After almost a month on the road, we have visited with friends and family in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina. Here are some pics from our time on the road:
We spent a few days at a resort with some friends of mine (Jen) from high school. Our 3 kids and their 2 hit it off immediately, and they had a blast riding ponies, swimming and fishing together. They spent HOURS fishing together, both with traditional fishing poles and with home-made tools (plastic bags, strawberry cartons, old string and hooks found in the woods, stale chips, just whatever they could find). They were surprisingly successful in their various attempts, and we even ended up with a fish fry one night. :)
1st fish caught in the grape bag with stale doritos as the bait:
In Maryland, we got to visit with some dear family friends whom I have known since infancy. Their family has now grown to include 4 little ones, and our kids had so much fun loving on the babies. They also live close to the bay, so we all enjoyed some fun times on the beach, and Steve got to try windsurfing. Zach surprised with me with how much he loved the babies and how good he was with them. I like this pic of his foot with baby Thorin's foot.
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While there, we also spent a day visiting the monuments in DC as a family. It was a tiring day, but it was good for the kids to get to see all these historic places.
After a long walk over to the White House, I turned around and saw Zach had figured out a creative way to get himself a drink from the too-high water fountain.
While there in Maryland, Zach also lost another tooth! It had been loose for a while, but he had been trying to hold out til we got back to Grandma's - I think he thought the Tooth Fairy might be more generous there. :)
We surprised the kids with a visit to our good friends from the Philippines (also on furlough right now). It was a special opportunity for them to catch up with their friends from the other side of the ocean.
We had a fun overnight stop in Alabama to visit the Wilson family. Those of you who follow our updates and blog will remember the role that Jennifer played in making it possible for us to stay on the field this past term - she is the speech therapist who came and trained me how to work with Ben. He has made HUGE strides in speech, but we still have a long way to go, and we appreciate your prayers as we determine how to best meet his needs. Jennifer has 4 kids, and our 3 had a blast getting to know them.
We got to visit Megan (the volunteer who was with us almost a year in the Philippines) and her family in Mississippi. We had a great time there, but I forgot to take pics! Oops. This was the only one we got there - when we came in at 6am to get the boys and load them in the car to leave, this is how we found Zach sound asleep. :)
We had a precious time visiting with my aunt and uncle in South Carolina. The kids got to meet their 1st cousins once removed (my cousin's kids) for the first time. 
My 91-year-old grandma (Jen's dad's mom) lives there with my aunt and uncle, so the kids got to spend some sweet time getting to know Nanny. After we got the 1st pic, Nanny said she was trying to hide her missing tooth in the photo. That was when Zach announced that HE wasn't trying to hide his missing tooth, he was trying to show it! So they decided they needed another pic where they showed their matching missing teeth. :)
While in Virginia, we also spent a couple days catching up with some friends who we knew from when we went through training before we left for the Philippines. They now have 2 precious little girls, and our kids had so much fun helping with them.
Mikayla managed to get Sienna to sleep after a long walk. Go, Kayla!
We also spent a week at our headquarters in Virginia at some meetings. We can't really share pictures from that time since most of our friends there work in secure areas, but we did have a very refreshing time, and we all made some new friends.
Mikayla managed to get Sienna to sleep after a long walk. Go, Kayla!
We also spent a week at our headquarters in Virginia at some meetings. We can't really share pictures from that time since most of our friends there work in secure areas, but we did have a very refreshing time, and we all made some new friends.Well, we just got home last night, and we will actually only be home 3 days before we leave on the NEXT road trip (to Nebraska and Kansas). Thanks for your prayers for safety and health during these days of travel and visiting.
Hope you have a great 4th of July celebration!
Some of Steve and my friends from high school were able to come to the party with their little ones, and it was so much fun to see our kids playing with their kids.
Back in the States after almost 4 years!
I asked Ben to watch our carryons while we got stuff off the luggage belt - and this is what I saw when I turned to check on him. :)
Since we arrived back, we have been having a BLAST catching up with old friends and especially spending time with family. Jen, Zach, and Steve have all had birthdays in the few weeks we have been back (pics of Zach's coming soon), and we have gone on vacation with both sets of grandparents for a few days. We actually had a family reunion with Steve's side of the family, and the kids got to meet their cousins for the 1st time!
Some rousing games of mini golf and shuffleboard...
Lots of swimming...
We are so thankful for all the special times we have had with family since we have been back!
