Campin' Out

Well, this last week we were in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The church parked us at Goose Island RV Park and we had so much fun! It is located on an inlet of the Mississippi so we had a gorgeous view out our window all week.


A guy in the church let the boys use his tent. Thursday night, the boys camped out all night. They were livin' the good life here...Oreos, Pringles, Teddy Grahams, hot dogs, IBC Root Beer...oh my! What are campouts for anyway?! I think Mike was hoping the boys would get cold and want to go in, but nope! they lasted the whole night!

Nighty-night, boys!

Daddy, the boys, and Maggie...she didn't last very long. She wanted her cozy bed. So much for boys campin' out with their dog!

Now...here you see my idea of camping out...while the boys were sleeping outside on the hard, cold ground, the girls and I (and Maggie) stayed inside in our warm, cozy beds. People do ask us if we camp out...well, that depends on your idea of "camping out!"

We had fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Michala kept saying, "This is the first time that just OUR little family has had a fire and roasted hot dogs!" Normally we are with our cousins, etc...but THIS time was so different for her!

The boys went out on the water one day with Daddy.

Enjoying the great outdoors! I am reminded so often of the wonderful opportunities God gives us to enjoy each other and His creation. We have so much to be thankful for.

Kid's Pics

Just some recent shots of the kids before church about a week ago!

Malachi...
McKenna...
Micah...with his most recent missing-a-tooth smile...
...and Michala!

Daddy's Trip to Guam

Daddy got to go to Guam the first week in September. We parked our trailer in Minnesota and then he left super early the next morning to fly for almost 24 hours to get over there. He and Uncle Mark were speaking at Harvest Baptist Church and Academy for their spirit week school retreat.


Believe it or not, Daddy and Uncle Mark did a Sunday evening beach service. Here they are preaching in their island shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. What in the world?!

Hmm...Dad, didn't you say you went over there to work?

Bet you've never seen the Herbsters sing like this before!

Here's Daddy with Miles, Pastor Marty Herron's son. He got this surf board for his birthday.

On the Road Again!

Our first week back out on the road, we were in Peoria, Illinois. We saw our sweet friends, the Schooks, and they took us to a wildlife park. Aha! Another field trip accomplished!


The kids were also able to go to an International Guard Base to see planes.
Here they are sitting inside one of the big planes.

The boys definitely thought this was an awesome field trip!

Goodbye, Southland!

We never look forward to this day every summer. It is so hard to say goodbye to camp and the people we have grown to love so much there. This summer, it was especially hard to say goodbye to our great friends, the Gustafsons. How God led them to Southland is truly remarkable! There were many tears shed that day! We are so thankful for the godly friendship we have with them. They are truly a gift from the Lord!

This year was also sad because Mike's grandparents, Grandpa and Gigi Stokes, ended their ministry at Southland. After 13 years of serving on staff, they have moved to Kansas City to live with Mike's parents. We compiled a special memory book for them and gave it to them the morning they left. Thank you, Grandpa and Gigi, for your faithfulness to the Lord and your godly example to us to serve with a happy heart. We will miss you so much! Who will the kids play Mexican Train or SkipBo with next summer?! :(

We all had breakfast up at Todd and Melanie Sasek's house. One of the huge blessings of being at camp is that our children are able to enjoy their friends for three months. It's always hard for them to say goodbye as well. We are all reminded that even though it is so difficult to say goodbye, we're thankful that we have such wonderful friends to miss!

School Days!

This year, we stayed at camp until it was time to head out on the road. It was a great time to recover from a busy summer, plus we got to start school early this year. We actually started August 14, which gave us a great jumpstart to the year. Here are pics of the kids.



Malachi is in 1st grade...

Micah is in 2nd grade...

...and Michala is our big Kindergartener this year! I can't believe I have three in school!

Dial Up Houston!!

The day camp was ended, we headed for Houston for a fun family weekend. Daddy and the boys went to an Astros game. Here's a picture of our three boys...two little boys and another boy in a grown-up's body!



We also went to the Houston NASA Space Center. It was so much fun to go see all the space shuttles, control rooms, and pictures of astronauts. We learned so much about the Space Station and got to see the center where they train the astronauts. It was not only out-of-this-world fun, but very educational. Hmmm, I think we'll count this as a field trip this year!
We got to see the control room from where all of the Apollo missions were commanded.

Happy 5th Birthday, Michala!

Well, this was the big year! Nana, Papa, and Grammy Beaver gave Michala a Twinn Doll for her big 5th birthday. She was so surprised! It was hard to keep it from her during all the planning/ picture taking to get the right profile, but we pulled it off! Nana even came to visit to be able to give it to her.

This year, Michala wanted a Hawaiian birthday. (For those of you who don't know, Mike and I celebrated our 10th anniversary there back in December, thus, Michala loving anything hawaiian!) Micah really got into the spirit of things bringing his little ukulelee we brought him from our trip. He even serenaded all the girls by singing "Pineapple Princess" to them. We laughed so hard!
This birthday was especially fun because Michala was able to share the party with some Southland friends, Julia Sasek and Emma Gustafson. We had the party after the summer staff had gone home, so all the full time staff came to the party. The girls enjoyed having all their friends together, and we adults really enjoyed having some fellowship with dear friends.

Michala was so excited to wear her matching Twinn Doll jammies to bed that night. This gift is so special!

We are still among the living!

Wow! It has been a LONG time since I have posted anything. We had a busy end-of-summer as well as getting back out on the road, starting school, etc...so here's my feeble attempt to bring everyone up to speed!

Our family out by the lake at Southland Christian Camp in Ringgold, Louisiana. Every time we see this picture, we miss being there so badly. We had an incredible summer! We are so thankful for the privilege it is to minister there every summer.

Our family with our dear friends, The Gustafsons, at camp...Eric (holding Louie), Elizabeth, Emma, Erin, Ann, and Abigail. As you can see, Louie and Maggie only had eyes for each other. :)