Camping

On our way to go fishing...see how dirty Elisha is!!

 We went camping over the 4th of July. We had a great time (especially after we found the place). We took the scenic route:). The boys were able to put the fishing pole in the water, play in the creek, go hiking, have a fire, and eventually everyone got to sleep in the tent! (tents are a lot of fun until it is bedtime!)
We are hoping that this will become a more regular activity for our family. I was concerned about Matthias since he still wakes at night and takes a couple naps, but he did great!

Our cute Matthias!

Abel doing some casting. There weren't any fish around after Owen got through with jumping in the water, but they had fun with the pole anyway.

 They went wading in the creek. I did too for about 3 minutes. It was COLD! They kept at it though and had a great time!

 At the creek.

 Dad lounging with Matthias while the boys played.

 Smore time! This was the highlight for Abel.

 He looks like he likes them, but he took 1 bite and gave me the graham crackers and ate the chocolate and marshmellow!

 Abel made one for Mom! He did pretty well roasting them on his own.

Getting ready to leave the campsite! We had a great time and learned that we forgot a few essentials (like a spatula for cooking eggs...). Hopefully we will have many more camping trips in the future!

Matthias is 7 Months and our trip to Minnesota

Matthias is 7 months already! He weighs 21 lbs and is 27 inches long!

My boys:) Abel 5 1/2, Elisha 2, and Matthias 7 months.

 This is part of our trip to MN. Abel got to go to a St. Paul Saint's game with Dad, Grandpa, Dad's friend John and John's soon to be wife, Bethany. I think Abel's favorite part was the food...:)

 At G&G's house we got to have a fire and of course smores!

 We visited the Mahoney farm where Samuel worked when he was a kid. The kittens were a big hit with both the boys. Elisha wouldn't leave them alone!

 Dad teaching Elisha how to roast a marshmellow...serious business here!

 Grandma took us to the Mall of America to visit Lego Land. The boys had a great time!

 They each got a new set of legos and a bucket full of parts!

 Abel pulling Elisha on the wagon horse Dad made last year.

 Hanging out with Dad. We were blessed with some great weather!

 Our family.

 The boys with Grandma and Grandpa Gullixson.

 We also saw our good friends the Bloedel's. We ate at Famous Dave's for dinner. Here are all the kids after a good meal.

 I don't have and pictures of our time in Mankato (because I was silly and never took my camera out!!). But we were there for a week and stayed with our wonderful friends the MacPherson's. They are great hosts! After our time in Mankato we went to Colorado Springs to visit Samuel's sister Beth and her family. We went to the Garden of the Gods. This is about 10 min. before it started to down pour. Thankfully Samuel suggested we turn around and go back to the cars, otherwise we would have been soaked!

 We also took a trip to the Focus on the Family headquarters. They have a great place for kids to play and we had a wonderful time there.

Skip a few days of travel (you don't want to see pictures of that anyway...) and we are back at home! So great to be home after being gone 2+ weeks. God was good and saw us safely through our travels and we were very blessed by all the visits we had with everyone.