Why he needs a bath every night...

Graham likes spaghetti just a little bit.
Here's the evidence...

1,500 miles of fun

Don't get me wrong. Not every one of those 1,500 miles was fun. Some were downright miserable. But overall we had an absolutely wonderful family vacation.

Our adventure began with a drive to Colorado Springs where we stayed with my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting their first baby...a sweet little girl. It was so great to be in their home again and spend time with them. Levi and Ben had A LOT of energy after being in the car for 9 1/2 hours, and after Graham decided to cry all night long for no explainable reason, they are probably scared out of their minds about having a baby. I warned them ahead of time that we are NOT easy guests.

The next day we made a stop in Denver to have lunch with our good friends Jill & Stuart and their sweet little girl McKenna and then made the drive to the mountains where we spent the next 6 nights. We had such a great time - It really was the perfect family vacation. We had a spacious condo where the kids could spread out and play, although we tried not to spend much time inside.

We spent a few days hiking, and I use that term very loosely because when you are with a 4-year old (who often got tired of walking and wanted to sit on top of the stroller), a 2-year old in a jogging stroller and a 10-month old in a backpack (who got sick of the backpack after a while and wanted Mom to hold him), it is more like a leisurely walk along very open and easy paths. No matter how easy the hikes, the scenery couldn't have been more beautiful.






We had several picnics and spent lots of time hanging out by rivers, fishing and just playing. Levi and Ben absolutely loved throwing rocks in the Snake River. It's funny how the simplest things bring them the most joy!





The boys spent lots of time playing on playgrounds at Keystone because, after all, we have no playgrounds at home. (Ha, Ha)




They also loved the miniature golf course that sat right outside our condo.

Jill and McKenna drove up from Denver for a day and joined us for a great little hike.


We spent one afternoon and evening at Breckenridge and had a great time. The boys loved playing by the riverwalk.



Our last day was rainy and cold, but we were blessed by the arrival of our dear friends Ben and Amy and their little girls Kinsley and Hallie. It was so much fun to spend the day with them! It's hard to believe that it had been so long since we've seen them.



After a 12-hour drive we were more than happy to be home. It's amazing how constant requests for snacks, water, dropped toys, new movies, etc. can absolutely drive you insane. Towards the end of the drive Michael asked me for the box of Hot Tamales, and I just about bit off his head. No more road trips for us...I think we're going to stay put for a while.

Our little photographer

Levi loves to take pictures. When we got our new camera about a year ago, Michael said Levi wasn't allowed to touch it. That rule didn't last very long. Levi now takes lots of pictures, and I think he actually does a pretty good job especially considering that our camera is very heavy! When one of the boys is doing something cute Levi is the first to say, "Oh, Mommy, we need to take a picture of that!" He puts the strap around his neck and shoots like a pro. Here are a few of the shots he has taken this summer...

A little something to brighten your day

We began a tradition of singing this song at bedtime when Levi was just a baby, and we have continued to sing it with all the boys as we tuck them into bed. Obviously, they know it well now, and we wanted to make sure we had Ben on tape, as he sings the song with such great facial expressions. Levi sat by to "help" his little brother. I promise it will be better than the bagworms. Enjoy!

Bagworms

Lovely title for a post, huh? Just wait...it's going to get uglier.

Last night we were enjoying a nice evening in the backyard. Levi and Ben were running through the sprinkler with Michael while Graham and I hung out on the deck. The night before we had noticed that one of our shrubs was turning brown. We looked at it but couldn't figure out what was happening to it. We assumed that since we had been out of town so much lately and it had been extremely hot, the plant was just in need of more water. I will admit that most of our plants looked a little sad.

Back to last night. So Graham and I were sitting on our deck steps and I noticed that the shrub was now very brown. All the sudden I saw things moving on it. I quickly called Michael over, and we realized that there were things crawling all over the plant. They looked like pieces of the shrub, but every now and then you could see a little worm poke out his head and start moving. There were hundreds. I know I have a tendency to exaggerate, but I promise that I'm not this time. You can ask my level-headed husband and he'll agree. We then went to the side of the house and discovered that a couple of our evergreen trees were pretty much dead and also covered with these nasty creatures. Now we no longer had hundreds of these things but thousands. And remember - I'm not exaggerating. We then found them all over our deck and even hanging from our house.

We first tried to call my mom because she always seems to know everything about everything. She wasn't answering either phone, and we were panicking. So we went straight for the trusty internet and found out that we have bagworms. They are the nastiest things I have ever seen. Here's some evidence. (I know - who takes pictures of worms? I guess I do.)

