A little rest in Colorado

Jay and I just returned from spending a few days in Colorado. He had some committee meetings and they invite spouses to come along for this trip. So we packed up, left all five kids with Mimi and Poppop, and headed west. 

We got to Denver on weds by lunch time and were able to meet up with some friends who live there for a quick meal. 

We stayed weds night at a golf course. I don't remember the name of it, but if you follow golf, this course just hosted the big women's tournament. (See how informed I am??) Jay was able to play the par 3 course on weds afternoon and the main course in Thursday with some if the other guys. He said it is one if the hardest courses he has ever played!! It was gorgeous sunshine and about 70 degrees. 

On Thurs afternoon we drove about two hours to Vail. It was a beautiful drive and I kept taking pictures out of the car window. 

We stayed at a beautiful resort called the Sonnenalp. It looked like we were in the Alps. By the time we woke up on Friday morning, it was only 20 degrees and had snowed! Jay was so excited to see the snow that he was outside by 4:30am walking in the streets. 

It continued to snow the rest of the day. I went for a walk with jay that afternoon in the snow. Nothing like enjoying ice cream when it is a brisk 19 degrees outside. 

By Saturday the sun came back out but it was still cold. We ended our time at a ranch with a big BBQ for the whole group. 

We had such a great time. It was really nice to have uninterrupted time with Jay and to be able to rest and relax. I even indulged myself with a pedicure and rad a whole book. We took a nap and watched a movie and just acted leisurely. And that is a treat!!

We are so glad to be back home tonight with our little people. Thanks Mimi and Poppop for taking care of everyone. 

Beach Week

Last week we had our annual beach trip with Jay's family. It was a great week--so much better than last year's that included broken air conditioners, stomach viruses, rain, a washing machine that caught on fire, and two 5 week old babies. All year we kept talking about how this years beach trip had to be better!!

I take for granted sometimes that we have such beautiful scenery right here in our state. I enjoyed many gorgeous sunsets with dinner and sunrises on runs. 

We had lots of fun playing on the beach. Anna and Elizabeth prefer the sand, Will prefers the water, Catherine and James go back and forth between both. 

Will enjoyed being buried in the sand and he lost his second tooth! 

Jay enjoyed playing on the beach, playing golf, taking a few naps, and not shaving for the week. 

Little people enjoyed afternoon movies and naps and playing with each other. 

I enjoyed a few lazy mornings and snuggling with all my kiddos. 

We had such a great trip and really loved spending time with Melissa (jays sister), Andy, and Marshall. Our kids adore Marshall. He turned three this summer and is one of the funniest kids we know. 

Melissa and Andy showed us a video from Third Day about adoption and how we are all adopted as God's children. It was very sweet to hear Marshall call it Marshall's  song! Then they gave us each a tshirt that says "adopted". We are so glad that Marshall was adopted into our family and how it is such a great reminder of our own adoption as God's children. (Search Third Day adoption for the video on you tube.)

We are so thankful for time to relax and be with family for the week! 

His happy place

The beach is James's happy place. Honestly, he has been more content and relaxed at the beach than anywhere else he's ever been. He loves the sand, loves the water, and plays so hard that he naps and sleeps without fussing. Happy happy indeed! 

And today, he took his first steps!! I'm not at all surprised that he did it at the beach. Our Little charmer; he's so much fun! 

Glad to be in Milwaukee

We just returned from our annual Northwestern Mutual meetings in Milwaukee.

Jay celebrates his 11 year Northwestern anniversary next week. I can't tell you how thankful I am that he works for such an amazing company. Honestly, it's one of the best companies in the world. The people who work with Northwestern are so committed to integrity and making wise decisions with their clients; to pursuing relationships with their clients, and to thinking of long term stability and financial security. I just don't think you can find another financial company with the same values. 

I also can't say enough about how proud I am of Jay. He works so incredibly hard. He is constantly pushing himself and challenging himself and giving of himself. He cares deeply about his clients and his staff, and he works so hard to provide for our family. We know that he is exactly where God wants him to be and it is exciting to see how God uses him in a "secular" job by counseling (both financial and relational) and praying with his clients. We also have the opportunity to get to know so many other great people around the country who are becoming like family to us. 

People think we are crazy when we say we are excited about going to Milwaukee. It really is a wonderful city and Northwestern plans lots of family events while we are there.

We did fly with all five kiddos to get there. They did great! Jay was actually already in Milwaukee because he had some committee meetings a few days early. So Marcy, Steve, Jay's assistant Melissa, and I traveled up with the kids on Saturday. It went as smoothly as it possibly could with five small children. When traveling with small children just remember 3 P's: plan, prepare, and persevere!

One of the annual highlights is the race on Sunday morning. Marcy pushed the babies in the 5k, jay and Steve walked with the big kids in the one mile walk, and I ran the 10k. I finished in 56:02, not bad for my first post-twins race!

We took the kids to the morning meetings on Monday and they made through about two hours. We had a babysitter and Marcy help us with childcare some so that I could go to meetings with Jay, which was incredibly helpful. 

We went to the children's museum there on Tuesday with some of our great friends from WV. Two years ago we had a combined total of four children; this year we have eight! God has blessed us both tremendously in the past two years!!

We really enjoyed having time with some Northwestern friends who Jay is in a study group with. Two of the agents also have five children each and we took them all out to dinner on Tuesday night. Yep, we put all the kids except the babies at a table together, ordered an XL cheese pizza, and enjoyed the chaos!!

On Tuesday night Tim McGraw performed for the company show. It was a very fun concert and a great way to end our trip. 

By the end of the trip, we were all a little tired. The kids love being there so much that they didn't want to come home yesterday and are already talking about being back next summer.

The start to summer

We just returned from spending a few days at the beach. What a great way to start the summer!   

We had wonderful beach weather-- 75 to 80 degrees and sunshine.  After our beach trip last August (quick recap: two five-week old babies, broken air conditioner, washing machine that caught on fire, stomach virus, and rain), we were hoping for a much better vacation this time. 

The water was still pretty cool (way too cold for me, and chilly for the brave children, daddy and PopPop. But they loved swimming and jumping in the pool.   And when they got too cold, they would sit out on the chairs and read or rest to warm up.                                                                

 They always have a hard time deciding whether to go to the pool or the beach. They like swimming in the pool better but playing in the sand at the beach. We often went to the pool while babies were napping and to the beach when babies were up. The babies could crawl around much easier there than at the pool. They loved eating and digging in the sand! And what's the best way to contain two crawling babies on the beach? Dig a big hole and stick them in there!! It took them a little while to figure out how to get out :)

The beach was definitely James's happy place. He was so content the entire week. The only time he fussed was when we took him off the beach. I wasn't sure how Elizabeth would like the sand. She doesn't like to get dirty and she was very curious about sand on her hands, but then she had a lot of fun with it.

We also went on lots of walks and to the plaground that was nearby. The kids loved climbing and sitting on the beautiful tree branches.

Jay also took the big kids to ride bikes one morning. Jay, PopPop, and Will played golf one evening--this was one of Will's favorite events! I got to sit outside on the beach and read a book while kids napped one afternoon. Jay and I got to go on a date one night. We all had a really great time!

We were so thankful to have a few days away to enjoy time together and take a break from the daily routine. It is still a lot of work to take five little ones to the beach (it takes a while to get everyone's sunscreen on for sure!). We really couldn't do it without going with Mimi and PopPop.

We can't wait to go back at the end of the summer!!