Happy Birthday Jon

Happy Birthday Jon!!

Thanks to everyone who sent cards and gifts and who called to wish him a happy bday. I think it was kinda hard on him having to start back on his birthday but I made him a good dinner and his parents came over to help us celebrate. He's officially a quarter of a century old!

A new space for fellowship

Jon and I had a great weekend together just lounging around and savoring the last few drops of summer freedom before school begins tomorrow. We were able to catch up with Jon's parents this weekend after our long vacation and also spend some time with Jon's brother, Ryan, who was home before heading back to school in Michigan. 

One of the big excitements of the weekend was the delivery of our new furniture. After several months of shopping and praying about such a big investment, we finally found the perfect addition to our loft. We know this space will be well used from small group movie nights, to fellowship with our family, to just the two of us lounging around. Here's what we were blessed with: 

Loft before- just empty space

New tv stand- Jon's parents were kind enough to let us use one of their unused TVs. 

Miloh giving his approval of the new space

The recliner

The love seat (both recline)

The couch (both sides recline)

A view of the whole space

Jon loves it

So..... if anyone wants to come watch a movie, play games, or just hang out, we'd LOVE to have you!!

Tomorrow is Jon's birthday, so we decided to go out and celebrate tonight. He wanted to go for Thai food, but the restaurant was closed. We settled for Italian instead, but had a good time together. Here's a few more pictures of our last day of summer!

Taking a dive in the pool

After dinner

Vacation's Over

The pictures says it all. We made it home Tuesday afternoon after being caught in really bad fog that post-poned the trip by 3 hours. Because we got away so late (and because I miss Katie so much), we stopped and stayed with Katie and Shane again. We had a fun evening of pizza and the Olympics and then headed home the next morning. Now we're home and enjoying our last few days together before the craziness of school starts! 

Home Sweet Home #2

We got the chance to spend one of our weekends home in Laramie, visiting our church and our friends from college and having a great time! It was soooo good to see so many people and to be at LVC. We miss you guys! Here's some highlights from the trip:

This is where Jon proposed 3 summers ago

:)

Stacey, Aaron, and Fisher- they were so kind to let us stay with them for the weekend. We laughed and had such a good time but also were so encouraged by their walks and their willingness to share their struggles and triumphs. Stacey was due in 10 days, so she really deserves a thanks!

Fisher was so much fun! He is so cute but also so well behaved. He loved to be read to and just do whatever everyone else was doing.

I love this picture!

For those of you who were there.....

Jon and the lovely Sarah Watson

Fisher, Sarah, and I

Jeremiah Hutcheson and Jon (he has grown sooo much and is such a cutie)

Andy, Megan, Me, and Jon at LVC- Megan is soo cute (she is due Sept 19th)- we're praying for you guys!

Tom, Jo, and Sarah Watson- we miss you guys so much! Sarah is so perfect and we are so thankful that you're always willing to hang out with us when we're in town!

Lunch with the LVC clan at Corona Village- we even got to see one of our friends Mike who was back from Spain- he's getting married next month in France! We're so excited for you Mike!

The new UW sign

The sanctuary- we just finished our church in June- a very long process but well worth the battle- it's beautiful and has such a peace about it!

More church pics

The cafe area- this will be so nice to have

The new sign and us- it was so great to be there! We can't tell you how much we miss you all!

Love,

J&H

Home Sweet Home

It was so great to be home with my family for two weeks and to spend some special time with Izabel. The best thing about being home is just doing ordinary things and being able to laugh and relax with our family. Here's some highlights from the trip:

A pic from our morning walks- we walked and Izzie rode her bike every morning to get some exercise (it mostly consisted of us pushing her up the hills, so we really got some good exercise)

Jon... Nebraska style (flip flops and spurs)

A night of bike rides

Izabel got quite a kick out of this!

No words....

Mom and Dad being boring while Jon does all the hard work (guess you can guess who typed that!)

Izzie wanted Miloh to ride, but he didn't quite fit

We had the opportunity to see a bunch of Katie's family at lunch. It was great to catch up with all of them.... their pretty much a second fam!

The sunset at the Arthur County Fair

Mom and I

My dad had to auctioneer at the 4H Fair, so we tagged along.... here he is selling some pigs

Isn't she beautiful!

A close up of her new boots

My boys

Getting ready for a walk

Izzie

Yeah, this is ugly! So, we thought it would be nice to touch up my parents banister, which is red. I decided to paint while Jon was playing with Izzie and well..... as you can see..... ooooops. I cried and of course my parents were understanding. The good thing is, insurance is going to now pay for the replacement of their carpet throughout most of the first floor. I guess you could say it was a gift after all!!

This is a great shot (we don't have Taco Johns out here, so it's a must have when we visit)

The entertainer most evenings.... Izabel, the gymnast. Who needs the Olympics when you have Izabel!

Jon and my dad got to golf a couple times and agreed to bring us a long once as well. Izzie got her own clubs, really enjoyed herself, and actually did really well!

Jon (the cowboy), wanted to remember this game.... it was the first time he had beaten my dad

Best friends

On this particular walk, we got poured on.... Miloh was especially drenched

A bunch of family from my Mom's side came to visit and we took all of the kids to the pool. It was pretty crazy, but we had a good time.

Abbe, Derek, and Izzie at the horse sale

Getting ready for church

The puzzle we completed

A sweet goodbye to a great two weeks!