A little family time

Before our next round of visitors came, we had a day to ourselves--just the five of us--and it was wonderful! It was quite chilly and the water was even cooler since it had been chilly for several days, so we opted for a fishing excursion.

This is how the boys prepare....

..while Sadie sits with Matt and asks him every question she can think of while he gets all the poles ready.

Matt showing Wyatt how to start the motor and how to steer it

...Wyatt taking the reigns

Watching Matt put the leeches on the hook was quite interesting to Blake

As I have said in the past, Stormy Lake isn't exactly a fishing lake. But we saw that as a great challenge and learning opportunity for the kids (the only reason I did it because I have a strong dislike for fishing--I get bored too quickly!). And we did wait...and wait...and wait....and then Sadie's pole got a nibble...and the boys quickly grabbed the net while Matt helped Sadie reel it in.

There it is--the first fish caught on our first family fishing outing on the lake. The kids were pretty grossed out by the blood, which is pretty normal I suppose.

But then there is Sadie who likes to play with the leeches....this isn't a great pic of Sadie but notice the leech hanging off her thumb? She likes to hold the leeches and let them suck on her fingers (not long enough to draw blood, of course)....have I mentioned the maternal instinct this precious girl has?!

I love this picture---my four favorite people in the world on a gorgeous lake (check out the color of the water) on a beautiful blue-sky day! (no filters or editing to this pic--aMaZiNg right?!)

This is Blake's signature pose for pictures these days....usually with a peace sign or a hand gesture similar to this one!

Cheesy? Maybe--but I love the pictures of reflections in sunglasses

After lunch, Matt and the kids decided to do some fishing off the dock and miraculously caught this bass---which we believe must be the largest one in the entire lake! Wyatt and the Statema boys spent so much time trying to catch something--anything--off the dock, so Wyatt was ecstatic when they caught this one! (life lessons to be learned: perseverance, patience, and being quiet so as not to scare those fish! Thankful Matt is willing to teach them these things because I clearly haven't mastered them yet!)

(Disclaimer: out of focus)

The kids loved looking inside the fish's mouth and seeing all the parts of the fish

It was a wonderful day that gave us a chance to regroup before the Sullivans arrived---and we were so ready for them to come--especially Sadie who had been waiting for her friend to come after a summer of lots of boys!

Twas the night before school started....

This is it....the end of summer. School starts tomorrow and for possibly the first time all summer, the kids were all showered/bathed and in bed by 8pm. Backpacks are already and clothes are laid out and everyone is anxiously awaiting the first day. But this year is a bit different for a few reasons......

First of all, we had an AMAZING summer. We spent much of it at Stormy Lake, which made the summer go by way too fast, as we always say that time flies at Stormy. As we drove home today from our last summer weekend up there, Matt had us recount all the things each person accomplished this summer and after we listed each person's achievements, we all clapped and congratulated them. (These are all things they had never done before this summer)

Blake--wakeboarded off the boom on the boat, tubed behind the boat, fished, swam on his own in deep water, jumped off the boat to join in a swimming party
Sadie--tubed, skied off the short rope, skied behind the boat and went outside the wake on BOTH sides, double skied with Mom and crossed under the rope, biked all the way around the lake (6 hilly miles), biked to Grammy and Papa's cabin
Wyatt--slalom skied behind the boat, wakeboarded off the short rope, attempted barefooting off the boom, double skied with Matt crossing under the rope, skied and biked around the lake twice all in one day, drove the boat, pulled the boat up to the dock, caught a fish off the dock (biggest one we've seen come out of Stormy), kayaked to Grammy and Papa's on his own, biked to their place on his own
Mom--operated the boat completely independent of Matt while he was gone for a week, improved slalom cuts, learned how to drive Matt while he was barefooting
Dad--consistently barefooted--staying up for long runs, wake-crossed barefooting, one-foot barefooted off the short rope

It was fun to see the look on each kid's face as their entire family praised them for their accomplishments and acknowledged the challenges that they each overcame. And we were able to teach the kids that it isn't about beating someone else or doing something no one else can do, but challenging ourselves to do something that is either difficult or that we are afraid to do. We made so many great memories with family and friends this summer, as well as time spent with each other in a beautiful place! But we also had a great summer here in Woodbury--Wyatt's baseball, Twins game, doughnut runs (more about that later), bike rides, fun at the pool, time spent with friends, Farm Camp, hockey camp, VBS......we did a lot and truly soaked up just about every moment of the summer.

