Gull Lake Ministries!!

We returned from our family vacation at Gull Lake Ministries in Michigan.  It was a great week and we spent it with 18 others from our church including several teens in the youth ministry.  We also used the week for our church summer camp.  So I was on double duty as youth leader and dad. 

Our speaker for the week was Jeff Manion from Ada Bible Church.  He shared with us  from Ephesians and was a great teacher.

Some of the highlights were going on the zip line w/ Nolan, the rock wall with Alex and swimming w/ all the kids.  Emma enjoyed hanging out with the "big" girls this week. 

A few pics from the trip are below:

Trip North

I had the day off work so we made a quick trip north to IKEA to pick up a few things for the office. 

We took the kids with us so we stopped for lunch at Rainforest Cafe and made a stop by the LEGO store too.  A fun day.  This was a great family weekend.  Relaxing and time to just enjoy each other.

Alex is trying to wake this guy up!

The Fourth

Just hung out as a family today after church.  Not a whole lot going on.  Grilled up some chicken and went to Wolcott to watch the fireworks.  A fun day together.

Backyard Campout

The boys and I camped out in the back yard.  It wasn't the best nights sleep ever but it was fun for use to do together.  It's one of the things summer's about I think.  Nolan probably got the most sleep of the three of us. 

Swim Team Conference Meet

The Conference finals were held Saturday in Crawfordsville and the 2010 swim season is officially over!  Whew!  Now summer can start! 

Alex and Emma were both fortunate enough to be invited to swim for the Rensselaer team.  Just because you are on the team doesn't mean you'll be swimming at the conference meet.  Nolan, for instance, didn't swim.

Emma swam in five events.  She got first in both the medley and free style relays for 8 and under.  I think she got first in the backstroke too.  It was a very close finish.  According to the timing board, she finished first but that wasn't the official result and sometimes the swimmers don't hit the pad hard enough to record the time right away.  Regardless, it was very good b/c it's difficult to get first at conference in an individual event.  Emma also got second in 50-yard free and 4th in the breaststroke.

Alex did very well also, he got 2nd in the 11-12 age boys medley relay and 4th in breaststroke.

Emma - 8 and Under

Event	Time	Place
100-yd Medley Relay	1:32.21	1st
50-yd Free	44.55	2nd
25-yd Backstroke	21.75	2nd
25-yd Breast stroke	27.62	4th
100-yd Free Relay	1:19.28	1st

Alex - age 11-12

Event	Time	Place
200-yd Medley Relay	2:27.21	2nd
50-yd Breast stroke	43.53	4th

Over all, Rensselaer got 2nd in the Meet.  It's great for the kids to be involved in but it's nice when it's over!

Edit:  Emma ended up in 2nd place in the backstroke.  1/10th of a second behind the first place finisher.

The G6 Families

You may wonder who comprises the G6.  Well, it's a group of six of us that met in college and have remained friends over the years.  We have two common bonds: Illini basketball and Jesus Christ.  All of us have a solid relationship with our Heavenly Father which carries over to our tight friendship.  I am blessed to have these five men as my friends.

Aaron, Kara, Caleb, Carter (and Cooper - not pictured)


Bart, Janell, Carson, Quinn, Kade, Cole (and Jada - napping)

Doug, Kary, Alexa and Brayden

Eric, Gina, Ethan, Kara and Ty


Scott, Shayna and Jace
Phil, Heather, Alex, Emma and Nolan

G6 2010 Family Day

Every year, the six of us try to get our families together for a day of relaxing.  This year, all six families were able to attend the annual event.  It was a special day.  It started off w/ a 4-mile race at Steamboat in Peoria, which I was not able to attend.  Lunch at Bart's followed along w/ his famous "Bartburgers."  Well, famous to us anyway.  The afternoon was spent catching rays by the pool.  The evening included a couples only date night at Johnny's restaurant in Peoria followed by ice cream at Cold Stone. 

We had a great time catching up, although we talk regularly via email, reminiscing and enjoying each others' company.  It was a day that ended too soon.