Ren Faire

We headed to the Bristol (WI) Ren Faire on July 14th.  It was a warm day, but not as bad as it could've been considering it was mid July!  We purchased 1/2 price tickets at the end of last year and brought our lunch, so our cost was minimal.  That was such a blessing since the medical bills from South Dakota had started to roll in.

Taking a break for lunch at the van.

 After lunch, we sat down to enjoy Adam Crack, the Fire Whip Guy.  He asked for a participant and Will raised his hand.  Here he is during the show...

Will showing off his prize

Miscellaneous Summer Activities

Here are some fun things we did this summer...

Enjoying a sunset on the Mississippi River

Waving to the Celebration Belle (just before it goes under the I-74 bridge)

Dress like a cow day at Chick-fil-A

Alex might be getting too big for the coupe car!!

Maddie & Grandad playing catch

Will & Judah playing together during Judah's visit

Katie & Kayla playing beanbag game

Will mowing the yard for the first time

 Katie put together the "Scare Fest".  She came up with some creative things.  Matt topped the night off with the dry ice and playing "Thriller" on youtube.

A Play Day in Dixon, IL

 Another great day and we decided to drive...we ended up in Amboy, IL (near Dixon).  First stop was to check out the old train station with this huge locomotive.

Matt came across this neat little park while on a route one day.  It has lots of wood carvings.  There was a storm that came through this town a few years ago and destroyed mature trees - see the story here.

Isn't this a strange "slide"

After playing at the park for a while, we headed to Franklin Grove to play in the creek/spring at Franklin Creek State Park.  I think it's safe to say that the kids had a blast!

After playing in the water, the kids changed into pajamas for the drive home.  We stopped in Dixon for a quick dinner and couldn't believe the flooding!  The Rock River was so high!  If you look at pictures from this post, you will see what the normal level is. Compare to the second picture below.  There is supposed to be a walkway there!!

A Horrible Storm

We had a horrible storm come through our area one evening, the last week of June.  It was one of those storms where you hear the calm and know something isn't right.  The sirens started up and I hurried the kids to the basement, just as I heard the wind kick-up.  I love storms, but this one scared me.  As soon as we got to the basement, the power went out.  After 15-20 minutes, the storm had passed us and we went outside to see the damage.  We were surprised to see that only a few small branches had fallen and everything else looked okay.  Without power (which meant no a/c or fans in the humidity and no cooking with our electric stove and microwave), we drove to a nearby fast food joint, only to realize they were without power also.  We trekked a bit further out of our neighborhood and quickly saw that we were blessed to have only lost our electricity.  There were trees on houses, trees uprooted, many limbs on the road, etc.  So much damage.  We couldn't believe our eyes.  We ended up being without power for less than 24 hours.  However, we thanked God for sparing us (for whatever reason, we don't know).  With a ravine behind us, one branch from the huge cotton wood trees would take out our second floor. 

These pictures were taken within an hour or two after the storm hit. 

Summer Camp(s)

 Alex participated in church camp for the first time this year (Hidden Acres near Boone, IA)!  She has been so excited about camp - her and her friend Emma (middle of 3) have been making pros/cons lists during small group for months prior to going.  Sadly, we (Matt & Becki) didn't get to see her off on the bus since we were still in Sioux Falls.

 Alex spent the night with Emma so that the Rhea family could take her to the church first thing in the morning.  Here they are bright eyed at 6 am!!

 Alex got home from camp and Katie left a week later!  This was her first year at Great Lakes Bible Camp (Camp Manitoumi).  This camp is near Peoria and it is our regional Awana based camp. 

 And again at the end of July, Katie went with the church Jr Hi group to camp (Lake Williamson in southern IL).

Katie & Maddy Rhea - ready for the bus drive!

Annual Color Party

We are so thankful for Bible based church camps!  So glad that we have family members and friends who support this also, so we can afford to send them!  What a blessing that we pray goes with them for years to come.