Ahhh, it seems like the 4th of July was just here! It seems as though it was only yesterday that my sister and her family were up here, we were fighting over who was able to hold Joshua, eating watermelon to our hearts content and singing our favorite patriotic anthems into the night, which of course ended with a lovely and private firework display.

It's amazing how quickly time passes. I never understood people when they would talk about how time flew by...now I do. This has been one absolutely amazing and fantastic year. There has been so much I've learned, many uncharted waters I've ventured into, and new and special friendships that have developed.

Our forefathers had glorious plans and visions for this country, and I am indeed proud and yet humbled to be an American. I hope that if I am privileged enough to make a difference in this country, that whatever I do will point people back to the reasons this country was founded and that people can see the work that our Savior has done in me. And now, for the pictures...

Some of the grillers...actually, most of them were chatting and just hanging out with the grillers.

Do you see that? My mom is grilling!!

Sarah says she didn't do it...

Meli and me.

My dahlin' parents.

The Marine Corps will do strange things to you...

Or maybe we're all just odd...
Behold! Our modern art!! You can decide what it is...it wouldn't speak to any of us. :)

What would the 4th of July be without watermelon?!

Mr. Sandford was full of trivia questions.

My dad addressing the audience.

Our special for the evening...which was actually put together and rehearsed in thirty minutes! Impressed? Hopefully, we'll be able to get the video off of our camera so I can get it uploaded here.

Bother. We should have come up with a group name before posting pictures... Suggestions, anybody?

I love fireworks...I mean, I really, really love them... :)

One more picture and in closing, a quote from President Jefferson...

"I have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands… the Bible makes the best people in the world.”

On our drive home from lovely Colorado, we decided to spend one day seeing the sights. Leaving dear friends behind is always a hard thing to do, so we ended up leaving later than originally planned. We stopped in Topeka the first day we were on the road, and then decided to go to the Kansas History Museum on Wednesday. We spent about four hours in there, and if you're ever passing through, we highly recommend you visit there! I can safely say that we could have spent the entire day there and still not have felt that we had seen it all! So, without further ado, I present to you some pictures from our day's excursion...

All of the McDonald children aboard the train in the indoor play area. I mean, we are still children, right?

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers wannabes.

They were really hoping the horse would come off it's stand and help them win the horse race. It happened in Mary Poppins, didn't it?

A cowboy in plaid shorts...now that's something I've never seen before!

Aren't they just too cute? *smile* I just love my parents...

My, what big eyes you have...

Awww...look at the ham holding the piggies! :)

He likes buffalo. I think I want one as a pet. If only I could find a place to buy one...

She's a hard worker, honestly!

My thoughts are worth more than a penny. So sorry. :)

So long! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye...wait, the train is leaving without me...

"No! Stop! Don't do it, Caleb!!"

Oh, Starbucks is a nice addition, Mom. Not sure how I could have missed that neon sign out there with all the other shops... :)

This is definitely not something she should be in the habit of doing.

Well, you see, the oxen joined the choir invisible, so we put our strapping young men down there. Caleb looks thrilled.

Some of the McDonald children at McDonald's.

Decisions, decisions...which way should we go?

No lions, and tigers and bears, oh, my...it looks like a ghost is aboard the train!

Eeeek! And another one!

*happy sigh* It looks like we've found a new home...should be cozy and rather chummy inside, don't you think?

During our stay in lovely Colorado, Mr. Chapa took us on a private tour of the Air Force Academy. We had a wonderful visit there and were able to see many things that people don't usually get to see when they tour the grounds. Afterwards, we took a quick drive through the Garden of the Gods and made a few stops for pictures. I'd love to write pages on both places we visited, but time doesn't allow for that right now, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Mr. Chapa and Dad in front of the Air Force Academy

Dad decided that Abby and I needed a picture in front of the Air Force Academy. :)
(Photo Credit: Dad)

Funny sign in one of the test rooms.

