Last Weeks of Summer

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks of summer!

On Friday evening after we returned home from vacation we hosted all the youth group leaders to plan our year. One of the couples brought their newborn and we enjoyed lots of baby snuggles with Amelia Grace!

The following night, Saturday, we enjoyed fellowship with our church people at the annual church picnic. After the picnic, Russ and I took the family mini-golfing, something I had wanted to do before the girls returned to Dordt.

Lydia and I flew to Iowa the following Tuesday, just a week after we returned from vacation. She needed to be back at Dordt early for RA training so I went with her to help her move in and decorate her wing. Lydia decorated her dorm wing with variations of dried flowers.

While Lydia and I were in Iowa,  Anna and Russ drove to Washington for Joshua's family's church camp as they had asked Russ to be the speaker for their teaching sessions. Seth stayed home because he had already started his senior year of high school.

Last first day of school picture 😢. I'm amazed they remembered to take a picture since I was already in Iowa on Seth's first day.

Senior locker board!

The rest of the family (Anna, Seth, Russ, Caleb, and Mikaela) flew to Iowa a little over a week after Lydia and me for Caden and Cami's wedding on August 25 and Grandma Carol's 100th birthday celebration on the 26th.  Hope Caleb and Seth agreed that missing a few days of school was worth being all together and seeing family!

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Grandpa Wayne saying a few words at Grandma Carol's birthday party. Russ and all his siblings spoke about Carol's impact on their family after losing their own mom to cancer 40 years ago.

Grandpa and Grandma with all the grandkids and great-grands that were able to make it to the celebration. We were missing Leah and her family, Sara and Josh, Keanu, Karl, Karissa's husband John, Lydia, Nathanael, and, of course, we always miss Matthias.

No trip to Sioux Center is complete without breakfast at Casey's Bakery! Seth and I both celebrated our birthdays in Iowa this year. This was the first year that Russ and I did not bake and decorate a cake for Seth. We did take him to Brad's Breads in Orange City for a yummy cruffin and coffee drink, though!