Dentist for Cora

Cora had her very first dentist appointment this week. Yes I know I take my kids super late but I haven't worried about it and everything has been fine. Cora was very excited and ready for her visit.
Here she is picking out the flavor of her "tooth vitamins." I think she picked mint over bubblegum or another fruity flavor which I was surprised by.

 Sitting back and relaxing before her cleaning. 

(I don't think we ever had sunglasses as kids during our cleanings.)

Her first visit was a success. No cavities which is shocking!

A Trip In A RV

My friend Sunny was borrowing an RV for a few weeks this summer and we kept joking how we needed to take it for a joy ride around town. So last Thursday afternoon we decided to take the kids on a little ride...ending up at Kopp's for frozen custard. All the girls thought it was the most fun thing to be riding in a "house" and not have to have seat belts on or car seats or anything. And when we ate the custard they could eat it right at the kitchen table in the RV, how cool is that? It's the little things like this that make big summer memories. Well big summer memories would be going along in the RV camping for a week...not sure I'm ready for that yet. But I guess I'd be more up for that then tent camping. Maybe some summer we'll venture out and do some camping?

Summer Fun

Summer is flying by and we're having fun! Last week we took a little road trip / field trip to visit the Jelly Belly factory. We needed a little activity and my friend Andrea and I thought the kiddos would enjoy the tour.

Jackson, Kennedy, Cora, and Maya waiting in line for the tour. 

They were excited to be the first ones on the trolley/train for the big

Jelly Belly factory tour.

Jelly beans everywhere!

They drop you off at the end into the Jelly Belly store...of course they do. The kids went nuts and wanted to get every flavor there is. We opted for one bag of "belly flops" which are all the ones that didn't come out just perfect at the factory. They may not have looked the best but they sure taste just as good as the regular Jelly Belly's.  A fun field trip for sure!

First Communion

Our church has what is called "open table" communion. Basically our church believes that the sacrament of the Lord's Table is a "family meal" that nurtures and deepens the faith of the members of the whole church family.  Therefore, if you are a baptized member of the body of believers you are welcome to participate in communion. Obviously this is under the supervision of us as parents but in our church it usually happens after kindergarten or around the age of 6 or 7. This is not what I grew up with so it's taken some time for me to process and pray through it. However, this spring our church offered a class for us to take with our children called "You're Invited."  It was a two week class that walked us through the sacrament of baptism and communion together with our child. It was very interactive and the second class walked us through 6 stations which lead us through remembering, responding, and rejoicing in Jesus' death and resurrection. We also talked about how participation is not based on how much you "know," but is based on God's grace and covenant promise to us. In our baptism God seals His promise of His covenant grace toward us. Communion then helps our faith be nourished, refreshed, and grow. It's important for us to remember a sacrament is something God does, not something we do. We need faith that Jesus loves us, died for us, and wants to live in us. Therefore the invitation to the Lord's Table is for all those that trust in Jesus for their salvation.

Our church celebrates communion once a month and Maya was able to participate in her first communion in June. What a special moment! This pic is blurry because she was embarrassed and didn't want to go up front after church for the picture.  So we just snapped it quick and she was off on her way to get cookies and lemonade with her friends.  We are thankful for Maya and her faith journey and are excited to see the Lord continue to work in her life.

4th of July in Michigan

We spent the 4th of July week in Michigan and were able to do lots of fun things. The girls took a trip to the famous peanut store not once but twice. The girls could have spent the whole week in there trying to figure out what candy they wanted to get. And it's quite amazing how many pieces they could get for $1.

Grandpa and Grandma treated us to a special musical theater experience on Saturday afternoon. We went to the production of School House Rock. It was so good and the girls loved it! For those of us who are a bit should we say older...we grew up watching School House Rock on Saturday mornings...learning about verbs, nouns, special numbers, etc. The songs were fun and brought back some fun memories. After the play the girls were able to meet all the actors and get signatures.

 Such a fun afternoon! 

Uncle KK took us out on the boat for a special 4th of July boat ride.  It was great weather and we were able to go out onto lake Michigan which is always a great time. The water is so clear and clean but pretty cold.  Maya wasn't a bit afraid and jumped right in even though it was freezing. The girls had a blast!