Michigan for Labor Day

We drove to Michigan to visit family for the Hart Family Reunion.  It was a fun time of playing games, relaxing in the pool and eating lots of yummy food!  I realized after we got home that we hadn't taken any pictures of the reunion!!  I don't remember anyone having a camera out all weekend.  I guess we have the mental memories!

Michigan Welcome Area

Stopped at Cracker Barrel to buy our traditional Candy Sticks

Here is Will, making a fort out of his bedding.

We stayed an extra day since it was Labor Day weekend.  Most everyone else lived within a few hours of where we met...however, we were a day's drive away from home, so we decided to make the most of our time there.  On Sunday (after saying goodbye to everyone), we headed to Lake Michigan.  We stopped in Holland to visit the Dutch Windmill Island Park. 

Windmill Island has an old carousel which is really tame in carousel terms...The kids had fun coming up with ways to entertain us every time they came around.

One of the first times around, Will says, "This is unbelievable...is this what we paid for?"  It was worth every penny we paid...because these pictures make me laugh every time I look at them!

We then drove toward Holland State Park so we could climb to the top of Mt. Pisgah.  Beautiful views!

Back down at the bottom...

We headed back to the hotel for dinner and swimming.  The next morning, we woke up and started heading towards home.  We made a few stops along the way, including the Prairie Wolf Park in Caledonia, MI to find a brand new Letterbox series, "Little House 'at' the Prairie".  It was a wonderful park with prairies...

 Woods with neat rock formations....

And LOTS of wildlife! 

Notice the big grasshopper?

Will caught a frog!

We even picked some apples!

Even though we were at the park for a few hours, it was well worth the stop.  The stamp images were beautiful, top rate!  The walk was brisk and wonderful and the nature experience was well worth our time.  The kids loved it!  An added bonus was running in to other letterboxers on the trail!!

May I Have This Dance?

Matt took the 3 girls to a special "Father/Daughter Date Night" at Chick-fil-A.  In the past, they have had a dance floor to allow the dads a time to dance with their daughters.  They didn't do that this time, so Matt asked each of the girls for a dance once they came home that evening.  It was very special for each of them.

After the girls were done, Will went up to Becki and asked her for a dance...

And then he broke out some of his own moves!

We Are So Blessed!

After our medical fiasco in South Dakota, our medical bills started to roll in.  They weren't pretty!  Because of the insurance Becki had, most things weren't covered.  Also, since it happened out of state, some things weren't covered due to out-of-network issues.  So, to help pay some of our bills, Becki's boss (local Chick-fil-A owner), offered to hold a Spirit Night in honor of Becki (see the brochure below).  The whole experience was humbling for us and we knew that God was in the midst of everything that was happening. 

The night of the 27th was an amazing night.  So many people came out to support Becki and our family.  Some people from every aspect of her life (old friends, new friends, church, school, work, etc).  It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are loved by so many!

Up to Our Ears in Corn - Ha, Get it???

One night, our small group (from church) got together for dinner.  One of our friends mentioned that his work had access to corn and it needed to be picked in the next week, before it would go bad.  So, we all drove over to the field and picked to our hearts delight.  The kids had a blast!  What a fun memory for them!

It is hard to see how full our van is since it has a sunk-in back compartment.  But we shared 4 dozen with Becki's sister (who shared with her neighbors), 3 dozen with Becki's mom & dad (who also shared with church friends and neighbors) and a few dozen to some friends.  Even after all the sharing, we had over 70 ears of corn!  We ate a few dozen over the next 2 weeks and then froze the remaining ears.  We look forward to eating corn this winter! 

We love that God continues to provide for us in ways that we never anticipated!  Not only did He provide this corn, but He provided it in a way that we will never forget.  What fun memories with some very dear friends!

The kids enjoyed seeing how tall they could pile the corn on Becki!

School Time Again!

Where did the summer go?  Before we knew it, the summer was over and school was starting again.  This will be a transition year for us as we start to have children in more than 1 school.  We are blessed to have a neighbor who is willing help with pick-up and drop-off.

Unpack Your Backpack Night...

 Maddie & Will both have Mrs. Larvenz this year.  We are so excited that all 4 kids were able to have her as a teacher!

 Alex started her 4th grade year with Mrs. Masias...but was changed to Miss Marlowe's class when a grant was given for another teacher.

 We got to meet some of Katie's teachers as we unloaded her backpack into her locker. 

The next day, we were up early and ready to go with time to spare!  We left early enough and dropped off Katie first then drove to Roosevelt for the twins & Alex's first day.  We stuck around to take some pictures before giving hugs and kisses goodbye.  It was very sweet to be able to pray with my children before sending them into school as the next year started.