Hodgins Visit

The Hodgins family came to visit us this weekend. They have four kids ages 10, 8, 5 and 2. Our kids had a great time playing with their kids. We introduced them to The Corner Park, had a night swim, and invited The Johnson's over for more fun times. It was a nice weekend.

T-ball

Trace just completed his first t-ball season. He loved it and improved along the way. Mission accomplished.

Sanctus Real Concert

After a fun day spent catching up with the kids, Trevor surprised me with a sitter and a date night out with friends. We went out for dinner and then to a Sanctus Real concert on the fairgrounds with our good friends, The Johnson and The Mudrows.

Katie and Jonathan's Wedding

My niece, Katie, got married this weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado to her new husband, Jonathan Huffman. The wedding was beautiful. It was an outdoor wedding with the mountains and forest as their backdrop. It was a very Christ centered wedding. I'm excited for them as they start their lives together as husband and wife.

My dad and Sue picked me up from the airport and I spent the majority of my time with them. Sue and I decided that we wanted to eat crepes for lunch one of the days. There was a food truck that sold crepes and everytime we passed by it had a long line of people waiting. My Uncle Rod and cousin, Jada, were with us and after about a minute of standing in the crepe line decided they wanted to eat somewhere else. Sue and I decided to stick it out. After about an hour Rod, Jada and my dad returned with full bellies, while Sue and I had yet to receive our crepes. We just had to laugh. The crepes were very yummy, but the whole experience took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not sure I want to stand in that line again anytime soon...

My weekend in Colorado was filled with lots of time spent with my extended family. Katie and Jonathan organized a hike up in the mountains one of the mornings. We rode a gondola up the mountain and then hiked for about an hour and half. It was a pretty hike. I also went for a run along the creek that runs through Breckenridge. It was absolutely beautiful. After the wedding, my dad, Sue and I went and spent the night in Denver with my brother, Rick and his wife, Crystal. Rick moved to Denver when I was just one or two years old and he is twenty years older than me, so we have never been very close. It was nice getting to visit with him, Crystal and my nephews.

As much as I enjoyed being with my extended family in Colorado, it feels great to be back in Michigan with Trevor and the kids. I'm look forward to staying put for awhile...

Fun Day with Jodi

My good friend and college roommate, Jodi, was in our neck of the woods visiting family in the Detroit area. We met up in Ann Arbor for a girl's day. We rented kayaks and paddled up a portion of the Huron River. We worked up an appetite and finished off our time together with some yummy middle eastern food. It was great catching up with my dear friend. My only complaint was that it went too fast...

The Hayes' Visit

Dion and Misty

Night Swim- Notice how everyone is in the hot tub.

Movie and Popcorn Night

Trace, Kinsey, Kianna, Graysen, Taylor and Kaylee

Our dear friends, Dion and Misty Hayes and their kids, came to visit us all the way from Dallas, TX. They spent three days with us before heading to Niagra Falls. We spent lots of time swimming. We even had a night swim one night. We showed the kids how to make lighting bug rings like we used to do when we were little. We played disc golf. We went to Corner Park. We ate ice cream. We had a great time visiting with our friends.

Part 2: Road Trip to Iowa

Gaskill Clan at the splash pad

Gaskill Adults

Alyssa and Kaylee

Adventureland Here We Come!!!!

Cousins

BFF Cousins

Trace's owies- he flipped over a post while standing in line

Trevor thought I looked like Supermom here

Bonfire Fun- Sisters

Bonfire Fun- Trevor and Da Ladies

Bonfire Fun- Cousins

Mom and Grandma

4th of July Piñata

Cousins

Gangster Cousins

Bruxen

Kianna reading to Bruxen

Kids with Grandpa Bob

After a wonderful week in Colorado, we began our trek back to Michigan with a week long pit stop in Iowa. The first stop in Iowa being to Adventureland in Des Moines. We hadn't been there since before we moved to Michigan. Again it was a childhood favorite for both Trevor and I, so we were excited to share it with our kids. Aunt Sam, Bryker and Aliyah met us at Adventureland for a fun filled day of rides, both land and water.

The rest of our time in Iowa was spent in Cedar Rapids with our family. Some highlights include:

• Bonfire & Smore's- Bree invited us over to her house for a bonfire and smore's one evening. Everyone on my mom's side was able to come, so it was a great evening.  It was Bree's first time hosting a family event, so that made it extra special. 
• Visiting with Tom and Katie- My uncle and cousin from Dallas, TX happened to be in Cedar Rapids at the same time we were. Katie is pregnant with her first baby, so it was really fun getting to see her and her little baby bump. We even played some peanuts. Kaylee played with us too. It was a fast paced game and she did great. She even won a round. 
• Touring the condo- My dad and Sue just purchased a condo which they gain possession of on August 15th. This is a big step for them as they have lived in their current house for 31 years. We are very excited for them. This condo is a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom ranch. It is much larger than their current home and has an open floor plan. It will be perfect for hosting events. Their current home was pretty cramped for space when trying to fit all of their six kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in for family events. 
• Seeing Bob and Becki's condo- We hadn't seen their new condo since they moved into it in May. It looks great. Becki has it decorated so nice, it looks like they have lived there for years. 
• Paintings- Becki has begun a new painting hobby. She painted the girls each a beautiful owl picture for them to hang in their rooms. She is very talented.
• Fourth of July- We spent the afternoon at Stacie and Patrick's house eating yummy food, visiting, having a potato sack race, and swinging at a piñata. The potato sack race was hilarious. I was the clear winner, so Stacie tried to grab my feet to take me down, but missed. Then about 10 seconds after I had won the race Shelli crossed the line and began celebrating her win because Trace told her she had won. Trevor recorded the whole thing. We watched it several times and had lots of laughs!
• Picnic with Gaskill's- We had a potluck picnic at a park and then let the kids play at a splash pad while the adults visited. It was a fun time for all. 
• Lots of cousin time. 
• The Cook/Langfald pile up...

We had fun times in Iowa, but also had plenty of sad times. When we were in Iowa in April it was because Bob had just been diagnosed with the aggressive form of lymphoma again. Since then he has been getting chemotherapy and has completed two doses. He was supposed to receive his 3rd dose of chemo while we were in Iowa this week. However, a biopsy on Monday revealed that the cancer was still growing despite the chemotherapy. On Weds, the doctors decided to stop chemotherapy. By Saturday, Bob was in the hospital and placed on hospice. Things have moved quickly in the wrong direction. This news has been devastating and obviously is not what any of us were hoping for.

It is hard to know what to say during times like these. We put our hope and trust in God! Romans 5:8-9 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."