The Dunes

When we were at Bethany Beach, we walked a mile to the dunes. The kids were hot and tired, but they gathered enough energy to make the trek up the dune . . . they LOVED running down it so fast!!! All of a sudden, they had a burst of energy and wanted to climb it again. Too bad the parents didn't get that same burst of energy. . .plus, we had to make that mile walk back before it got dark!

Grandpa and Uncle Dan on the way there. . .good to see the brothers together.

At the bottom. . .before we hiked up.

Up, up, up. . .

Down, down, down... go Jake!!

Poor John wanted to do flips down the dune, but he didn't think the doctor would approve after his Achilles tendon surgery.Here comes Luke!!
Weeee!
Am I going too fast????
Here we come!!!

Luke and Dawson getting a little help from the daddys on the way home.

Uncle Steve and Auntie Becca.

We better hurry. . .the sun is going down!!

Luke and I took a little break from the walking. :)

Look at the beautiful sunset we got to see.

Fun with Family at Bethany Beach

Not all of our fun was on the sand and in the water while we were at Bethany Beach . . . we had just as much fun just spending time together with family in the house and at the park. :)On Saturday night, there was a Christian brass band concert, which was fantastic!! The cousins were intently listening.

Getting a ride on Grandpa.

"Hang me upside down!!"

(Caroline always says that Grandma loves her and Grandpa hangs her upside down) Grandma

Luke and me at dinner after church on Sunday. . .they have a really great church at Bethany Beach!

Auntie Becca and Uncle Steve.


Uncle Steve sharing a laugh with Holly (and Grandpa)
Tickle time!!!
Auntie Becca is tickling Dawson, too!

Caroline, Holly, and Houston reading a book about insects.

Houston going through his new collection of rocks from the beach.

Holly learned how to do the Hula Hoop!!!

Holly and Caroline

A highlight of the trip for Caroline was being able to pick out any flavor of ice cream at The Well (the ice cream/candy shop at the beach). Caroline picked Blue Moon. She enjoyed every bit of it since I usually never let her get that kind because of all the blue food coloring in it. It is officially her favorite kind of ice cream :) mmmm....
We brought the kids' scooters so they could get around easily.
The cousins getting dizzy together.

We had so much fun and were so glad that Uncle Steve, Auntie Becca, Houston, Holly, and Dawson were there, too!!! What a blessing it was to spend time with family.

p.s... I'll post more pictures tomorrow!!

Bethany Beach

Last weekend, we went to Bethany Beach in Michigan. My Uncle Dan and Aunt Marg have a house there that they stay in during the summer. It is a Christian beach community that is just so extra special.

Our kids love being there . . .

Jake was perfectly happy just playing catch with John the whole time. (Mostly in the waves, though)The high winds were PERFECT for flying a kite!! Luke and Caroline just had to stand there and throw the kite up and off it flew!! And it stayed up for a long time!!

Luke's new kite.Caroline taking a break to eat some GORP for extra energy.

Oh my!!. . .Luke had SOOO much fun in the water!!

Little Lukey got worn out from all the wind and waves . . . he took a nice long nap under the umbrella.

Some of the "gang" hanging out in the shade. . .notice Little Lukey taking his nap in the bottom left of the picture. . .don't you wish you could sleep anywhere like that?? (That's Aunt Marg sitting in the green chair.)

Uncle Dan

On the way to the beach, there is a bench that says, "Rest Awhile," so Caroline did. :)

Sweet Caroline

Caroline had a great day . . . it sure tired her out!!

Caroline and I stopped to take a break on the long flight of stairs that led to the beach.

I will post more pictures tomorrow. . .there were just too many to post in one day. :)

Taylor Get Together

Last week, we got to see some of our Taylor friends!! We gathered at the Syswerda's home in Wheaton.

Kevin Willis, who lives downtown Chicago, joined us. He is pictured here with some of the kids.

John and Laila (Dallal) Bechtle joined us from Skokie.

Scott and Amy (Landt) Kregel from Pennsylvania were passing through town.

Mark and Kelley (Baird) Syswerda. Thanks for having us!!

John and me. :)

It was so good to see everyone!!


The whole gang. . .LOTS of kids!!

What a blessing it was to see old friends!!