Family Swap

Greetings friends and family,

My back injury is healing and improving a little every day.  I'm still a long ways away from full recovery, but all those little things I took for granted like tying my shoes and sitting at the kitchen table are back in my daily routine.  Having Ouma and Oupa here for 8 days was a life saver.  I wouldn't have made it the past few days without them here.  This picture was taken before the twins left for Missouri.  It represents our summer really well though.

This is starting to feel like the summer that will never end because we've been gone so much and had such great adventures.  With the twins and Kendra in Missouri I get Ouma and Oupa all to myself.  Work has been more time consuming than I like because it's hard to work on my tiny laptop from my bed and be as productive as I normally am.  Even so, my work is very understanding and let me work from my bed without missing any days of work.

Ouma and Oupa leave tomorrow, which makes me very sad.  I begged them to stay, but they have obligations back home.  After hanging out with them for 7 weeks I still enjoy spending time with them and the conversations.

Kendra's brother Logan and his wife Bree moved to Gilbert last month!  We were in the middle of our stay in Sacramento so we haven't had much chance to spend quality time with them until now.  Ouma, Oupa and I spent several nights and days together hanging out.  Having them around is going to be great and I'm happy they moved here.  I took them to Oregano's Pizza for a little local flare.  He and Bree wear the same Bluetooth headset as I do!

While I'm laid up and home recovering Kendra and the twins are having the time of their lives with my family in Missouri.  Kind of ironic that she's there with my family and I'm here with hers.  We are very blessed to have awesome in-laws on both sides.

Easton is getting baseball fever.  This summer he experienced several A's games on TV and we also went to the stadium to watch the A's live and Easton watched Eli and Silas play ball this week too.  I think he's convinced to play some little league this coming fall?

Layla is in princess heaven spending hours and days with her cousins.  I have no idea of the context for this picture, but it's clear they are happy and that's what is important.

Papa takes Joanie's girls for different outings.  He included Layla in their trip to Chik-fil-A for a meal and craft time.  Their butterfilies are adorable.  Although I wish i were there to be a part of the fun I'm perfectly fine to have them be with my family members to do these types of outings without me around.

Daphne is clearly Layla's favorite cousin.  Her name gets brought up throughout the year with fondness and smiles.  The more time they spend together as friends, the better grounded Layla will be.  She has no sister and we don't have the consistent cousin time or extended family gatherings like some kids get to enjoy.  So we pack in as much cousin time as possible to get them filled up with great memories to last all year long.

I asked Easton what he was looking forward to the most about being in Missouri.  He said, "fishing with Papa!"  The two of them took Eli and Silas along for a fishing trip to the lake today.  Easton dug his own worms from the back yard and caught 6 fish.

He also drove Papa's boat.  That looks like the perfect day for a boy or a man of any age.

I'm hoping there's a chance for me to join them on the lake soon too because I'm a little jealous of their catch and adventures.

See you soon!