Thanksgiving Camping Trip

 We headed out Thanksgiving morning to camp with our friends!

 These boys had the best time together!

Our favorite camping buddies:)

While the dads fished, we tested our luck on the Trail of No Return!

  

Love spending time outside with them!

Cooking our Thanksgiving dinner...

Pizza Pudgy Pies!! Mmmm!

But, we had the traditional pumpkin pie for dessert!

Hiking and finding animals in the dark was a favorite of the boys!

Brian found some armadillos for us to see.

Rook time!

The girls dominated this trip. :)

The Hartzler Lodge!

It was rather chilly (45 degrees) at night, but thankfully our new sleeping bags and small heater kept us pretty toasty! (However, out new tent brought as we took it down. Boo!)

Day 2-Camp hair don't care!

Scavenger hunt time and lots of laughs over all the caterpillars with the littler boys while the big boys fished with the Dads!

Boat time!

The beauty of the lake and God never ceases to amaze me!

Another one of his favorite parts of camping...S more's!

Another night time hunt!!

Lincoln was super proud of Brian's catch!

Beautiful

Like father, like son!

The deer walked freely throughout the park everyday. It was fun to see deer just wandering around a couple feet away from you. When I went to the bathroom one night, I saw at least 19 in the field.

They played in the sand, played at the park, fished, hiked, played hide and seek in the dark, and had the absolute best together!

The bees were TERRIBLE during the day! They would swarm our site and not leave until the sun went down. Super annoying and one stung me while packing up. Darn bees!

We loved camping on Thanksgiving with friends who are like family!

#hartzlouckscampout18

#hartzsummer2017 Summer Road Trip Part 2

After our time at camp with the Hartzlers, we headed to Iowa to spend some time with Brian's college roommate. Brian and Tim were roommates only freshman year, but they have stayed in touch every since. 

This was my first time to see Tim in almost 12 years and meet his wife and two boys.

They were the most gracious and thoughtful hosts welcoming us in and taking such good care of us.

We loved spending time at this park that was close by their house. 

Elam caught his first fish!!

Lincoln caught a big one too!!

Just.Beautiful.

We spent an afternoon at the local waterpark and had a BLAST!!

Who knew you could have so much fun in the middle of a corn field!!

Another day we hit up Fort Frenzy!

We did the Bumper Boats and GoKarts several times.

Daddy and Lincoln showing no mercy on me!

Love my boy!

We also played Laser Tag and did some bowling!

Jackson couldn't get enough of the GoKarts!!

Tim and Brian seemed liked they see each other on a regular basis, Emily and I had a great time talking and hanging out, Lincoln loved Elam, and Jackson went with the flow and was so kind to all the boys. I wasn't sure what to expect but this short stop exceeded all of my expectations and left me praying harder for a radiation therapy job in Houston to open up!

Loved this post by Emily:)

Thompsons, we are so thankful for you and will always cherish our time with you guys!

NYE 2014

The boys and I had a great time getting ready for NYE. We colored and made party hats for everyone, created a big 2015 sign, and made cookies! Jackson loves a good party!

Katrina, Louis, and Titus joined us to ring in the new year. Here is everyone with their custom party hats!:)

We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating, playing, and doing some fireworks. It was sure cold!

We came inside and toasted with some yummy sparkling apple cider, and then we called it a night for the little ones. 

Brian, Jackson, and I played Monopoly for a little bit. Starting him on this Vande Slunt tradition early.:) 

Such a fun night celebrating with some of my favorite people!

Trick or Treat 2014

I love that Trick or Treating was on a Friday night this year! We ate our tradition of Sonic 50 cent corn dogs for dinner, and then got ready to trick or treat. Brian decided to get in on the fun too! He keeps our life relaxed and full of smiles!

Jackson dressed up as a nice ninja. 

Lincoln wasn't feeling his monkey costume, so he wore his fox pajamas. (Turns out he had an ear infection:( ) He loved riding in the wagon with Garbageman Titus!

He also couldn't have been any cuter holding his bucket, walking up to a house, and then smiling real big when he got a piece of candy.:)

Love him!

Jackson ran ahead and from house to house with his friends from down the street.

It was a beautiful night, and we had a lot of fun with friends!

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the cooler weather at the park. 

Do we have to go back to work on Monday?:)

Trick or Treating

Captain America has had a busy week!

We had so much fun trick or treating last night. The Yangs joined us as tradition would have it. Titus and Lincoln was happy to be along for the ride. 

Lincoln wore the same skeleton pajamas that Jackson wore his first Halloween. 

Daddy and his two x-rays:

Jackson and his friend Noah ran from house to house. They had a blast together!

Holidays are so much more fun with kids!