Family Friendly Outings - Part 2

Another thing we were able to enjoy during our time here was a meal all together at my grandparents house. Not everyone was there, some had already headed home while others weren't able to be there but we still filled a big table and had a grand old time!

My Aunt Deanna and Uncle Steve - some of my favorite people!

And here are the antlers of the moose my grandmother shot a few years ago. I have two cousins who are game wardens and they, along with their families, took her out and spent several days tracking down and shooting a big moose.

And now back to family outings....One afternoon we went to the local YMCA and took the kids for a quick swim.

And another park picture...what nutcases!

We also spent a few hours in the Children's Museum in Bangor, ME. There were tons of things there and it seemed that it covered the ages of all our kids and kept them all amused.

Jesse watching the gross reptiles!

My personal favorite - locking up the children=)

Biker dudes!

Fisherman, I mean fishergirl, Alana and her catch. The house from "Good Night Moon".

Layla, chatting with her grandmother back home in Scotland.

Captain Jesse.

I thought women on board ship was bad luck....?

The dads even found some entertainment

And Alana was pleased as could be running her little restaurant. Layla in the giant mouth.The doctor is in!

And another favorite spot of Alana's - the spotlight - she loves being the star of the show!And this ends the part of our trip spent with the Rozelle side of the family. I've said it before but I can't say it enough - I am so thankful for my family. The wonderful thing is that all my family on both sides love and know the Lord, and the other wonderful thing is that it is also the same on Matthew's side of the family. His dad's father was known as a man who loved and served the Lord his whole life, my dad's grandfather lived into his 90's and is also still remembered as a man of God. So yes, I've said it before, but I've been reminded of it again....God has blessed our family over many generations and it is the hope and prayer of my heart that my 'children would walk in truth' and carry on the good name of the earthly families they belong to - but especially of their Heavenly Father.

Family Friendly Outings - Part 1

As our family slowly parted ways and went back to their own different places and schedules we were left with a few days just with Lincoln and Sheena, and their two kids Layla and Elijah. This was fun for our kids because they only have one other cousin who has already graduated college so she is much older than they are. Now they have a whopping total of 3 cousins but I'm sure that number will grow in the years to come. So this post is mostly pictures of the time we spent together with Lincoln and his family during our last few days with them.

At the park:

At the library:

Once the outings were over for the day the kids enjoyed relaxing with a little DVD player and watching some Scottish cartoons together! Thanks for sharing, Layla=)

And to finish it off - here's my crazy FIVE!

Matthew and I have loved every minute of our time with family and friends that we haven't seen in many years, but here's a confession....having this much time together each and every day with our kids and with each other has been the best fun of all=)

Anniversaries and other things

A big celebration that took place during our time here was the 60th Wedding Anniversary of my Rozelle grandparents. Friday night, May 1st, almost all of our family was able to be together and celebrate with them (missing was my cousin Tammy, and her family). Although our family is glad for them to arrive at this point we're not shocked by it or blown away by the fact that they made it this far - but at the same time, in this world, we do realize the miracle of this event. Sixty years together and in the service of the Lord is a great way to honor their Savior.

My mom and Aunt Deanna, sister's-in-law, serving the cake.

Our family together with my grandparents.

My grandparents with their children and their spouses - my mother is their daughter-in-law twice over=)

We also were able to spend time with all those in our family that live so far away from us - a total of 8 children have been born into the family since we left and moved to SD. Here's Monica with the newest one, Maggie, my cousin Heather's daughter. I got some pictures, but not very good ones, of other family members so I apologize to those who don't show up here=(Mom bought matching dresses for her two youngest granddaughters and we took several pictures.

The next afternoon was the family reunion where, once again, I did a poor job with pictures and missed capturing lots of my relatives on film. The kids played outside most of the time while the adults stayed inside and visited or played games. I felt myself growing rather lethargic as the afternoon wore on so I suggested we go outside and play something...anything...just to get moving. What followed was a great game of Ultimate Frisbee and we all had a blast - I did anyway. It will probably become one of my favorite memories of that week!

Here's Alana with her second cousin, once removed, Russell....Ok, so I made that up - I have no idea how that stuff all works but I know they're related.

Lots of game playing went on - this is one of my favorite pics of several that I took while people were playing games. Lincoln, 6' 7'', sitting on a chair meant for a toddler!

We also took the time that evening to try and take a family picture - nothing formal as you can tell - just a record of the fact that we were all together and having a blast!

My mom will hate the fact that I'm posting this - but of the 4 we took she was pretty much dying of laughter in all but one of them. Plus, it's my blog and I LOVE this picture=) In case you don't know who we all are here's the breakdown....

Back Row - Phil, Chad, Kendrick, Dad, Lincoln, Matthew
Front Row - Helaine, Jenna, Mom, Sheena, Alisha

The following Sunday this were very busy for all of us. My parents were at a church in southern Maine and Kendrick and Jenna left. Matthew spoke in two different churches. Our former home church in Willimantic in the morning and then another church where Matthew's dad used to pastor in the evening. We, of course, enjoyed the am service and seeing many of the people that we once used to see each and every Sunday. It is interesting to see the many things that have changed over the course of 6 years, as well as the things that remain the same. The pm service, in Guilford, was maybe our smallest crowd so far but the question and answer time was great! There was so much interest and interaction from the people there which was so encouraging. Among them was one of Matthew's closest friends from growing up which was a treat for them both - the next week they got together and went out fishing (but don't bring it up since Kyle caught 3 and Matthew caught 0).

The next day Chad discovered a treasure in the garage which became the source of hours of fun for the kiddos! My cousin, Troy, had the day off from his job as a Game Warden and came over with his family to spend the afternoon with us.

Logan was sick that day - fever, cough, etc. - and spent it laying on the couch and napping. The call of the bounce house was too much for him and he had to try it out....this is what he did....=(

Zachery also found another fun thing for the kids to do and patiently gave them ride after ride around the lawn. And yes, that is their Grammy riding with them=)

Layla relaxing up against cousin Jesse...too cute!

Another outing, which I have no pictures of, was a girls day out to Bangor! You'll never guess what we went shopping for this time! Let's just say it's long and white and the only one to try anything on was Helaine=) But you'll have to wait for a certain day in September to get a look at those kind of pictures. And here's the coolest part of the story - my sister has asked Alana to be her flower girl, Monica to be a junior bridesmaid, and me to be the matron-of-honor!!! We are all so excited!!! On a side note, I'm trying to come up with something creative to use instead of matron-of-honor....something that doesn't sound so....matronly. Any ideas? Oh well, whatever they call me I'm just so glad, honored, emotional, and excited that she asked=)