Happy GOLDEN Birthday to Levi September 6th!

Walking back to our hotel around midnight...tired, but happy!

WAY past bedtime on the boat!

Deep in thought....

Skipping Rocks...one of our favorite things to do on the North Shore!

Opening cards & gifts on the way!

It was Levi's GOLDEN Birthday on the 6th of this month & we went to Duluth to spend the day! Faith was already there for a Youth Retreat & so we thought, "What better place to spend such a special day?!"....so we woke up early Sunday morning & headed up north! We had a wonderful day of fellowship with friends, skipping rocks, eating, playing, snuggling & to top the night off...we went on a Ferry Ride on Lake Superior from 9:30-11:30 pm with the Youth Group. It was a perfect day!

Ramsey Happy Days was indeed a Happy Day:-)!!!

Levi's favorite...the fire trucks!

Eager for the parade to start!

Our precious 5 ready to run!

The Coons' Auntie stretching with the kiddos before their run!

Coletyn

Coletyn sprinting to the end! (he's hard to see but is in the middle of the picture)

Faith

Faith on the homestretch!

Darin & his kids

Good Friends make for Happy Days:-)!

Today we participated in some of the Ramsey Happy Days Events! Faith & Coletyn ran the 5K & did great with Faith taking 2nd in her age category(29 & Under) & Coletyn just a couple of seconds from placing(his time was 20 minutes which was great!)! Trey, Lucas & Levi ran the Kids Fun Run with Lucas coming in 2nd & Trey 3rd & we are unsure of Levi as he came in with a pack! The Coons chillins did great also & placed as well. All of the participants received t-shirts & the kids received medals which they were quite excited about! Thank you to Darin & April for sharing such a fun morning with us:-)! This afternoon we went to the parade which was fun! I think we all agreed our favorite float was one that was decorated very patriotically & carried war veterans & several American Flags. "God Bless the USA" was playing & my children & I stood as it passed. It was very moving to all of us & I realized the older I become, the more I value & am thankful for all of the freedoms we still have, including being able to worship our Lord Jesus!

Ewing Potato Farm Field Trip

This past Wednesday our Trott Brook Homeschool Group went to Ewing Farm outside of Big Lake. My sister Rebecca is married to Willie Ewing. It was fun to go watch the going ons of a Potato Farm:-)! Here are some pictures of our clan(with Grandma Jenny who came with us), April & her chillins & Willie's brother, Pete, who was our tour guide!

15 Years Without Stitches & We Are Now Officially Broken In!

This last few months has been trying for our family, but we can see the humor in some of the incidents now that some of the trauma & excitement are over;-)! Like our oldest child & youngest child getting stitches within just a couple of weeks of each other after being a stitch-free household for 15 years!

Our Little Girl is 15!!!!

We can hardly believe Faith turned 15 on Sunday! It seems just like yesterday that she was trying to flush our kitten Scotty down the toilet, doing Daddy's hair up "all pretty", collecting every ball possible & trying every sport(the Lord knew she was going to have 4 brothers & was preparing her:-)), playing school with her dolls & stuffed animals, dressing her brothers in dresses & jewelry.... & many more precious memories! She has filled our lives with so much joy! We are extremely blessed to have her as our daughter & look forward to many more memories!

The End & The Beginning!

Today we ended our 2008-2009 School Year with Individual Achievement Tests. Faith & Trey did the CAT & Coletyn & Lucas did the Peabody with Jonathan Friesen....who also happens to be a published author! We just purchased his book off of Amazon & he signed it for us while he was here (which our chillins were quite excited about)!

http://www.amazon.com/Jerk-California-Jonathan-Friesen/dp/0142412031

This also marks the official beginning to our Summer Vacation & what a fun summer we have planned!!!