Happy Father's Day!

To our fathers - THANK YOU for being you. We are so blessed to have such positive role models in our lives. We appreciate your love, commitment to family, and devotion to God. Below are a few pictures of the dads that mean so much - Eric (if you can see him - the camouflage outfit makes him fit right in with nature!), my dad, and Eric's dad.

These past couple days have been so much fun. On Thursday, Grant and I went to the beach with some friends and their kids - Marcy and her daughter Reese, Heather and her son Isaac (her other son Cole stayed with grandma - it's tough bringing a two month old to the beach!), and Amy and her daughter Hannah. I'm not quite sure where the disconnect was in my brain to think that maybe this would be an easier trip to the beach than last year when Grant was 1 and just walking (and thus, didn't want to sit and play in the sand but wanted to visit everyone else around us). Needless to say, the trip pooped me out!! From chasing the kids, to wiping sand off snacks (which I eventually gave up on and figured it would come out in the end anyway!), to playing catch by the water and reapplying sunscreen, it was not "a day at the beach." I think the kids had fun at least! Pictured from left to right: Grant, Hannah, Reese, and Isaac (getting them to sit still for two seconds was a feat in and of itself - let alone trying to get them all to look).
Friday night we went and visited our friends Ted and Kristi in the hospital. They just gave birth to a little boy - Grady. Congratulations to them and their daughter Morgan! He is so cute!
Saturday we had the opportunity to go out to our friends Nate and Heather's parent's cottage on Green Lake with Eric and Marcy and Kurt and Amy. Ted and Kristi - we know you were there in spirit! (Marcy and Eric took Morgan out for the day, so she got the chance to play with the kids while her parents were still in the hospital.) What a great day! It was just beautiful outside. We sat on the deck, relaxed, snacked, watched the kids play in the sand, in the kiddie pool, throw mud in the water, and run around in the yard. They all got along so well and kept so occupied. It was so much more relaxing than our Thursday beach experience.
The guys went on the seadoos. We tried to get Grant to go for a ride, but the furthest we got was getting him to sit on the seadoo - then he wanted off (too bad - I think he would have had fun!).
After dinner, Heather made some ice cream cones for the kids. What a riot! They just loved their ice cream - making complete messes of themselves. Here's a picture of Grant, Reese, and Isaac with their cherished dessert before things got too out of control.
We had a great time! Thank you Nate and Heather for inviting us over!