Jessica and her...hat? :)

The amazing "Hush Room."

The dent in the wall of a wind tunnel where a test object almost came through. I can't believe how black it is from so many people touching it. Purell anyone? :)

A funny sign in a classroom.

The gorgeous chapel.

Lt. Colonel Chapa and the plane he flew.

The organ in the chapel.

The group...notice the reflection in the floor.

Rolling down Liberty Hill, I think.

The Sisters in front of the plane and the chapel.
Photo Credit: Abigail

Beautiful Pike's Peak. Dad and the boys were able to go to the top one day.

"Helping" to get the girls out. :)

Dad and the Little Man.

Jess, William and I on the rocks.
Photo Credit: Dad

The Sisters at the gate.
Photo Credit: Dad

Part two of the trip comes soon!

The plan was to leave at 5:00 a.m...okay, so 4 a.m. was the original time we were hoping to be gone, but we decided 5 would be better. As usual, we didn't make it out as planned, but we did leave at 6:00. :) Food was packed for the entire trip to eliminate extra stops. Did it work? Well, no, not really...but we never ran out of gas! The trip was uneventful, except for one thing...

As we neared the Kansas/Colorado border we stopped, again. In the foot mart, antique store, gas station thing, I overheard an elderly couple talking about how they had just come from the Denver direction and had to pull over because of a tornado. I checked the weather on the handy-dandy iPhone, and sure enough, Colby, Kansas was under a tornado warning, and Denver under a Tornado watch! Where were we headed, you might ask? Oh, we were going towards the Denver area...no big deal, right? Well, we pitied Jeremy for not being with us, made sure the camera was charged and ready, buckled seat belts, and hit the road! While spotting a tornado would've proved for some fun photo opportunities, we were very thankful we made it through without having to deal with them. But, we did get some pictures I thought y'all might enjoy, especially Jeremy the storm-chaser-wanna-be... :) I hate to rub it in, but I promised to update frequently, and these are the most prominent pictures from our trip so far. :) So, enjoy!

I think he looks happy to be out of the car. Photo credit goes to Melissa.

Poor, Mel, she looks tired.

My wonderful, darling parents in Kansas...cute, huh? :)

A family shot at the rest area.

Mel having fun with the camera.

After driving all across Kansas, we found a Starbucks in a little town with only two exits!

And conveniently located just around the corner, was the above. We seem to run into them right after y'all, leave, Hectors! :)

Do you know what that is? Why, it's a storm chaser! Photo credit goes once again, to my sidekick storm chaser, Melissa. :)

Driving into the storm...check out the dark clouds on the left.

In the middle of it and to the right...

...and this was to the left of us.

*sighs of relief* Driving out of the storm.

And lastly, is a picture of the lovely sunset we saw just before we arrived at our destination!

The Tremont Turkey Festival was back again this year. We have never attended before, but our friends the Riggenbachs and Candlers have been and invited us to go with them Thursday evening. We headed over at five to be there when the carnival opened and met in front of our favorite ice cream shop. The smell of funnel cakes, popcorn and other rather unhealthy fried foods engulfed us as we wandered through checking out the rides and other activities. Here are just a few pictures from the day, and you can see more on Sierra's blog!

The group who braved the crazy "Orbiter."

Caleb and Josiah looking serious...

...Jess and Sierra looking not so serious!

The lil' ones.

Some of the kids on the swings.

Em and the little man on the "roller coaster!" :)

Dad, William and Em on the Ferris Wheel.

We were given a private tour of the turkey trucks. This kind gentleman even shared the top secret recipe...

And I shall leave you with Mrs. R. and Jess once more on the Orbiter.

I was delighted when my friend asked me to take her senior portraits a few weeks ago. Since Spring doesn't come as early here as it does down South, we kept putting the pictures off until our travels were done, the grass was green, the trees had leaves and the flowers had bloomed. Personally, I'm rather glad we were able to wait, since my lovely subject deserved a beautiful background. She has kindly agreed to allow me to share a few photos, so please enjoy and let me know what you think of them!

