NC vacation!

Hello! We are alive! We had a blast in North Carolina last week with my dad and stepmom and many other family members. It was a lovely vacation. We were all sad to come home. Elijah and Sammy both have been periodically saying to us, "I'm sad! I want to go back to Gwammie and Gwamps' house!" :( I love my family. I wish they lived closer. It was WONDERFUL to spend time with them.

Last Thursday my dad and stepmom and I took the boys to an apple orchard in the mountains. The weather wasn't ideal, but I personally thought the fog added "cool" points to the experience. It was so beautiful! Plus, we are from Minnesota, so we were not a bit uncomfortable. :)

Elijah's favorite part of the orchard was the bamboo forest. We walked through it, and both boys kept calling it a "spooky forest." 

A great pic with Grammie in the Spooky Forest..

Isn't the scenery gorgeous? We picked some apples and once we got back home, Paula and I made Apple Butter with them. 

The next few photos are hilarious. "Boys! Pose with Grammie and Gramps for a picture!" Ha! Ha ha!

The day my brother Joel and his sweet sweet girlfriend Bree came into town, we spotted this praying mantis in my dad's back yard. ICKY! But cool, at the same time. I'm secretly glad we don't have these creatures in Minnesota. They are so big!

The purpose for our visit was to celebrate Paula's 30th year in the ministry. It was really cool to celebrate this with her. Family gathered from all over the country to give her love, so we got to spend time with many more people than her and my dad. The boys LOVE Uncle Phill, so seeing him was a huge highlight from the trip. I love this photo of Uncle Phill reading a book to Sammy.

Elijah and the beautiful Bree!

Here was our family photo, minus Heath (my brother) and Heather's (my sister) children and grandchild.

Not so sure what is going on here?! :)

We spent plenty of time at the park near my dad's house. The boys of course loved that, especially when Uncle Joel and Bree were around.

It has been a busy week since arriving back at home. I have been working a lot and Dan and the boys have been holding down the fort. I have decided that our lives are just crazy. Work hard, play hard, work harder, play harder, sleep little, repeat. Life is good. Thanks for checking in!