Spoiled by Baggie

We were lucky to have a visit from Baggie today!  She came with one mission: to spoil us all!  She came bearing tons of groceries and goodies.  We were so happy to have the time with Baggie.  

While Bennett, Logan and I napped, John mowed the lawn and Baggie cooked a few meals for our freezer and fridge.  How nice!  We also enjoyed a delicious dinner before Baggie had to go home.  Thanks for the wonderful visit and for all the special treatment!

Vacation Bible School!

Logan participated in Vacation Bible School at his preschool July 24-29.  I can't even really describe how much he loved it!  John dropped him off in the mornings by 8:45 and Bennett and I usually picked him up at noon.  He was happy to go each day and really excited about everything he got to do at VBS.  Logan is such a learner - he love school so much and VBS was no different.  He made fast friends with his classmates and knew lots of other kids from school at Noah's Ark.

 Bennett and I usually arrived a little early for pick up.  Bennett liked to run around - here you can see he is still wearing his pj shirt - it was one of those kind of weeks.  :)

At pickup parents were invited to join in on the worship with all the kids.  There were about 400 kids in VBS so it was a little crazy sometimes!  Logan's class of preschoolers always sat in the front row on the far side of the worship center, so I could always spot him right away.  He was so social: talking to his friends, teachers, dancing, singing, jumping around.  He really is such a great kid! 

Logan even got this nice short haircut the week before VBS.  I went out to lunch with Mollie and when I came home, John had given Logan a buzz.  Ack!  In all fairness, poor Logan has his mom's super thick hair and he gets so hot.  I knew VBS would be a good time for a shorter cut.  He loves it because it is "just like dad".  Logan came home with lots of great artwork and projects that he is so proud of!  Thanks to all the VBS teachers and volunteers for a GREAT week for Logan!

Are we behind or what?!

Life is pure craziness and I never, ever, ever sit down at the computer.  Checking my email happens only on my phone and I rarely take the time to sit down and communicate...many apologies!  The blog is so backed up and behind...you'll have to scroll back through most of July to catch up on life with the Eiselts...I'll do my best to get caught up this week!  Enjoy!

The Royal Wedding, etc.

My sister in law, Jenny, has always been the "princess" of the house because she came along after her two older brothers.  That is why her wedding quickly earned the title of The Other Royal Wedding.  Her wedding was a summer highlight because we got to see many Eiselts from far away.  Scott and Jessica, Jenny and her fiance Mike, and more cousins, etc.  The boys really loved seeing their aunts/uncles and it made us wish we lived much closer to them!  John officiated the wedding, I was a bridesmaid, and the boys were both ring bearers....so, I don't have any photos of the actual wedding - we were a little busy!

Thursday night before the wedding, Eiselts hosted a dinner in their newly landscaped yard/garden.  The boys loved running around and exploring.

They found this caterpillar perfectly resting on a lily.

Soon the boys had everyone checking out their new friend, "Speedy" - especially the flower girls, Mike's nieces from Maryland.

The boys also enjoyed their new bikes at Baggie & Bopbop's house - they thought they were being so crazy because I let them ride without helmets.  Livin' on the edge.

The new paver sidewalk was the perfect track!

There was also time for bubbles - always a big hit!

The boys both enjoyed cake pops!  We celebrated one of the little girls birthdays with cake pops that night...surprisingly Logan tried one and said, "I LIKE it!".  But, he has informed me, he still doesn't want cake for his birthday.  Actually, I think he had about three cake pops while we weren't watching that night.  Maybe a little cake-overload?

I was unaware that the pool would be open that night, so we were terribly unprepared!  But as soon as the little girls jumped in with their dad, I knew it wouldn't be long before the boys were begging me.  Sure enough, they wanted to swim!  So, I recruited John and an extra pair of underware for Bennett to wear in the pool...and the naked boys began swimming (only this little boys were naked - not John.  haha!).

Bennett was a little unsure of the pool at first, but quickly regained his "dare devil" status.

Jumping in off the diving board! 