This one is a bit over exposed (and I hate the black things on the trees), but I loved her expression and decided to post it anyway. :)

A Lily among the...plants? :)

Such a sweet smile.

Two squirrels. I don't think I've ever seen one as blond as the one on the left.

He kinda looks like Pip from Enchanted! :)

Looking behind to learn for the road ahead.

I love fountains!

The steps are behind her, now there are mountains to climb!

We found shade underneath the Weeping Willow tree.

Jess swingin' on a vine...thought she was in The Jungle Book or somethin'... :)

Oh, I just love Weeping Willows!

Lost in thought.

As long as my heart is beating, Where You lead me I will follow...

...Where You lead me I give my life away ~MercyMe

So much has happened in the past few weeks that I don't really know where I should begin. The family drove down to Tennessee for our annual Presbytery meeting where we had the opportunity to meet new people and spend time with old friends. This is one of the highlights of our year and we're already eagerly looking forward to next year!

After the festivities came to an end, Jess, Melissa, Caleb, a friend from church and I went on a four day journey with our very dear friends, the Hectors. Brown signs marking historic markers were spotted and we stopped several times to see so many different things. Among the highlights were the Kentucky Derby, a knife store, Wilbur Wright's birthplace and last but not least, the Creation Museum. There was so much to see, and so little time. Picking out pictures to blog proved to be a bit difficult, and I hope the selection below isn't too tiring. :) With so many people taking pictures, I honestly don't know who took some of these, or I'd give photo credit...but without the joint effort, we wouldn't have them. :) Enjoy!

There was quite a bit of cooking to do and we were more than happy to help out the breakfast team.

I had a lovely time meeting new friends...

...and catching up with old ones. Don't ask how many pies some of them consumed...

A evening of dancing was the highlight one night.

I honestly can't think of a caption for this one... :)

The Grand Ole Opry was our first stop on our way out of Tennessee.

The McD children.

A Titanic pose was in order.

Jess and Meli inside the Grand Ole' Opry Hotel.

Caleb too...he was too cute not to post. :)

The Smokey Mountain Knife Works Shop or mall or museum...a.k.a. the most impressive knife shop I've ever been in...okay, so maybe it's the only one too... :) I can't believe we left the place without getting one shot of the person who was responsible for our trip there...

Lions, and tigers and bears, oh my!!

Of course John Wayne would be at a knife shop...

Hehe, and what kind of world would this be if Deputy Fife were not around?

Yeah, the knife place had some interesting antique masks...

Too bad we didn't buy them...kinda cute, eh? ;)

I believe Ben's comment was something along the lines of Padme meets the Aztec Empire.

Melissa doesn't look too impressed.

Melissa finds her dream home. :)

Our wonderful driver, who is, among many things, a very dear friend.

A round of Putt-putt was put on the travel schedule.

This sign made us laugh so hard, so we snapped a picture of it to share here.

We thought this tunnel was impressive...and then we drove under a mountain. Unfortunately, there isn't a picture of that tunnel.

Being back in the South meant we just had to buy the best ice cream. :)

Mr. and Mrs. H., the two wonderful, darling people who risked their sanity when they took us on a four day journey in their RV...I love you two!! :)

Here we are in front of the famous race horse, Man O'War.

We stood in line and filled in the gap that shows how long one stride of one of the famous race horses was.

Lil' Miss Sara on a plane.

Besides cutting himself with knives, Nic also finds dinosaurs rather dangerous.

Prince Charming? I could've sworn the fairy tale said that the princess was supposed to kiss the frog...

Mother and daughter taking school on the road.

Nic studying a chart.

