Hanging with the Fam

Saturday, June 16

Family + free time = a great way to kick off vacation!

Saturday morning dawned bright and early for the high-maintenance members of our crew.  Joel's family came over for breakfast, and then we played ball outside with the young'uns until it was obvious that we needed a bit more space.  So we packed up and went to a nearby park for some play time, taking snacks to tide us over until lunch.  Our adventure ended with Uncle Joel wading through some slimy muck to retrieve a football that had gone astray just as we were walking back to the parking lot.  Ewwwww!  Fun for the kids to watch...not so fun for Joel (or Sarah, who watched as he schlepped through the mud with her flip-flops in order to preserve his brand new shoes!).

Joel and Sarah patiently taught Lucan how to play baseball, 

a skill that likely would not have happened otherwise!

Tobin, Arden, and Anders threw a football around for awhile.

 Charis was eager to show her Uncle Joel (an English teacher) her book of poetry.

 Zaden and Ted hanging out at the park.

 Cade, Arden, and Tobin

Lucan, Kenna, and Anders

 Joel battles the slimy muck to rescue the football, much to the kids' amusement.

Afternoon naps back at Grandma's condo, and then we attended the evening service at Joel and Sarah's church.  It was neat to see their new building--so big and beautiful!  The message was about fatherhood and was very good.  We went to Joel and Sarah's house after the service for a lasagna dinner and enjoyed visiting and watching the kiddos play.  All in all, a very fun and easygoing way to hang out with the fam!

 7 out of the 8 cousins...eating dinner while Zaden catches a late nap inside.