Here's one crawling across our deck. See how they make "bags" for themselves that disguise them? Sneaky little guys.
Here's a picture of a bunch of them covering the tree.
Here's the bush that started the discovery.
Our lovely new evergreen trees.
This is what we found all over the ground this morning.
I told you. Gross, huh?! Long after we came inside Michael and I couldn't stop itching. I felt like my entire body was covered in worms. We were mad. We felt violated. Ok, so maybe now I'm exaggerating. But, we have spent a small fortune on our backyard and now these nasty little things have started their own colony in OUR backyard. Michael rushed to Wal-mart to buy some spray and quickly attacked the little guys. This morning our trees were covered in the bags, but the worms seemed to be dead. However, there are still worms hanging from our deck and slithering around. Most importantly, our everGREEN trees are now BROWN. Grrrr.

Moving on. Late last night Michael and I started to discuss our calendar and plans for a trip to Colorado in August. We have been so busy lately and have hardly had time to talk. People laugh when we tell them that we're going to Colorado for a week in August but don't know when or where. Who has time to plan such things?

So we realized last night that we needed to make a few plans. Looking at all of the dates that Michael will be out of town and thinking about how we are going to take another trip, I began to vent. I told Michael that I felt overwhelmed. Not because we were too busy, but I just felt like there was too much on my mind. I remember using the word "crowded". I know that seems strange, but that's the only way I could think to define it. My mind felt crowded. Our family felt crowded. I had been trying to do so many things that the important things weren't getting the attention they needed. So I told him that I didn't want to go. We needed to stay home. (Remember that I often exaggerate!) If you know my sweet hubby, you know that he rarely puts up a fight, but I could tell that he really wanted to go. And the truth is that I wanted to go also. We went to bed with absolutely no decisions made and feeling more "crowded" than ever.

I know. How does one bring about a life lesson from a bunch of bagworms? It's annoying, I admit. But, as I was in the shower this morning trying to wash away the feeling of worms all over me and thinking about how we were going to get rid of them and not allow them to take over all our trees and shrubs, it hit me. My life is just like the trees in my backyard...crowded! I have allowed too many things to enter my thoughts, to occupy my time. They have disguised themselves well, but when I look closely I see them for what they are - sin! Thoughts and decisions based in insecurity, perfectionism, pride, jealousy, etc. When left untreated, these things will kill me, and they will kill our family. Ouch!

I guess I can't run out to Wal-mart for a quick fix for this one. Just like the bagworms, preventing the problem is a whole lot easier than fixing it after the damage has been done. I'm feeling crowded because I haven't been filled with the one thing that truly matters. I was convicted this morning with my lack of time spent in His word. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 .

God sent Jesus so that we can have an abundant life, not a crowded one. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for using something as disgusting as bagworms to reveal the state of my heart and my family's life. I don't want a crowded heart, sucking the life out of me. I desire to be "filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). Thank you Lord for your Word, for the life that is found in it. Give me a heart that longs to know your Word and teach it to my children so that there is no room for worms.

Another lake adventure

What a wonderful weekend we had! I know it's already Tuesday night, but I'm just now getting around to the blog. We spent this past weekend with our community group from church at a lakehouse in Nebraska. We had such a great time! I can't even begin to explain how much we treasure this group. Michael and I consider community to be vital to our family's life, but because we have moved so often in our 9 years of marriage, there have definitely been times when we have not had a strong community of friends. This last move (already 2 1/2 years ago!) proved to be the most difficult, and we were beginning to feel like we would never have good friends. But God's timing is always perfect, and He has blessed us beyond belief.

Our group consists of 5 couples with 13 children under the age of 6. Yes, we all stayed in one house, and I think we still like each other. Things were understandably a bit crazy at times, but there was also such a sense of peace. There is just something about spending time with a group of people who love the Lord and want to glorify Him in all they do.

Here are all of the kiddos looking so happy to be getting their picture taken. I actually bribed them with ice cream. Can you believe that there were hardly any squabbles all weekend? Clearly it was a miracle.

All the men...

All the sunbathing beauties...

Hanging out in the lake...




Making s'mores...

Eating some homemade ice cream...

I just couldn't resist adding this one. Isn't he just the cutest little thing?


On the way home Michael and I decided that we weren't exhausted enough so we decided to stop at the Omaha zoo. It is such a great zoo and although it was blazing HOT, we had a great time. Did I mention that it was hot?

Graham was more hot than impressed with the animals

We did lots of walking and the boys got really tired! We had to carry Graham and let Levi sit in the stroller.


After the zoo, we were all thoroughly exhausted and really excited for the 3-hour drive home!