Start of Summer

Sorry that I have been silent for so long! Yes, we are still alive...just trying to recover from the whirlwind of travel that was summer. :) I'm going to try to catch you all up in the next couple posts...

Just as school was ending and summer beginning, Zach and Steve both had birthdays (me too actually!). We enjoyed a family dinner at a local buffet restaurant to celebrate these birthdays.

Zach is 15 now!

 The day after school ended, we headed north to visit the Bugkalot area. 2 of Mikayla's closest friends graduated, and she wanted them to bring them up there before they returned to the States. So we made a family thing of it, and the 3 families journeyed north into the mountains together for a week. 

 The reason that we left the day after school let out (which was craziness with all the end-of-year stress!) was so that we could join this tribal church for worship on Sunday morning. What a precious time with these believers!

 Always an adventure!

 A highlight of our visits up to the "house in the clouds" is lazy meals on the porch.

 We also spent a lot of time at the river, climbing up and jumping off rocks (and even bridges!). Such a special time for Mikayla to share these memories with her friends.

 Just a couple hammocks on the porch :) 

 These were the high schoolers on the trip; there were also 2 middle schoolers. The kids had a blast together, and it was cool to see families enjoying one another. 

 In awe of His creation

 After the first stop, we headed further north to visit Diamond Cave. This is all 3 families in the cave. So cool!

 Big caverns, tight squeezes and even an underground river! Amazing!

 We spent a LOT of hours crammed in the car but were able to have fun there too.

 Our last stop was overnight at the beach on the way home. 

So thankful for these precious friends and who have been such a blessing to Mikayla, and that we had the amazing opportunity to share this adventure and make memories with them. Our hearts and prayers are with Isaiah and Xandra as they are back in the States now, settling in to their new lives there. We will sure miss them!