Summer Fun!

There's nothing like summertime and good weather to create fun outside with the grandkids! Griffin got his first boat ride with Mommy on Grandpa's boat, and Rannen got to drive while her proud Daddy watched. It was a lovely day and a fun ride, especially for the little ones. Even though they weren't big enough to ride the inner-tube toys on the lake, they made good use of our "sea of green" to have some fun. They tired us all out pulling them back and forth! Griffin thought it was fun at first, but decided it really wasn't worth spending too much time on :)

Bubbles make everything better, so Rannen sent hunders of sparkling orbs into space for our enjoyment. Check out our site on Shutterfly for more photos - there is a link above to the right.

Enjoy your summer! I know we will have a great time with the kids and grandkids around.

Spring Time Fun

Deployment Ceremony

Today was the Deployment Ceremony for Michael's unit, the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division of the Stryker Brigade (5/2 ID (SBCT), based out of Fort Lewis, WA. The speeches were stirring and patriotic, along with inspiring the troops to fulfill their mission in Afghanistan. We heard from Brigadier General Jeff Mathis III and Colonel Harry Tunnell IV, listened to the Army band play patriotic songs, and joined the unit chaplain in praying for the soldiers and the families they leave behind for this mission. It was interesting to hear that the 5/2 ID (SBCT) is one of the newest units with the most advanced weapons and technology used by a ground combat formation in history, or anywhere in the world today. Their digital network connects all ground troops to each other and to air support for supreme battle command and minimal fratricide. They have more than 100 soldiers fluent in Arabic and 50 in Pashtu. They have trained hard for this deployment and are ranked as a supreme combat formation, ready to fight and win under any conditions, against any enemy, anywhere in the world!
As part of the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment "Blackhawks," Michael will be traveling with a great group!
Prayers for all our soldiers' safety and peace of mind for their families are welcome!

Summer is on the way and the kids are loving it! We've had birthday celebrations (with chocolate cake, thanks to Vicki!), picnics in the park, and lots of fun times. Rannen really "got into" the special chocolate cake we had in honor of Michael (her daddy), Scott & Darlene's birthdays in May. She loved posing with her messy face! It was great to have her for a visit with the other grandkids and with our niece's kids - Little Adam wasn't as happy with the result, but agreed to pose anyway. He's getting so grown up! The kids chased each other around the house for hours, playing in the pop-up tents and tunnel and having a grand old time! Rannen was quite defensive about her pink tent, but eventually, the kids were all over all of them. Fortunately, the tents are fairly resilient and have so far handled the uproar with only one rip - and that was put there by Grandma! You just can't have too much fun, apparently. It's just hard to resist the charming Princess Rannen when she invites you into her pink princess tent to read a story! I'm sure I wasn't the only adult wishing I could get away with crawling through the tunnel with the little ones too... Though after filling ourselves with all the good food everyone contributed, I doubt anyone would have been able to squeeze through! Thanks to all who joined us for the family dinners - it's been a great time catching up and watching the little ones grow and develop that bond with each other :) The next Dinner planning is under way - an old-fashioned BBQ this time! Check your email for your Evite!

Dinner out for Scott's 50th birthday was a jolly family time at Red Robin, though he didn't let us tell them it was his birthday. He wanted a low-key celebration this year, and we let him have his way - Just wait until the 51st birthday - then we're going to throw a PARTY!