family vacation

family vacation was so fun this year!  we went to alabama and spent the week at the beach.

 we had some great family time

 fed the seagulls

 played putt-putt...on this hole, both my boys got a hole in one

 ate at some yummy restaurants

 took a boat ride

 watched the dolphins play

received some lessons in marine life

captain jack was excited to navigate us for a while

 we saw some amazing sunsets

 enjoyed God's creation

  the weather and scenery were perfect

 we fed some more seagulls

 dug some holes

 made some sand creations

and surfed the waves on our boogie boards. 

 it was truly a relaxing, rejuvenating, fun-filled family vacation. 

relaxing at the pmf

we had a short amount of time between kids camp and vacation, so we decided to make a quick trip to the pmf to hang with family.  we ate some steak, played in the varmit's roost, fished and shot guns. 

 someone got a tad too close to the scope

 mackenzie loves shooting her new gun

 the whole crew

we finally got to do a little catfishin'.  

good times at the pmf.

kids camp at latham

 the whole family was able to go spend the week at kids camp at latham springs.  although temperatures were in triple digits most of the week, the water was very refreshing.

a day at the lake

 some sweet church friends invited us to have a fun day at the lake.

 the kids loved every minute of it.

 this was jacks first time to go tubing.

 look at that scenery!

 even colin and i got to ride. 

 little miss hollywood.

our fearless captain.  

thanks for a VERY relaxing and fun day on the lake!

5th annual mexico mission trip

 i've probably said this before, but the mission trip to mexico gets better every year!  we had such a great experience this year and the trip was truly life-changing. 

the first day we were there was our trip to real de catorce for shopping and relaxing.  we decided to ride horses this year and were so glad we did!  this was not your average "nose to tail" trail ride.  instead they basically sent us up the mountain and said "hang on."  

 the scenery was amazing as we rode to an old mine town. 

we got to explore the old mine and hang out with friends.

 i love that my whole family can enjoy the mission trip together.

 looking for bargains.

 jack found a spider man hat for $4.

the remainder of the trip included going to hospital for witnessing and singing, visiting homes in town, vbs in local villages, and bilingual worship services.

 this gal was such a joy to be around.  she always made me smile.

 the guys dug a hole for a sewage line one day.

 the green team.  the boy on the end stole my heart!

 jack didn't quite make it through one of the vbs meetings. 

 jack played a soldier in one of the skits.

 mackenzie and reese were angels guarding the tomb.

this is one of the women's meetings that was held in nearby village.

it is such a blessing to be a part of dayspring missions outreach in mexico!
the best part of the trip was about midnight on tuesday when reese gave her life to Christ!