One More Trip to the Lake...

This past Monday we drove up to the Drums Lake House and spent the day with them and the Pinkleys. It sure was a fun-filled day! Bethany spoiled us with delicious food and Dave took us out for a good time on the boat.

The Pinkleys had all the kids in the front of the boat. 

 Maddie loved going out on the raft (I think Sarah did, too)!

 We got a little air! Maddie loved it. Jesse said she was all smiles! We did this several times and Jesse said it looked like I was going to do a backflip off the raft. We stayed in and kept our sunglasses on :)

 Savannah got a turn.

This is Savannah-style air!

 

Isaac and Maddie fished a bit.

 Naomi and Savannah were twins.

So thankful for my friend Sarah!!

Camp Johnson

This year we decided to give Maddie a camping-themed birthday party. We had a great time! Maddie has made quite a lot of friends (all ages) since we moved here! Thanks to Laura Leach, we have photos from the evening...

I can't believe she's 4!!

Here are the kids decorating their wooden birdhouses! 

They got really into crafting with glitter glue, markers, and stickers.

Maddie is really into crafts lately...can you tell?!

Next we did a scavenger hunt! The kids each received a bag with 15 items they needed to find. Things like a creek rock, a stick for roasting marshmallows, trail mix, grizzly bear (gummy bear), high five from Maddie, etc.

Jesse helped Maddie find everything on the list.

It was so fun watching everyone run a round the yard!

Savannah cheered them on!

It was a pretty warm evening, so we needed to wet our whistle :)

Thanks to GiGi some kids ate dinner at our new picnic table. We had hot dogs, BBQ pork sandwiches, watermelon, potato salad, and chips.

Maddie and Tadum :)

Others ate in the tents we set up!

Papa fed Sissy

"Happy Birthday To You..."

For dessert we had "dirt cups" and s'mores.

Here are the kids firing it up!

 

 

     

The dads enjoyed themselves, too :)

Isaac really liked his s'more!

     What a fun-filled night we had!!          

Papa's Visit

My Dad received sad news last week that his sister passed away. So, he flew to PA to do the funeral, and decided to rent a car to come visit us for the weekend! We sure were happy to see him!

 Papa and Maddie loved playing with her new train set!

 The girls had great fun waking up Papa and having breakfast together.

 Savannah asked for Papa all day long! They are little buddies!

 We were thrilled that my dad could be here for Maddie's birthday party. He took special care of Savannah that night. 

Thanks Dad for coming! We made a paper chain counting down the days until we see you again!

Happy Birthday to My Maddie Girl!

We're so thankful for our sweet Maddie. God has truly blessed us with a great gift in her. She sure keeps us laughing! We love watching this little person grow in all aspects. At age four, Maddie likes to play princess dress up, ride bikes, play outside with friends, do art projects, have Mommy read Little House on the Prairie, play any pretend game with Savannah, and her favorite time of day is when daddy comes home. She's a sweet big sister, always watching out for Savannah. We pray for Madison to grow into a young lady that fears, loves, obeys, and finds her greatest joy in God as her Heavenly Father. 

Here's some photos of the last 4 years of Maddie's life...

4 years old

 3 years old

 2 years old

1 year old

Just arrived home from the hospital!

Drew and Sarah's Visit!

We've just had a wonderful visit with our friends Drew and Sarah Bell from CA. They have the cutest 6 month old, Hudson. He's just so sweet!

 While they were here we did Mt. Vernon, Air and Space Museum, touring DC, and some yummy DC restaurants with them.

 I just loved holding Hudson- completely different than my girls!

We took some pics after church on Sunday, everyone wearing their Sunday best :)

I was thankful for this visit with my sweet friend! It was fun staying up late chatting. We're so thankful for how we see them growing in Christ and together as a family.

Summer Time!

Here's what we're doing with our summer days in D.C.

 Riding bikes at the park!

 Maddie loves her new training wheel bike (early bday gift) from Mimi and Papa.

Savannah had to do what big sis was doing!

  Pretty flowers and bees, which make me think of the song:

"This is my Father's world...."

 Maddie and I are doing some "school". While Savannah naps, we have some big girl time together.

 We joined the pool in the neighborhood.

 Both girls love being in the water. Maddie is taking swim lessons, too.

 Going to church!

 Thank you Auntie L for the matching dresses!

 When our power was out, we stayed with David and Laura. Maddie enjoyed "helping" Laura cook. 

 On the 4th we went to the Fairfax parade with the Gleason's.

 Maddie watched much of the parade with this huge bug on her arm :)

The girls had so much fun dancing to the bands.