Aunt Wendi

Aunt Wendi came to spend the weekend with us last weekend and helped out with the kids while Doug was in Omaha at the NCAA wrestling tournament with family and friends and I was at work. We LOVED having her here and the kids had such a good time! She is doing well....getting so excited for school to be finishing up in 5 weeks, still glowing since her recent engagement to Jon on Valentine's Day, and working hard as ever. Thanks again Aunt Wendi for sharing your days off with us - I so appreciated it and loved having you here too! Please come back soon!!!!

Dog sitting

Kate cuddling with Max during movie night

Max, hoping that Kate or Ben would share their popcorn

Our dog for the week - MAX

Ben and Max, playing DS

Over Spring Break we were able to help out our good friends and watch their dog Max. He was a great dog and we all really enjoyed having him here. He seemed very at home with us and it was a good learning experience for us on the responsibilites of having a dog in the house. This is a weekly request by Ben, as he so loves dogs! Who knows......maybe someday.

A day with Papa and Grandma Cairney

With Spring Break already starting last Friday, the kids were able to spend some extra time with Papa and Grandma Cairney. It sounds like they had a wonderful day! As a special treat, they took the kids up to Ames to visit the Reiman Gardens butterflies......aren't they beautiful??? Kate was very excited to tell me about her favorite kids, colors, etc.,. Ben just said " It was cool"! Thanks again Dick and Celie.........

Helping out Haiti

The Cooper's, Clarke's, and Cairney's

The Churchill's and Califf's

Gabe Califf, Nancy & Randy Califf, and Ben

Our small group at church had the extreme pleasure of packing some meals for Meals for the Heartland a few weeks ago. The kids were such troopers and the adults had fun too! It is so important for all of us to instill the need to serve others in all of them and they did great.......what an amazing organization ( Meals for the Heartland). By the end of the 2 weeks at church, they had packaged over 2.5 million meals to be sent to Haiti to help those in need - Praise God for those blessings!!!

Last Day in Destin

Ending our day with some card playing


A family photo with Grandma and Papa Cairney

It is always so hard for us to tell Papa and Grandma good-bye after our week together. We all had such a wonderful time laughing, playing, relaxing and creating amazing memories together. And how lucky for us that we also got to spend the week at the beach! Thank-you again Dick and Celie for inviting us to spend some time with you while you were in the Destin area. We loved every minute of it and really appreciated all of your hospitality......we love you both!!! XOXOXOXOXOX

Miniature golfing - Destin style

Our rainbow while we were putt-putt golfing

Kate and I after our hole in one!

Grandma, Kate and Ben

Ben and I after our hole in one

the Cairney's in the HUGE chair at the Wharf

A Florida vacation would not be complete for us with out some putt-putt golf. We found this amazing course in Destin and had so much fun. After church, saying good-bye to the Paulson's, a walk on the beach, some shopping and a little rain shower, we hit the road in search of a miniature course. We found one and were immediately blessed with an amazing rainbow on the first hole. The rest of the 18 holes entertained us with an ocassional hole-in-one for all that were playing, some caves, waterfalls, jungle animal statues, a 3 hole hidden maze, and tons of fun! What a wonderful way to wrap up the week.

A Day with the Paulson's

Ben and Daniel - having some fun swinging

Ben, Daniel, Lindsey, Hilary, and Kate

the girls at the beach

the boys getting their castles started

Keri and Stephanie

Saturday was another exciting day.....after another great night of sleep, more pancakes, and more shuffle board, we were blessed to be able to spend the entire day with the Paulson family. The Paulson's (Scott, Stephanie, Lindsey, Daniel & Hilary) were in our small group at Hope until they moved to Gainsville about 1 1/2 years ago. We miss them so much and were very excited when they decided to drive over for the weekend to see us. Once all of the hugs ended, we ate a quick snack and headed toward the beach! The kids were amazing how they all just took to one another, and had such a blast playing all day and into the evening. The weather was another perfect sunny 60's day. That evening we headed over to the Baytowne Warf area for dinner and let the kids play in this huge play area that they have over there. Our awesome day ended with some yummy pizza and ice cream to top it all off. Thanks again Paulson's for coming to see us....we had such a great time and we love you all. I think Ben said it perfectly when he said, "Mom, Daniel is really fun, do you think that he could come over to my house the next day?".......we wish that he could - can't wait to see you again!!!!