This afternoon we finally got around to mowing our incredibly long grass after 2 weeks of being gone and Jacob wanted to join in the fun as well. He pushes/pulls his little cow mower all around while daddy pushes the large noisy mower. We hope to train him early! :)
Apparently I didn't do a very good job.
"It's okay mommy...I forgive you"
We had a blast this 4th of July celebrating it with my whole family in Idaho on beautiful Lake Pend Orielle. The 12 of us (Nana, Granddad, Aunties Julianne, Jackie, Dasha, and Joanna, Uncles Jordan, Johnny, and Josh, Jacob, Mike and I) all spent an entire week between two condos at a little resort right on the lake. Granddad brought the speed boat and we spent the next week tubing and wake boarding to our hearts contents. Even Jacob jumped on the tube for a little while. We got a few smiles from him up until the ride was over and water came over the front of the tube getting him all wet. Apparently he believes in a dry tubing experience. The 4th of July was a little on the cold side and thunder storms rolled in just as the fire works show started. It was pretty incredible watching the fireworks while seeing flashes of lightening streak the sky directly behind the barge they were shooting them off from. I must say that God's fireworks are definitely more powerful than anything we can come up with. It warmed up shortly after that which allowed us to jump in the lake without freezing. We enjoyed all our meals together and then after the sun went down we spent the evenings doing a Bible study together. It was wonderful to slow life down a little bit and enjoy great quality time with the people I love most in the world. 
All the Kids 
Every day we were able to play tennis. The whole family took turns while Jacob meandered about the courts pushing trucks and picking up balls.
Dasha and Jordan kicking some tennis butt. 
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. He really wanted to go fishing with his uncles.
My cool dudes...admiring the view. 
My dad driving his boat. This is the place that he spends most of the vacation when we go to the lake.
My handsome man taking over! We tried to give dad a few breaks here and there. It was hard to watch the tubing though when that sexy face was looking my way ;)
Lake Pend Orielle is huge and completely gorgeous.
Jacob tubing for the first time. He was a little nervous but we got a few smiles.
On our way back home we stopped at Silverwood theme park and enjoyed the water park and rides. Jacob is really into Thomas the Train right now so he was excited when we got to see the little steam engine take off. He hadn't gotten a nap at this point and was a little sleepy during the whole experience however.
This was Silverwood's play on the Dumbo ride. These elephants' ears, however, weren't even close to being big enough to get that huge body in the air so I was a little confused on how they were taking to the sky. Jacob seemed to enjoy the ride despite the poor design :)
Here's the brood: from left to right - Angelique, Matthew, and Michael
What a wonderful weekend...despite the rain. Our little family heading out Friday after Mike got off work and drove the 45 minutes to Scenic Beach State Park on the Hood Canal. The whole way there we were crossing our fingers for the rain to stay away and about 15 minutes from the campground it started pouring down. Remaining optimistic I looked up in the sky to see a small patch of blue amidst all the gray and just hoped that it would be positioned above our campsite so we could get the tent up without much difficulty. We pulled in and to our delight, my wish came true. We were able to set up all the tents and organize our campsite and even enjoy a fire with s'mores before it began to rain again. The next morning we awoke to sun streaming in through the trees surrounding us. We had a beautiful Saturday and hiked down to the beach to throw rocks and discover little sea creatures that Jacob got a kick out of. My amazing husband willingly carried our big guy all around on his back. We laid out in the warm sun and soaked up all the smells and sounds of sleeping in the great outdoors. It seemed to only rain at night, which I find incredibly peaceful. There is not anything like the soft pitter patter of rain drops falling on a tent while you are all cozy in a warm sleeping bag inside. However, wet gear makes clean up more difficult but we managed to get it all packed up and then un-packed it in our garage at home to dry out for the night. Basically, Mike and I are getting really good at putting together and tearing apart our tent. We had a wonderful time and are so grateful to live in such an amazingly beautiful place. Thank you Lord for the amazing weekend!
Jacob is always hanging out in the kitchen with us wherever we are
The boy and his stick
What a beautiful place we live in
What a trooper...that's a whole lot of boy on his back
Checking out the little crabs on the beach
Throwing rocks with Daddy
