Cooling Off

After a yummy birthday lunch and ice cream sundaes, Zachary joined us as we headed next door to go swimming. Our neighbors are out of town and graciously share their pool with us - what a blessing on such hot days! We had a great time cooling off and playing together! Here's Beth posing in her new swimsuit - so cute!

Allie rarely stops smiling - she loves to swim!

Zachary loves to jump off the rock!

I know this isn't a very flattering picture, but Allie loves to dive right now. She goes all the way to the bottom of the deep end. It's so fun to watch her!

Nathan prepares to jump into the deep end! He is loving the water this year!

Playing with Daddy...

Finally!.... Already?

Beth woke up this morning and said, "I'm FINALLY nine years old!" Inside, I was thinking, "How can she be nine already?" The time is flying by, but, oh how I love having this precious girl. Beth is tenderhearted and kind, sweet and sensitive. She is an absolute gift to our family and she is loved so much! Today we celebrated Beth with a birthday lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Tos, and Uncle Ryan, Aunt Angie, Zachary and Ainsley. She chose to have Daddy grill steak - what a yummy choice!

Beth's favorite presents this year included a new swimsuit, a basketball, volleyball and new clothes. She's pretty easy to please!

Instead of cake, Beth wanted to have ice cream with toppings, so we created a tower with ice cream cones. The ice cream was a huge hit!

It's so nice that we live close enough for Grandpa and Grandma Tos to join in our birthday celebrations. That is a gift in itself!

Bowling!

This year, in lieu of birthday parties, our kids get to choose a family outing instead. Beth chose to go bowling, so yesterday we headed to the bowling alley for some fun! This was our first time bowling with the kids and it was quite entertaining. Allie and Nathan's bowling balls took forever to get to the pins, so we spent much of our time just waiting and watching. We were very thankful for bumpers so we could avoid countless gutter balls! Beth was thrilled when she got a strike. We all had a great time and enjoyed being together!

A Fitting Finale

Our time with the Colorado Cousins (and their parents!) came to an end last night, but we enjoyed our last evening together by going to one of our favorite places. Uncle John and Aunt Vickey are always so gracious to invite us to their lovely home for swimming, boating, and pizza. The kids look forward to it every summer and we are never disappointed. We always have a GREAT time!

Nathan's getting braver - jumping in the water and swimming back to the side!

getting a ride in the hammock, courtesy of Aunt Vickey

a spirited game of basketball in the pool!

ready for a paddle boat ride

As you can see, we always have lots of fun at Uncle John and Aunt Vickey's house!

Mount Hermon

We love Mount Hermon! We look forward to our week at Family Camp every summer, but this year was even more special. ALL of the Tos family was there together - and that made Mount Hermon even more fun! It was such a gift to spend the entire week together and we made wonderful memories! Here are just a few pictures that make me smile...

Canopy Tour

My parents and my brother went on the canopy tour this year. I was so impressed that they did it! They whizzed from platform to platform on ziplines, sometimes 150 feet about the ground. Here they are before heading off!

I attempted to take pictures as they whizzed by, but wasn't too successful. However, you can see a bit so I thought I'd include them! The picture above is my brother Ryan.

My mom

and my dad!

We could only see the first zipline and the second platform (seen here). After that, they were too deep in the forest for us to watch. They had a great time!

Playground Time

The kids always enjoy the playground at Mount Hermon!

Boating

One of my favorite Mount Hermon memories is boating on Zayante Creek. It was fun to introduce the kids to this fun activity! (Just so you know, Nathan's blue lips are from his push pop!)

Tim and the boys coming into the boat dock.

Tami, Ryan, Zachary and Cara enjoy their ride.