Fun at Pokagen

On Saturday we took the girls from the Maple House to Pokagen for the annual Steffen Family Fun Day!  It was lots of fun!  We had a picnic and them headed to the beach to swim and go on a boat ride.

Nathan and I on the pontoon :)  I love you, sweetie!

Captain Dave at the wheel!

I do not know how little kids can do this!  Yuck!  The thought of laying my wet body face down in the sand grosses me out--just looking at this picture makes me itch!

But obviously, it did not bother Kaine one bit!  He was loving the sand!

Gma Steffen, the fearless babysitter!

Kaine with his "Paw-paw Dave"

Man, these are 2 goodlooking guys:)

Thanks for a fun day, Steffen family!

Kaine's "girlfriends"

There are 2 little girls here on campus that Kaine loves to play with.  Emily Plattner and Marlee Steffen.  They are both so cute!  Anytime we ask Kaine who he is going to marry, he always says, "Emily" or "Marlee".  They are a little older (and taller!) than him, but in a few years, age won't matter:)  But on a serious note, although we joke about this, I really hate to think about my sweet little boy ever actually liking girls!  Sigh.  It is bound to happen sooner or later.

Emily and Kaine are so cute together!

Bubble Bath

Here is Kaine, loving his bath!

Yikes...dinosaurs on our trampoline!

Every once in awhile, if things are going well in our house and the girls are getting along, etc, we let them get a little crazy.  Tonight, they were spraying the trampoline with the hose and playing in the water.  Somehow they all decided to act like dinosaurs.  Kind of strange, but it was pretty funny.  As you will see, they can get pretty hyper!  Just imagine their hyperness in public!  It can be a little embarrassing:)

cute...but frustrating!

This is Kaine's latest thing.  He loves Halle so much that lately he climbs into her crib when he's supposed to be in his own bed.  He usually ends up waking her up, either by kissing her or trying to pick her up!  sigh...it is slightly frustrating.  But a couple nights ago, I went in to check on them both before I went to bed, and they were both sleeping in the crib!  It was so sweet I just had to take their picture:)

Friday Night at the Maple House

Just thought I'd post what a somewhat-typical Friday night at our house is like:

Two of our girls are having fun with Becca Mauer (in the center).  Becca is volunteering here at Gateway this whole summer!  The residents adore her and they're trying to get her to be our new assistant. :)

Nathan and another resident are putting on the putting green with Doug Banwart, another volunteer.  He has been lots of fun--he's been eating meals at the Maple House this week.

This is one of our girls, trying to get an internet class done.  She has been working on it this whole summer, and this is the last day for it.  She has until midnight tonight to get it finished, or else she doesn't earn her credit.  We are praying she will finish it in time!

We love having company here at the Maple House, so if anyone is curious about Gateway or just wants to come visit, please call us!!  We love having visitors, and the residents love hanging out with new people!  (I think they get sick of us sometimes:) )  And by the way, our assistant (Rachel Huber) just got engaged, so if anyone is interested in being an assistant or knows someone who would be a good fit, please let us know or tell them to call us!  It is a huge blessing to work here, and we know that God has just the right person in mind.  Love you all!