Bennett became a little obsessed with the diving board and it was a little freaky to have him hopping up there all the time.  The pool was a hit and just kinda a fun, crazy end to the evening.

Friday was the groom's dinner downtown Stillwater and that was fun, too!  The boys did a great job and were so cute...they always seem to humble us with their good behavior in an overwhelming situation.

We chose a seat by the window so the boys could watch the boats on the river and watch the life bridge go up and down.  It was great entertainment!  The next day was the wedding day so we went home early and went to bed!

The wedding day was great and, once again, the boys humbled us with their great behavior through the chaos.  We were lucky to have so much help from Papa and Nana so that was a lifesaver.  The boys were adorable in their seersucker pants, dress shirts, ties, and TOMS shoes.  The boys cooperated well for photos and by the time they had to walk down the aisle, Bennett refused to wear his shoes.  In true Bennett style, he walked down the aisle barefoot while Logan - all perfectly tucked, held his hand and guided him all the way down to mom and dad waiting for them at the front.  It was so perfect, so priceless, so cute!  Hopefully I can get ahold of some photos to post at a later date - its definitely worth recording!

Congrats to Mike and Jenny Fischer!  Thanks for making us all a part of your special day!

8 years and counting...

It happened!  Another year passed and we celebrate our anniversary today!  We even got to celebrate because my mom was sweet enough to make the drive over to spend the day with us and then watch the boys while John and I went out for yummies.

 8 years and counting...the best is yet to come.  This year we were shown that God has His best in store for us and that we can live a life we dream of!  So excited to see what that brings for us in this next year!  Happy Anni #8, babe!

Sensory Fun

Today we met some friends at the Family Resource Center in Eau Claire for Sensory Exploration!  We arrived just as it was beginning, so the boys dove right in to the fishing pond.

Bennett didn't seem to really get the concept, he just wanted to push the fish around in the pond, but he certainly still enjoyed himself.

Nice catch, Logan!

Then it was on to the "sand" with our friend, Oliver.  It was a tub of rice, dry noodles, etc.  We have a tub like this at home and the boys love it, but it sure makes a mess.  

The foam paints were super fun!  I had never seen these, but think I might get some to play with!  

Bennett really loved to get messy...Logan: not-so-much!  Oh well!

Michigan Road Trip: Part 2

The second part of our road trip through Michigan took us to Young Life's, Timberwolf Lake, where we spent a month serving when Logan was just 11 months old.  We really love this camp and were lucky enough to get to stay a couple nights as guests.  It was a new experience for us to be at camp without responsibilities, but we really loved our time there.  We planned to be at camp to visit friends we spent a month with at Castaway last year and also to visit our good friend, Jenna, who was on Summer Staff.  We accomplished all that and enjoyed every minute!

Guest Lodge

When we walked into the guest lodge, we noticed the promo materials with John's photo (the back of his head...can you see it?).

The guest lodge is so neat, we loved our accommodations! 

Our first stop at camp was to visit the Houghtons and catch up a little.  Along the way, we ran into a handful of other friends from YL staff and it was wonderful to update them on where we are at with life, jobs, and being happy!  Then we made our way to the new go-carts at TWL.  We even got to sneak in a ride since it was the end of the day.  Logan and Bennett would have LOVED this!

I have a fear of go-carts, but I drove anyway and it was superfun!  These are electric so they are really clean and quiet...love that!

One of our favorite things about being at camp was experiencing club - singing and laughing together is so great.  We loved it.

We joined in on evening activities and even got cotton candy at the carnival.

This is one of my favorite spots on camp.  The brook is so pretty.  Logan loved to crawl around by it and watch the water when we were there 3 years ago.

John is enjoying vacation!  We felt a great sense of peace being at camp - knowing we made the right decision to move to the church, taking a giant leap of faith the follow God's plan for us and do something new.  We will always love Young Life, but our life is better now!

This was the "Octoball" court!  John is convinced he needs to install one at the church.  Its a cross between dodge ball and four square and is pretty intense.

"Hi from camp, Logan & Bennett!"

