Catching up - our family trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin

Summer travels, we are here! 

We had a terrific 10 day trip at the end of June to St Paul, Minnesota and HoneyRock Camp, Wisconsin. The MN portion was the weekend bookends of our trip, to see long-time friend Karin and meet Dave, and attend their wedding. What a special time to have an evening with them (before the craze and people-ness of the wedding) and hear more of their story of how they met and fell in love - orchestrated by God, for sure! After many years of friendship with Karin, and many conversations about love and relationships, we are filled with joy to see how she and Dave have come together and are starting out on a new journey. We were also privileged to hear Dave share about the process he has been through since the death of his wife two years ago.

Dave and Karin with Dave's two children, Andy and Emily

You know you're good friends when you all match outfits without even trying...

After a night in St Paul, we left and drove 5 hours northeast to HoneyRock to meet the rest of our Gieser family for a week on Long Lake (lovely! but that is for the next post). The following weekend we were back in St Paul for two nights and to attend the late afternoon Sunday wedding. The venue - Hope Glen Farm - was perfect and peaceful and had just the right space to accomodate a last minute change due to rain, from outdoors on the lawn to under the pavilion (the rain, of course, stopped and cleared just as the ceremony was starting).

Karin was grinning, and so was everyone else in attendance! Once the pastor announced the couple, everyone broke into loud, long applause and whooping and cheering - the most I've heard at a wedding!

 

Family picture after the ceremony. Don't my boys all look handsome!

Unfortunately we did not get a picture with the bride and groom, shucks. We had to leave early while people were still eating dinner, since both boys were exhausted and it was past bedtime (and it had turned into a wrestling match to keep both of them under control). Enough time for a hug and quick word, and that was good-bye. Hopefully sometime in the next year we will get a visit in Colorado from them!!

Thankful for these folks!

Church friends and neighbors - Jeremy and Diane Reeves, and their four kids, Emma, Stella, Lincoln and Liv. (You wouldn't know it by this picture but Liv is 3 months older than Mattias - and crawling well!) It has been amazing for us to develop a friendship with Jeremy and Diane, and the best part about it is that they live only 4 blocks away. When we got out for a walk around the neighborhood, Timo almost always asks to "go Lincoln's house". They moved to the Springs last spring (and Jeremy started as the assistant pastor at Westside church) and we moved to the neighborhood last June, so we are both new to this town and the people and culture here. (And interestingly, they have also lived in Waco, a few blocks from the Welty's house; and in St Louis, not too far from the Brink's new house.) Through them we have also slowly gained courage and emotional energy to get to know people at church, because they host a bi-monthly community group at their house. Casual conversation, kids welcome, potluck every meeting - how could we refuse?! We have managed a couple of Saturday brunch times together; the photo below is when we hosted them at our house. Looking forward to more hang-out times this summer!

"Take a picture of..."

One day this week Timo has just woken up from his nap and I was taking photos of some things (in the basement, where he has his bedroom) to post on Craigslist. He asked me to take his picture and tell him when to smile! Yes, at 2 1/2 years old, he has figured out how this whole photo thing works.

"Take a picture of Timo smile", he instructed.

"Take a picture of Timo crib," he said next.

And finally, "Take a picture of Timo pink chair and George cousin," he said. (The wool sock monkey he is holding was MY monkey as a kid, made by my Great-Aunt Mamie. I named it "George's cousin" and it was much loved in my childhood!)

 

Brothers in the crib (rap it for best effect)

Playing and tackling and giggling together in Timo's crib is their new, favorite thing. When we go downstairs for Timo's afternoon nap, you should see Mattias light up and start kicking with such excitement! And when Timo wakes up, the first thing he usually asks is, "Put baby 'tee-tas in Timo crib?" They sit in there and giggle, and Mattias slobbers on animals, and Timo throws his blankie around and then eventually crashes into his brother. But they LOVE it.

Here they are playing a game of peek-a-boo (Timo's idea). Timo calls out, "Where are you, babe 'tee-tas?" and at some point Mattias will figure out how to grab the blankie. And then they both get so excited and start laughing.
 

Can you see the look of joy on Mattias's face?!

I've wanted to make sure I got a photo of T & M playing together in the crib, because it reminds me of sweet times for Gemma & Timo - two years ago when we lived in Durham, Gemma would ask for Timo to come in to her bed after she woke up from her nap, too!

Spring-to-summer Thunderstorms

June 1st arrived with such a welcome - sun and temperatures into the 70-80s! We had so much rain in May; the 2nd most waterfall on record for Colorado and nearly triple the average. And with every big thunderstorm we got hail - to be expected along the mountains. Perhaps it has something to do with the weather patterns and the way air moves along mountains and eastward to flat areas. I guess that is just the norm. It's also typical to get afternoon or evening rain throughout the summer months. Beautiful, blazing sunshine in the morning, then clouds and rain in the afternoon.

Good thing I found these rain boots for Timo at a thrift store because he wore them every day last month! And is it just me, but isn't there something adorable about kids in gum boots?

One evening just after the boys were in bed we had a glorious, loud and quickly-moving thunderstorm. I tried to capture it on camera because the light outside was beautiful with the contrast of the rain, the bright green trees and grass, and the sunset blazing through as the clouds moved over us and onto the east. Of course it was difficult to photograph purely, so after five minutes I gave up and just sat on the front porch and watched.

Our neighbors, Henry and Chloe, were outside splashing and having a great time.

Oh, hello, squirrel! You pesky thing. Stop digging in my garden and rooting around in my compost pile!