company picnic...

yesterday afternoon we headed out hovander park in ferndale (our favorite!) for our company picnic. WRS is definitely a 'family' friendly company. ryan and billy do such a great job of making their employees feel valued. i know that from not only what i observed yesterday but also from the comments i heard. they always open up their partys with prayer. something i'm sure most company's don't do. i am so proud of them for not caring if some may be offended, they stand my their convictions and beliefs. they are known for being an honest, ethical company. so many appreciate that.

the day was filled with tons for the kids to do! face painting, cotton candy, a bounce house, the dunk tank which rye took a turn at. our boys wasted no time in lining up to soak dad. (which they did!:)) i'll also post the picture of some of his guys also waiting their turn, sharing their strategy's. later in the afternoon, the local (and now getting famous around the world) magician, Sterling, came and did a show. rye was nominated to be part of the act. hesitantly, he agreed and was such a good sport about it. i'll try and post some of the video.
after the picnic, we were invited to billy and joann's (our partners) house. they have a beautiful yard, and a wonderful,in-ground pool, which they keep at a cool 88 degrees! :) the boys had a blast while us adults sat by the fire pit and chatted. a nice ending to a fun day!

misc. summer tidbits....

ok, i keep saying that life is going to slow down enough that i can begin blogging again. unfortunately, that isn't happening. so like all good things in life, i must make the time to do them. since my sister seems to think that the only thing i do is have 'girls nights out', i'll blog about something different.:) (wishing you were here with me sis)
let's see, letters came this week, informing boys of what teachers they'll get this school year. a small reminder that summer is whizzing by. when i think back over the past 8 weeks, i can only think of a two 'major' camping trips. other than that our days have been filled with little day trips here and there, hanging out with friends and doing our best to keep cool. (not like we need help, we are cool.) anywho, i'm pulling pics from my computer so here are a few highlights.....

20 years and feeling young....

TWENTY YEARS.
that saying, 'where did the time go?' actually means something to me now that i have experienced my 20 year class reunion! i was telling someone the other night that i don't feel a day older than i did back in 1989. wiser, much wiser but older? nope. for the last 4 months or so, i've had the joy of being on the reunion committee. yes, there were moments of insanity, but what a fun we had! here's a shout out to 'my crew'.kathy, karla, wendi, dean, donna, travis and my dear hubby, rye) you guys were awesome! it paid off. we had such a great time! people that i thought would look and act different, didn't. those i thought would NEVER change, did. at this point in our lives, most of us are comfortable in our own skin, comfortable with where we are & the choices we've made. and it was obvious.
i feel so thankful that my parents made the choice to send me to a christian school. Lynden Christian was a great jumping off point to becoming who i am today. the friendships that i have made there will stay with me for the rest of my life. here's to another 20!

thanks for a great night friends!

just looked back and noticed i have 2 of some pictures. sorry, i have no idea how to go back and delete it. such is life.

hot weather relief....

92 degrees.
sound hot??
try actually experiencing that IN YOUR HOUSE!
i did & lived to tell about it.(all my New Jersey/Michigan friends & family are rolling their eyes right now)
you have to know, we just don't have heat like this everyday. maybe once a summer, we get a day or two of it but FOUR days??? enough already. (when it's freezing and i'm complaining about the weather, remind me to buck up, deal with it, this too shall pass).

since i wasn't about to spend another, crabby (and i was terribly crabby!) hour in this OVEN i call a home, i packed up the boys and headed to Berthusen park for an afternoon 'hike'. wouldn't ya know it, about 13 degrees cooler. oh, such bliss.

we scoured the trails to find the one that leads down to the rope swing (compliments of nate heilkam). the water was cool and the bugs were out in full. but we had water bottles and nothing but time.....