The Gang's All Here

My parents invited Greg's parents to come to their neck of the woods for a visit with us, so we made plans to make that happen. Meanwhile, niece Aubrey decided to get baptized in the lake by Grandpa, so Courtney's family planned to arrive for that as well. That included Courtney's in-laws also. And Cassie and Gerrit, not ones to miss out on all the fun, came for the weekend too! The kids and I got a few day's headstart, followed by Greg and his parents. Then the rest of the gang showed up, and we had a wild and crazy time. It was great fun!

We visited the wild animal hospital and got to see many birds (falcons, eagles, owls, etc) that were too injured to be rehabilitated and sent back into the wild. We heard there were several baby bears and deer on the premises, but they were going to be sent back into the wild, so we didn't get to have contact with them.

The kids tried out their new sprinkler. Mostly they used it to fill up their buckets and not to actually get themselves wet in.

My mom's flowers are always so pretty. The kids liked helping to water them.

Sophie was good at helping to clean the corn

Breakfast with the two sets of grandparents at Paul Bunyan's. I worked there in highschool, and I have to say the uniforms are greatly improved.

Pontoon ride on the chain of lakes. The kids did great.

Sophie got to drive a few times.

The cousins finally arrived. This is "the sleeping game." It's my new favorite.

Some crazy-good prime rib that Marty gave us. Thanks, Marty!

Church

The day of the baptism was quite dreary, but it was fun to get to celebrate this special day with Aubrey and the rest of the family.

Here, Dad is asking Aubrey if she's asked Jesus to forgive her for her sins and if she's accepted Him as her savior.

She said yes, so he dunked her in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So exciting! My Dad's baptized me and my sisters, and now my niece too.