But we are also ready for a routine--ready to get back into a nice rhythm of school, activities, church involvement, working out, etc. But this will be a different year yet again as Sadie is now in 1st grade and will be in school all-day, every day. That leaves just Blake and I together all day! He may be quite bored:)

Tomorrow also marks the beginning of the kids' year at a new school. When we made the decision last year to send them to New Life, it was definitely out of faith. We had prayed fervently that if the Lord wanted them there, that they would both get in and if He didn't, that they wouldn't get in. When we got the letter than they both got in, Matt and I had mixed feelings (which neither of us were expecting). But we took the step in faith and are trusting the Lord in this decision. We met both of the kids' teachers last week and I am thrilled with who they each got (I observed the classes last spring so I saw them in action). We also went to the class picnics last week for each of their classes and met several families that we knew but didn't realize they went to New Life and the kids both know a few kids in their classes already. When they went to bed tonight, both Wyatt and Sadie were excited for school to start and to go to New Life. Oddly enough I seem to be the one with a few butterflies---I have had three dreams over the past week that we either overslept or I messed up the kids' uniforms and they got sent home or forgot to pack a lunch, etc. I didn't realize I had any emotions other than excitement, but I guess I do!! I am praying that more than anything, both Wyatt and Sadie are able to make some good friends. But it will take some time, so I am going to have to be patient.

Tomorrow morning will come quickly and I will be sending off a 3rd grader and a 1st grader---time really does go so quickly but I feel like I am finally at a place where I am truly enjoying these times and soaking up the fun we are able to have together. I'm off to bed and will attempt to post first day of school pics soon---once I get caught up on the last month and a half of our summer!!

Final goodbye for (hopefully) awhile

Wouldn't you know, it finally warmed up on the Statemas last day at Stormy...better late than never!

Julie displayed her mad skills...

And the kids egged them on to do some double skiing....It's always fun to see kids' reactions when they see their parents do something they didn't know they could do!

They even did some cross-over/unders!

Sadie and I double skiing

Hanging on to the last few moments

Love these pictures of these great boys!

And the whole crew!

Another of Julie and I

Just the guys...

We are seriously missing these guys already and it's only been a month. We have been so blessed by their family and their friendship and cherish the friendships we share with both Jamie (Matt) and Julie (myself). But we are thankful for the work they are doing in bringing God's Word into the hearts and minds of kids--and we are already planning on getting together next month when they are back in town for some publicity stuff, so hopefully it will ease us into life without them here. But we are planning a trip to Nashville and can't wait to explore the city with them! AND they are planning their annual summer vacation up at Stormy so we will definitely be counting on that!

Start your engines....

These boys had been looking forward to Kartway all week and were definitely in race mode even before we left.......

There is always some injustice, right? And these boys were quick to point it out...

Such great buddies--Wyatt saw these guys every monday night when they all went to BSF with their dads and boy is Wyatt going to miss them!

All set and ready to race!

Blake and Kaden and Sadie got to have their own little ride on the bumper boats....

..and the big boys got to have the slick track all to themselves

Poor Sades wasn't tall enough this year...but she was a great sport about it!

The boys on the slick track....

And Wyatt gave me his saddest face, showing his same disappointment with not being tall enough for the Oval Track--the REALLY fast go karts. (Honestly I was thankful because those cars go crazy fast--another year of waiting won't hurt anyone!)

One of the only pics of Julie and I--such a great friend who I am going to miss terribly!

Our attempt to get a good picture of Blake and Kaden was fouled many times...

..photobomber..

..silly boys...

There we go!!

Oh man, love these guys! Such a great family and Nashville will be blessed immensely by having them

These two were in the same BSF group this year and became great friends!

They wanted to spell out "GO" with their arms!