Thanksgiving Week 2014- Part 1

I've had a blast catching up on editing this week! I thought it would be fun to share pictures from our vacation to the Arendse family's home in Texas during the week of Thanksgiving. This is going to be long so I'll break my posts into two.

First, a few iPhone pics from our 16.5 hour drive (yes, you read that right! and, we did it all in one day!!!):

Isn't Katherine the CUTEST LITTLE THING EVER? :) She does not normally travel well so I was worried about our long drive to TX but all of the children did amazingly! Katherine loved running at every stop!

We were happy to celebrate Hope's 16th and David's 13th birthdays with a party & square dance. Both of these years mark a special time in a young person's life. Lorimer & Jeanelle used the party as a time exhort them to continue in faithfulness in Christ and growth in maturity. Friends shared letters & gifts that encouraged each of them to use these years as service for God. It was a very special night! I'll just share a few pictures here because I'm sure Jeanelle will share more on her blog:

These girls had so much fun together (Katherine was throwing a kiss my way- ADORABLE!):

 It was REALLY HARD to get any pictures of our boys! Actually, it was hard to snap pictures of anyone, Jeanelle & I commented to each other that we both didn't see our children beyond meal times & parties. They were constantly taking off & exploring the land. :) The Arendse family now live on 50 acres & it was just stunning. I woke up early every morning to see the sun rising.

I did go out & shoot some of them men shooting. :) Eric enjoyed getting the opportunity to shoot daily. It was great to see the fathers teaching their sons:

One of the highlights of our visits with the Arendse family is always the music:

Another highlight of our visits is always a date night. This time, Jeanelle & I decided to take our hubbies along with us. ;) They took us to the Cheesecake Factory after trying to take us to a scary Mexican place:

Auntie Jeanelle fed my children marshmallows. MARSHMALLOWS, people! (They loved them!) I took a picture to document it (I saw here eat some but not in front of the camera):

In addition to shooting, the boys enjoyed several nights of camping out & sitting by the fire. They went fishing one night & roasted their fish over the fire. I really didn't want them to taste it but they all did. Everyone said it was gross except Benjamin, who ate a lot & then felt sick. Nothing beats boyhood:

I'll end this post with some more pictures of Katherine. Because, seriously- this girl is just so much fun!!! (All of our children are- it's just easy to take lots of pictures of they youngest one.)