I don't know which show was more impressive - the one put on by our city or the one we saw from our bedroom window after we got home. There are some BIG fireworks that are legal around here.

We enjoyed a picnic and lake day at the home of some of our church family.

The sound of the boat put Lydia to sleep. :)

Jonah went tubing for the first time. I think it is safe to say he LOVED it!

Lydia enjoyed hanging out with friends from church

Our church hosted VBS July 22-26. I directed the week. Mike taught 4th graders and led the dancing during the opening and closing video sessions by Go Fish. Jonah was in the pre-kindergarten class. And, Lydia and Silas hung out in the nursery all week. We had a fantastic week that God truly blessed. Over 85 kids from our area were exposed to the gospel!

Thursday of VBS was water day where we set up a water slide for the kids during their recreation time. Silas got to enjoy the water slide with the pre-kindergarteners. They were all so kind to him as he would go down then run back up the hill and budge in line so he could go down again. 

This guy was having a blast!

During VBS week, Mike and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. It was such a busy week that we weren't able to take much time to ourselves. Our way to celebrate this year was to share a DQ blizzard after the kids were in bed...one day our anniversary will be more exciting, right?!

The Sunday after VBS we had a combined worship service with another church in our town at our county fairgrounds. It was a beautiful morning - cool with a slight breeze, so unlike the 90+ and humid we were expecting as the preparations were being made. Mike led a worship team made up of musicians from both churches. Pastor Don from the other church brought the message. After the service, we enjoyed a potluck lunch together. What a blessing to not only belong to our church family but to belong to the body of Christ that extends beyond our church walls!

I tried to get a nice picture of Lydia and me as she is wearing a super cute dress that my mom got for her. None of them turned out, but I love this one because it so accurately shows life in our family - Silas hanging on my leg, Lydia pushing away from me and trying to pull Silas' hair, me trying to keep us all together. We are blessed!

I worked extra this month. Usually, I work 2 days a week but covered a vacation for a co-worker by working a full week. Moms of young kids who work full-time - I seriously have no idea how you do it. The week after VBS and our combined worship service, I worked Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, we headed for Minnesota to spend a few days with Mike's parents and to attend an 85th birthday party for my Grandma Nelson. 

We spent one day at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. The boys loved riding all of the rides. Jonah was tall enough to go on a few of the roller coasters and other "big" rides with a chaperone. I love roller coasters so it was great to be able to begin to share it with him.

Silas really enjoyed driving these semi-trucks

Jonah went on the kiddie roller coaster with Uncle Josh

Friday was the birthday party for my grandma. We met at a park by the Mississippi river and Minnehaha Falls. It was a gorgeous day with perfect weather for spending the day outside.

Almost all of my extended family made it back for the party. I think there was only 1 cousin and a few spouses that weren't there. 

Lydia and Great Grandma

Lydia with 2 of my cousins - she made the rounds and had a great time with everyone!

Grandma with my dad and his 3 sisters

Grandma with her grandchildren

Grandma with her great-grandchildren

Grandma with just our family

Just the Rues

We took a walk over to Minnehaha Falls - there was good amount of water flowing that day

After the party, we stopped by my Grandma Kapusta's house for a quick visit.

This girl really likes playing with cars & trucks

Lydia Lucille with Great-Grandma Lucille

That night we were back at Mike's parents house and enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making smores on a beautiful evening.

The next day we packed up and headed back to Nebraska so we would be ready for church on Sunday. 

Our crazy busy month of July was so much fun but so exhausting for all of us! We are thankful for a mostly quiet month of August, for time to rest, to enjoy our family, to get ourselves ready for September when all of our school-year activities start back up again. 

"I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:1-3

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

We visited Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo for the first time on Silas' 3rd birthday. Since the zoo is rated as one of the best in the US, we had high expectations - and we weren't disappointed! 

Everyone enjoyed the aquarium, especially the tunnel with sharks and sting rays and turtles swimming overhead

The Skyfari was definitely the best way to see the zoo. We rode it a couple of times to see the giraffes, ostriches, cheetahs, monkeys, rhinos and more!

Lydia skipped the skyfari - Mommy was a bit nervous to have her unrestrained that high above the ground!

We ate lunch overlooking the jungle with monkeys swinging from trees right outside the window. Perfect lunch for our monkey-loving 3-year-old

Jonah's favorite was the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit

After over 8 hours in the zoo these guys still had smiles on their faces...guess that means the day was a success! 

Caught in the Rain

Little girl and I went out to the garden on this hot, sticky afternoon to pick some green beans for supper.  When I was about halfway through picking, rain started to fall. Not too heavy, but not too light either. I love being out in the rain but wasn't sure what this little girl would think of it. Turns out she likes being in the rain, too!

Even the camera thought it was a little too humid out

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Our sweet Silas turned 3 years old on the 3rd. We can't believe that this little guy is already 3! We had such a fun time celebrating his life. Grandma and Grandpa were down for the week to help us celebrate. On Sunday, I asked Sy what he would like on his cake. His response in a whispered voice was "sprinkles." I asked him if he wanted anything else on his cake. He thought for quite some time and again in a whispered voice said, "more sprinkles." We made sure there were sprinkles on his cake! We first celebrated his birthday on Tuesday night. Since I worked on Tuesday, Grandma and the boys worked together to make Silas a zoo cake. Apparently, when Silas first saw the cake after waking up from his nap, he exclaimed "Wow! That's COOL!" 

Of course, Silas' favorite part of the cake was the monkeys in the jungle.

Most of Silas' birthday gifts from grandparents and us were pieces for the Toy Story 3 Imaginext set 

Wednesday (his actual birthday) we went to the Omaha zoo and left fairly early in the morning to make the most of our day. But, we started the morning with Silas' favorite applesauce cake donuts from the Wahoo Bakery.

Here's a little about our new 3-year-old:

- He LOVES his big brother. He and Jonah are truly best friends. 

- He LOVES his little sister. No one can make Lydia smile and laugh like Silas can. 

- His goal in life right now is to be happy and to make other people happy. He frequently asks or comments about people being happy or not being happy. 

- He loves his monkeys. There is Monkey, Cap-Cap, and his newest monkey, Henry, 

from the Omaha Zoo.

- Monkey's tail seems to be a comfort to him. When he is tired or upset, he likes to hold Monkey's tail to his nose.

- Silas is all BOY. He still loves balls, trucks, and tractors.

- He loves to wrestle and roughhouse. And, he is usually the one who initiates it.

- Recently, he has been singing Go Fish's Kickin It Old School as well as That's Why We Praise Him quite a bit. He also really likes the Doxology and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty sung to him before naps/bed. 

- Silas has a major sweet tooth.

- He also loves cheese. Not too long ago, it seemed like we were going through cheese slices really fast. I figured it out when I found 4 cheese wrappers in a pair of Silas' shorts while doing laundry.

- He still likes to be held and cuddled.

Silas, you are such a wonderful blessing to us! We LOVE you SOOO much!

Last Day of Vacation

On our last day of vacation (June 21st), we packed up at The Lodge and drove to Breezy Point to see everyone once more before our drive home. We went to a beach on Pelican Lake and played in the sand for a little while. Although the boys both tested out the water, it was too chilly to be in for long.

This was Lydia's first experience with sand...

Guess we need to put her in the sandbox at home!

Building Sandcastles

Jonah liked chasing the birds

Overlooking the "lake" that had formed behind the cabin on the golf course...that is one big water hazard!

We left Breezy Point after lunch and arrived home around 11:30pm Friday night. 

We had a WONDERFUL vacation! The boys are already talking about next year! :)