Home for a limited amount of time

Our summer this year seems to be back to back traveling, but we are not complaining. 

We drove to Paris to see Sandra on June 23^rd. It was a nice visit.  The girls and I went with some ladies at church to see a lady we minister to in Hair Spray and on a random note, I decided to make some cups to have around for gifts.

We watched Charity's kids each day the week after we were home for her to work and pack her house.  Jake began covering our back patio in hopes to transform it into an outdoor kitchen one day. Ginny had her senior pictures taken Tuesday, June 25th (how is she already a senior) and then on Sunday June 30th, we left to take the girls to EFY in Buena Vista, VA at Southern Virginia University.  Jake, the boys, and I are spending the week in DC as they are at EFY but I feel bad they are not here with use.

Arizona trip comes to an end...

Jake and I drove 22 hours straight to get home. We had planned to leave about 3:00 am but ended up leaving about 11:00 pm the night before.  Goodbyes can be hard. We had a good trip and typically enjoy our summer getaways with Chris and Chrystal; it helps that our kids are close to the same age.  Not only did we visit the Grand Canyon, we visited other national monuments: Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, and Sunset Crater Volcano.  My favorite was Walnut Grove. There were way too many stairs but I loved the ruins built in the canyon walls. We also visited Sedona, Arizona and went off-roading.  Sedona may be one of the most beautiful cities I have seen.  I am so glad we are able to take trips with our babies during the summer.

The Grand Canyon is grand!

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to take the kids to the Grand Canyon, it was also my first time to see the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. We took the Grand Canyon Railway up to the canyon and spent a few hours there. Somehow, I managed to biff it real good after de-boarding the train but managed to not let it stop my family from our little hike to explore, despite the pain and soreness (it is quite scratched, bruised, and swollen still this morning). We only visited the South Rim before heading back to catch the train. I am not sure the kids enjoy our national park adventures but it is something that I did not experience as a child but I did enjoy the beauty of nature locally.  I want our kids to see the grandeur of our beautiful country, well actually world but that is not economically feasible.  I am so thankful for our summers together and explorations.