Just Us

Dan and I just returned from a week of vacation in West Virginia! Dan's Uncle Dick and Aunt Pam live in Morgantown. I've never been to West Virginia and the first picture captures two things: my excitement and the sweet wristbands Aunt Pam let me borrow. You may be asking yourself: "Why wristbands? Is it super hot in WV? Is she getting ready to workout? Is this some new fashion trend?" Well......it was pretty hot there....I didn't do a lot of running in that "big timber" :)......and I am not starting a new trend. The wristbands actually help with motion sickness....which I MAY have had problems with in the past. They took such good care of us out there in the mountains...... Along our sight-seeing trip of WV, we toured one of the smallest churches in the US. It was super cute with only a few pews and cutie little stained-glass windows. Isn't it cute??!? Here is Dan and Dick before we went on a little hike to the Blackwater Falls. They had s...

I was able to stop by Orange City to meet sweet little Hudsyn. She is adorable and I can't quite figure out who she looks like more! It was so good to see Chelsey, the proud mommy. She is such a great mom already! What a blessing to hold her and visit.... Here is another picture of her sweet little face.....love them all! The next pictures are of our relaxing trip to Okoboji with Callie. We spent ALL Saturday on the boat and the weather was beautiful! Lots of boats out that day! CHEEZZZE!!!!!!!!! Look at the color of our skin and see if you can figure out who has been laying in the pool all summer and who has been working!?!?!?! :) We made sure those arms got lots of sunscreen! Here is the lovely captain of our boat, Callie! It was such a great relaxing weekend spent with fun people! :) Does this summer really have to come to an end................... ?

Nate, Leah, Faith, and Allison came to visit over the July 4th weekend. We had such a blast staying up late chatting.....swimming in the pool....laughing together....and spending time at the zoo. Faith was such a trooper waiting in line and really enjoyed all the animals. It was this interesting Egyptian species she found in a cave...that she wasn't so sure about! :) Hahaha....this may have been my favorite picture of the weekend. Look at Faith's face... Here is one of Faith and her bubba.....she LOVES Dan! We were so blessed to have them here and really missed having a house-full of family. :)

We finally went camping for the first time this summer. Not wanting to travel far, we just camped at Viking Lake by Stanton. We asked Grandma Daisy and Grandpa Bill to come over and camp as well. We ended up camping right next to them and it was perfect! Lots of grilling.....sweating.....hiking....swimming....playing Phase 10...and laughing at Grandpa Billy's jokes. Callie endured her very first night of camping with us on Saturday! She was a champ and even slept through the thunderstorm that kept the rest of us awake. This is our attempt at taking pictures in the tent before going to bed. After the fourth picture, we had to settle with a picture with my eyes shut! :) Hahaha..... Spending time with Bill and Daisy was SO good. They are seasoned campers and always had something on hand that we had forgotten. I think they were pretty entertained by us kids putting up the tent....Dan and Jon's grilling....Jill and Callie's antics...etc. OHHHHHHHH Jill! Our friends Jon ...

WE LOVE SUGARLAND! Sooooo....Deid and I went to see them AGAIN in Kansas City. This time, we took the boys. We think we've got them converted now.....well maybe closet converts! Following tradition, we bought ourselves each a bag of cotton candy and found out that it wasn't actually too bad for us...thanks Todd! Here are our cotton candy pics....mmmmmmmm. Deid....you love this picture don't you!?!?!? :) Relaxing with my honey between concerts. Danny Goaki (spelling?) the American Idol guy opened and then Luke Bryan performed before Sugarland. Both guys were really entertaining! The week before the concert, I spent in Osage Beach with Q-Bear. We had lots of time that week to hangout and it was fun to get to know him better. He is such a sweet little baby, but not so little anymore! We played a lot and took lots of naps together...once again a little nephew/niece has Aunt DD wrapped around his/her little finger! Hahahaha.....I love this picture and thought you should ...

In June, Melinda and I took a long roadtrip to South Dakota. You may be wondering, "Of all places to choose from, you went to South Dakota?" YES!!! For the wedding of our dear friend, Emily! The drive was long, but went by so quickly cause I had Mel. There is so much to be said about a friend like Mel.....and I couldn't even begin to tell you how blessed I am to know her without sounding a little cheesy. :) Mel and I have been friends since our junior year at Northwestern....but I feel like I've known her my whole life. She just gets me...the good, the bad, the ugly....and loves me through it. She doesn't judge, doesn't just tell me what I want to hear. She's honest, genuine, passionate and one of the sweetest people I know. Love you Mel! Here are the girls with Emily! She was such a BEAUTIFUL, beaming bride. It was such a blessing to see her marry her best friend and one that brings her so much joy! Pretty amazing when she was already one of...