entering a new decade...

Yes, it's true...I have now entered my 30's!!

It is so crazy that I am 30.  I remember like it was yesterday when my parents were in their 30's! 

So this post is actually a couple of weeks late...I turned 30 back on July 15.  And actually, it doesn't bother me. I don't mind being 30...it's just weird!

But anyway, I had a great birthday!  The night before, we celebrated mine and Jill's birthdays together (mine is July 15, and Jill's is the 30th). 

Then, on my birthday we dropped our kids off to Nathan's parents' house after church and Nathan and I went to Fort Wayne on a date!  Our only date of the summer!  I was SO excited for it.

Nathan surprised me and borrowed some NICE bikes to take to FW (thanks, Mark and Barb!).  We parked our van at Foster Park and rode into downtown FW.  It was really fun and I was really impressed with the bike trails in FW!

The Three Rivers Festival was going on, so we walked around that for a little bit--it was extremely hot, so we shared a smoothie.  (and yes, I am wet in this picture, and no, it is not sweat!  I was so hot that I went in the splash pad :) ).

Then...we went to Takaoka!  Our first time there...we LOVED it!!  Our chef was great...

and the food was AMAZING.  I loved it!!

Thanks for a great date, Natie!  It was the perfect way to celebrate turning 30:) 

splash pads:)

I think splash pads are the greatest invention!!  On the really hot days that we've had this summer, the local splash pad has been so fun for our family!  We can ride our bikes there and our kids just love it. 

Daisy especially loves it...she loves anything with water!

Nathan is SERIOUSLY the most amazing dad.  He is always willing to play with our kids--and actually, he LOVES playing with our kids.  I love watching him run (or roll...see below) through the splash pad with our kids while the other dads sit on benches just watching their kids.  (although I know there are also plenty of other dads out there who don't just sit on the bench--it just seems like every time we went, that's what I noticed).

Fun times!  We have loved making memories with our kiddos this summer!

A little family vacation

 We really LOVE having 4 kids, but sometimes it is so fun to spend quality time with just one or two of them!  A couple of years ago, we did this with Kaine and Halle on our first family "vacation" (see this post).  So a couple of weeks ago, we took Kaine and Halle on little "vacation" again...mainly, just to a hotel for 2 nights.  It was so fun!

They were so excited to go...  (that is cracker in Halle's mouth, by the way) :)

Our first stop...their favorite.  Chuck E Cheese!  Nathan and I actually love going there, too:)  Especially since we went on a weekday--it was not crowded at all!

I was so surprised when Halle stood up at our booth and started dancing!  She does have a fun and crazy personality at times, but I think this was a first:)  She told us that she learned it from her friend Griffin...so funny!

Kaine and Halle LOVED the indoor pool!

I just love them:)

The next day we went to our favorite splash pad and ate a few snacks before changing into our swimsuits.  So we put our suits on about 5 minutes after I took this picture and just as we were coming out of the bathrooms the sky was just DARK!  That was when the big storm hit...we jumped in our van and started driving.  I was really nervous--it seriously felt like we were on the outskirts of a tornado!  We made it to Meijer and they ushered everyone in the store back to the storeroom...scary!  So bummer...we didn't get to play in our favorite splash pad:(

Out for supper that night...Halle was so cute mothering her baby during supper:)  (can you see that Halle colored blue hair on her baby?  she is so funny:) ).

The boys:)

and the girls:)

Then to McDonald's for ice cream...Kaine was climbing around zapping me with "webs" like spiderman as we waited for Nathan to bring our ice cream out:)

What a fun weekend...next time it will be fun to have Layla along as well!

Our talented friend, Nicole:)

I can't believe I forgot to post these!  We bought a photo session from a charity auction at NTBI this past spring.  The photographer was our friend, Nicole, who lived in the dorm right across the hall from us all year!  We loved getting to know her throughout the year, so it was really fun to have her take our family's pictures.  Our kids did great--they even liked it!  I think she did such a good job...

Thanks, Nicole!  We appreciate you and love you...hope your summer is going well!

my brave boy:)

I love seeing Kaine grow up.  He is such a fun kid...he loves to be doing things all the time.  So much energy!! 

He has been doing sooo good at swimming this summer.  He can go almost all the way across my parents' pool underwater!  I am thankful he is doing so well--one less kid that I need to worry about so much around the water.  (don't worry, we still keep a very close eye on him:) ).

My good friend Amy invited us out to swim at a pond a couple weeks ago, and Kaine surprised me by jumping off the high-dive!  (he did use a floaty for that though.)  That was a big step for him...he was really scared at first but I could tell that he wanted to do it so bad!  I thought it was so cute when he turned to his friend Emitt and said, "Just push me, Emitt!"  

After that first time, he wasn't scared at all.  He wanted to keep doing it over and over again:)

I am so proud of you, Kaine!  You are seriously growing up WAYYYYY too fast!!