Wyoming Part 1

We flew to Wyoming on June 1st and had an interview at a camp in CO the first 4 days we were there.  We didn't get the job, but God is sovereign and we trust Him more than we loved the camp.  The girls did like the mountains (and this St. Bernard that I now want to own).  

Then we drove to Cheyenne to meet our new nephew.....Hunter Michael Pushcar.  He is a doll and we all just fell in love with him.  He looks like his dad and we found some pictures of Hadley as a baby that he looks similar to as well.  Hadley introduced him to everyone as her "first ever baby cousin."  

Enjoying Oma and Opa's house.....and their 4 cats.  

I turned 31 while we were there and my dear friend Becca turned 30 so our families went to dinner....it was the first time in a long time that everyone from both sides (the Brazzales and the Lutz') were there.  Below are Shaun and Courtney, my dad, Hadley, and my mom.

Happy Birthday to us! 

Then if that wasn't enough, Andy and I went on a birthday date to a movie and my favorite food places in Cheyenne and then came home to a birthday cake with trick candles and all.  The girls helped my mom make it and it was delicious even though Hadley got flour happy at one point.

Cleaning up can be just as fun as making the mess.

Early (and I mean like 4 am early) the next morning, Andy flew to Kansas for another interview and my parents, sister, Hunter, and the girls and I borrowed our neighbor's motor home to go to a family reunion in Nebraska.  This is everyone when we got in..... 

this is everyone a little bit later.

My mom's cousin lives on a ranch and the girls HAD A BLAST.  They played with Howdy-Doody (the 10 day old calf they had) 

rode him a little.....

caught toads.....

played with puppies.....

and kitties.....

and enjoyed lots of family (this is my grandma....she is over 90 and still sharp as a tack!)

......and my granddad.  They made the trip thanks to my uncle Marc who drove them down.  It was so wonderful to see them and the girls enjoyed it too.

They got to feed Howdy-Doody a bottle or two.....

learned how to rope.....

and "helped" Oma in the kitchen.

Granddad and Hunter

Sweet boy.

My cousin Ciera.

The next day they got to ride a horse for the first time EVER....

and lead him too.  This horse LOVED Joni's hair.  It was so funny....he would get really close and then sniff her pony tail up his nose.  She thought it was hilarious.

Then they fed the chickens....

and played in the river (the very low shallow river).

Hannah and Hadley

Ciera and Joni.

I know, they were definitely not hurting for entertainment.  

Some videos!!!!  Here is Hadley playing with Howdy-Doody.

And riding the horse.  I was a bit nervous as you'll hear but they did great!

More to come soon from our trip out west.  Please be praying for us as we make some huge decisions about where the Lord would have us next.  Love to you all!

Before Wyoming

Home again!  Before I get the other blogs up from our trip, we did some fun family things right before we left.  We realized that we have yet to be in Louisville for late May/early June (because we moved here in July and have been running Camp Story the past 2 summers) and there are fun things that go on during that time!  There was a street festival on one of the main streets we frequent..... 

 Besides being a super hot day, the girls had fun.  This van in actually a photo booth.  We told the girls to take some silly pictures which meant "stick out your tongue the entire time."  Fun day!

 HUBER'S!  There is a family owned farm in Indiana called Huber's!  We went with some dear friends to pick strawberries one day and I thought it was sooooo fun!  I seriously had more fun than the kids.  We get asked all the time if we related to the Huber's of Huber's Farms....I wish we were so I could live there and pick (and eat) strawberries (and other wonderful things) anytime I wanted.   

 The house the owners live in.

 Riding the tractor out to the strawberry fields.

 This is Kyle, his son Owen, his wife Paige, and their sweet new addition, Ethan.

 Picking some strawberries!

 And eating some strawberries....let me tell you, there is nothing quite like tasting a freshly picked fruit. We didn't eat more than we picked, but it was close :)

 Waiting for the tractor and having a snack.

 Sweet friends.

 This was an antique tractor for people who like old farm things, and a fun jungle gym for the kids.  Joni is showing her disapproval of not getting a turn yet. 

 No worries....she can drive a stationary tractor just as well as the rest of them.  :)

 And we ended the afternoon with some ice cream!  Fabulous day if I do say so myself.  And I do.....it was fabulous.  :)

 Good to the last drop.

 YUMMY!!!!!!  

 We had strawberries everywhere so we made strawberry smoothies,

strawberry oatmeal,

and I had my first ever canning adventure with strawberry jam.  It is SO good (my mouth is watering as I type this) but what wouldn't be with 2 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of sugar?

       And one more late May/early June thing we have missed out on until now.....LIGHTNING BUGS!  Again, something I am more excited about than anyone.  They are such an incredibly fun summer's night thing.  The girls weren't afraid of catching them and asked every night if we could go outside and find some.  The perfect bug.....slow, harmless, and glow in the dark.  Really?  There are no better bugs than these.

 We captured one glowing....top of the jar to the right of the thumb.  Super super cool.

 More to come soon!  Love to you all!