The highlight of club was the last night when they did this great rendition of Blue Man Group!

We left camp the next morning to head for home.  We both really missed the boys and were ready to be home with them.  We drove up around the Upper Peninsula to enjoy the beautiful scenery and enjoyed our time together.  What a great trip!

Michigan Road Trip: Part 1

On a whim (sort-of) John and I decided to take a road trip through Michigan over July 4th.  John has vacation to use up (imagine that?!), we've never been away from the boys for more than a weekend, and it was perfect timing for a getaway.  So, without much planning...we were off on our adventure!

Family photo op before we jumped in the car.  The boys were so excited to stay with Papa and Nana all week!  I had some tears as we left - we'd never been away for a week.

We started the trip off right: Starbucks, great iPod playlist, and sunshine on the road!  It was super fun!  John and I knew we really needed the windshield time to catch up on some conversations about life, the past year, and where we're headed.  The uninterrupted time in the car (no "moooooommmm, I need a snack, etc) was priceless.  We took our time stopping along the way...all the way to Grand Rapids, MI!  We were lucky enough to stay with our very dear friends, Josh and Carrie Ranum and sweet baby Rebecca.  They have an adorable house in a great neighborhood in GR.  We have been wanting to visit ever since they moved their to start their residencies 2+ years ago.  It was lovely to spend time with them and Rebecca.  Since they are both busy doctors, we had the days to ourselves and spent time with them in the evenings.  They directed us to the beaches, some cute coastal towns, and great routes along the coast.

John looks good holding a little girl, don't you think?  haha.

On Sunday, we got up and visited Mars Hill - a church in Greater Grand Rapids we've been wanting to visit.  We've read some of the lead pastor's books: Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis is our favorite.  It was a great experience and we were there for a great weekend message: God is still creating us, He is never finished; We are a work in progress!   We also took some pictures of their really cool building (an old department store in an abandoned mall that was converted into their church!) since our new youth wing at Jacob's Well is under construction right now.  I think Mars Hill was the hippest church I've ever been to.  As John said "There some hipsters up in here".

Then after church, we traveled about 30 min to Holland.  We went to the visitors bureau and got some recommendations but ended up just down the corner at the New Holland Brewery for most of the day!  We waited a few minutes and then got a table outside so we just had a leisurely late lunch and enjoyed the lovely weather!

After our super long lunch, we walked downtown Holland and liked what we saw.  We thought Eau Claire could take some notes from the great spaces created in downtown Holland.

There were so many cute shops, but most were closed on Sunday.  And John gently reminded me "This is not a shopping trip".  Oh yeah.  :)

This street performer was drawing a crowd - especially kids!  I couldn't help but think that Logan and Bennett would both be breaking out their dance moves, too.

In the evening, we just got to hang out with Josh, Carrie, and Rebecca.  We so enjoyed our time with them!

On July 4th, we had one mission: HIT THE BEACH!  So, we traveled back to Holland to spend the day at Tunnel Park.  We had driven by the day before and decided that would be our next adventure.  So, after a quick trip to the grocery, we were on our way!

We stopped back in downtown Holland for some lunch.

And then it was off to the beach.  It was super busy.  The weather was perfect for the beach - hot and sunny with no clouds in the sky!  

We found our spot - just big enough to fit our towels and enjoyed a day reading in the sun and just people watching on the beach.

Wen spent a loooooong day at the beach which made us feel like we were back on our honeymoon: a lazy day at the beach with no other priorities or responsibilites...that hasn't happened since!  Then we went back to Ranums to clean up and join them for a 4th of July celebration!

We went to their friends' rooftop terrace in downtown Grand Rapids to see the fireworks from all around the river and Lake Michigan.

We were there early enough to watch the sunset and enjoy the cool weather.  Everyone we were with were doctors or interns so we felt like we were on an episode of Grey's Anatomy!

The Ranums!  Thanks for being such gracious hosts!  We are grateful!  It was wonderful to see you all.

"Hi Logan & Bennett!"

Happy 4th of July!