Outside of the Creation Museum. This wraps up part one of hopefully a two (maybe three?) part series of pictures from the last 18 days...hopefully. :)

Last week my dad decided that our front yard needed a fire pit. With the help of a good friend, and some of the kids, the dirt was dug, stones were laid, rocks were poured and where once was just grass now stand a lovely fire pit, ready to be used! We've enjoyed sitting around it roasting marshmallows and just talking twice now, and we hope to use it more in the near future. If you happen to be at our house this summer, you know what to expect! :) The following images are part of the assignment to use the long lens. :) Enjoy the pictures...

Stones are placed and now it's time to dig!

Em is always ready to offer a warm and loving smile.

Nathan drives the tractor...gotta love his expression here!

My wonderful brother doing a great job.

With a helmet, a supply bag and his binoculars, he's found himself a hole to hide in, which also helps him keep an eye on what goes on around the fort. He's rather dramatic. :)

Laughing.

William really wanted to help shovel. Unfortunately, we didn't have a shovel his size...

...so he took care of the sheep instead. :)

Layering the stones.

There's nothing like a good old fashioned rope swing!

A hat, a fire pit, and a machine that is yellow and green...all he's missing now are some boots!

Matches.

Wood. Can you guess what is next?

Dad building the fire.

My wonderful, adorable parents.

Some people like their marshmallows burnt...I think Grace just enjoyed catching them on fire!

Melting marshmallows.

Good night and we'll see you next time!

After a long time in coming, the young men at church were thrilled when May 2nd finally arrived. May 2nd was the long awaited paint ball game at the Ryken's house. In our home, and I'm sure others were the same way, the camouflage, guns and gear were set out days in advance in eager anticipation of what was coming.

As I promised Mr. H., a good friend of mine who has been kind enough to loan me his lens, I've started an assignment to use the lens and post pictures. Yes, I would've posted about this event anyway, but having this lens around at this time, was absolutely wonderful! I was able to get pictures I've never been able to get before and was quite happy with the way they turned out. So, without further ado, here are the pictures, which start out with the cute little people from church and then move onto the game...

The lens.

My little man thought he was going to get to play...

...he found flowers to blow instead.

He was rather serious about the whole thing. :)

Ready to blow!

Isn't she cute?

I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I posted both. :)

Skipping stones.

Throwing sticks.

Finding bigger sticks.

A penny for your thoughts?

Friends and comrades...should we call them Jedidiah and Octavius? :)

Wearing his father's camouflage.

Checking the guns.

Silently moving through the forest, keenly aware of his surroundings and eyes sharp, waiting for sight of the enemy.

Somebody "died".

Hmmm, easy target, or is that the dead men's platform?

Looking behind.

Taking cover and surveying the field.

Ever so quietly he waits, patiently and calmly as the sound of gun shots are heard in the distance.

His time came, and he served well...went out with his boots on, too.

Soldiers in training.

The army.

We took a family trip down to Springfield, Missouri last week for the SHEM convention. It has been a long time since we've done this, and the first time to take two cars on a trip that long...not that six hours is a long drive... :) We had a fabulous time at the convention and felt very spoiled by the staff there. Sunday morning saw us on the road once more heading up to the St. Louis are to attend church with our dear friends, the Servens. After service, we were able to relax and fellowship with the Servens at their home. 'Twas a lovely weekend, one full of memories and one we won't forget anytime soon. Enjoy the few pictures below!

Hmmm, 'twas a little windy outside and their hair was blowing quite wildly...

Well, he was fine...

...but the girls were happier here and the indoor pictures seemed to work better. :)

Cutie-pies, huh?

Throwing in a goofy moment.

Beautiful books, aren't they? Four books in The Waverly Novels series by Sir Walter Scott. Now we just need to find the rest of the set! :)

These two are too much fun!

Oooo, it's a Blokus duo game! I wonder if the "lucky" color is included? ;-)

Back in the South means Blue Bell!!!!

My ring, designed and made by Emma Kate Designs. :)

My little man.

"Singin' in the rain, just singin in the rain!" Never mind that it wasn't raining...

Swingin' on a lamp post...

Ben must have been telling a funny story.

Ice cream is served!