The 4th of July, Doggie Fun and Somebody's 60th Birthday!

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

To Dave's amusement, Rachel's just not so sure about holding this hot sparkler!

Ally and Bella are SO happy to be in their favorite place - the water!

Taking a flying leap.....

Yes, we can be friends when we try.....

Awwww, dad with one of his favorite girls.....

And here, with BOTH of his favorite girls - home to celebrate dad's birthday....

Fun with the bumpers....It's "grampy" with the doggies!

And on the way home, look who gets a front row seat?  Why, it's Bellsie!

On the road again......

Decorating birthday cupcakes!The finished product...

Goofball daughters......

Katie woke up on this morning with her eyes almost swelled shut and her feet burning when she walked in the grass (this hasn't happened to her before) - we think she must have inherited my allergies to trees, grass, mold, etc., poor thing!  (She's beginning to look better by the time these pics were taken in the afternoon....)

"Hey, mom, don't put frosting on my nose!"

Celebrating Scott's 60th (!) birthday with his mom and the rest of us....

Cutie Pie!

"Happy Birthday to You....."

"You know you're 60 when getting lucky means a short wait at the doctor's office."......

He's still her baby boy.....

Katie and I gave Scott tickets to a Doobie Brothers and Chicago concert IN Chicago in a couple of weeks.  We'll all be going together....

My charming son-in-law is such a goof....

"Thanks, Dave and Rachel, for the great gift!"

He's kind of cute, really.

Awwwwww.....

And, to match her sparkling personality, here is Katie with her very OWN sparkler.....

Hope all of you had a Happy 4th of July!  (Isn't it about time for a family breakfast?)

One more pic - this is a shot of a mousepad I ordered for Scott that shows all of the family - I was pretty proud of myself for thinking this one up (from Snapfish).  I love that site.  What do you think?

Summer "Heats Up" with Family FUN!

Hey, loved ones! I'm finally sharing some pics from recent (and a few NOT so recent) family events. Sorry for the delay! First up: What a great summer evening we spent at Jim and Rachel's last week, before Carol headed back to Portland. It was a great surprise to have Jenny, Jason and the girls there, too. Rachel, as usual, thanks for putting together all the great food! It was so much fun to see Macey having a blast riding on the moped with Bumpa. Wish I had some pictures of that, but I DID get a few other winners, below:

"A picture is worth a 1000 words...."

"My guess is July 10, 7lbs. 2oz........"

Aunt Jean: "Macey, what pretty dress did you wear when you were with Rachel?

Macey: "A wedding dress!" Close enough - great memory!

What a peanut!

Two buddies.

"This was fun, Uncle Keith, until I got hit on the head with the ball!"

Cute as a button....

Family bonding......

Love this one!  Isn't this what life is all about?

To change gears, the following few pics are of our combined outdoor church service with our church plant "Embody", held a couple of weeks ago.  Loved being outdoors for the service!

Our friends Ellen Moes, Loretta Horn, Peggy Ebels and Karen Collings.....

Dad patiently waiting for his plate full of picnic food......

Jimmy boy!

....And, a few pics from Tulip Time that speak for themselves......great dancing, Brenda!

And, for the big finish, a couple of pics of Scott, the girls and their doggies (going after bumpers) when Rachel and Katie were visiting recently....

Birthday Surprise a Hit!

It took a bit of doing, because Rachel always wants to know "why?", but Dave was able to get her out of the house twice on Saturday so that Scott, Katie and I could get ready for the surprise 30th birthday party. He and Rachel went to G.R. to look at a car in the morning, which gave us enough time to make some food, fill the candy jars, get the deck cleaned and ready, make a Happy Birthday garland and a few other odds and ends. Then, somehow he managed to get her to go clean and vacuum their SUV and pick up pizzas (couldn't get away with not ordering food or she would have caught on), right at the time when we needed to hang decorations, get food out, etc. and guests started to arrive.

Dave: "Let's go wash the car now."

Rachel: "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Ahhhhhh - ha ha - that's the kind of questioning that nearly sunk the surprise, but we DID pull it off - she was COMPLETELY surprised!

Mom (looking a bit red in the face from all the rushing around), Katie and the birthday girl. I have posted all the rest of the pictures on my Facebook page. Have a look!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=wall&story_fbid=1289680281094&id=1202847487#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1202847487

In other big news, Bella learned how to swim this weekend!

Way to go, Bellsie - They'll be no stopping you now. Counsin Ally is always there to help, too.