Sweet Summertime

It was refreshing to be in familiar territory this summer and to enjoy the company of those we know and who know us well.

Cousins became a little more like siblings.

And little friends picked up where they left off.

We got in on a lot of beautiful moments.... watching our little niece Mercy take her first steps, celebrating her 1st and Emma's 3rd birthdays, watching our niece Livie take off on her bike for the first time without training wheels, celebrating the marriage of Jenna and Brad (one of Traever's cousins), and many more less monumental moments that were just as happy... roasting marshmallows on the back porch, the girls growing caterpillars and setting their butterflies free, watching the kids ride horses, swim in the lake, jump on the tramp, catch fire flies, dance, run through the rain, have their first sleepover with cousins, soak up time with grandparents, aunts and uncles, trips to Indiana to visit family and friends, a family trip to St. Louis, hearing Traever preach some of his first sermons, and a sprinkling of restful evenings in between.

Life at the Herman's

This summer there was a lot of talk of ponies as well as a daily pony/unicorn race through the house.

Mercy's first birthday.

The amazingly talented Chad, who can drive a mower while holding a baby and 2 toddlers and dodge 2 little ones who are learning to ride bikes. I think this is a good illustration of what we experienced this summer :)

Listening to Mamaw read stories.

Having some fun with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma after a picnic in the park.

Spending some time with the Guingrich clan.

Stopping to visit great friends as we traveled 

Fourth of July Fun

Horse back riding at the Goose Ranch.

and the 4th of July picnic getting rained out.... hahaha Thatch's face.

Neukomm family weekend get-a-way to St. Louis.

St. Louis Zoo

Petting goats and sting rays. There were some pretty cool animals I just failed to take pictures.

The girls on their first carousel ride.

The Magic House in St. Louis was the coolest children's museum and most interactive play place I had ever seen. 

 Posse weekend at Norris.

  

Safety first.

It was such a fun weekend but poor Thatch was ill so if he wasn't sleeping in his pack and play he looked about like this.

Back to the west coast

 The last few weeks flew by as Traever wrapped up his internship which totaled to about 550 hours of teaching, preaching, study/preparation, and discipleship. A huge thanks to Bethany Baptist Church and the entire staff there; they have blessed our lives immeasurably! Traever put a lot of time in but always came home smiling; he really enjoyed the work that he got to do this summer. Here is a link to the place where he was teaching: http://www.peoriagospelinstitute.org/#/welcome and his bio: http://www.peoriagospelinstitute.org/#/about-us/staff . We got in our last play dates and suppers, got our personal home in Morton ready to rent, sold and bought a different van, and prepared for the long haul ahead. 

One last picture before good byes. How I miss my sister.

California bound.

We looked back to find Rem like this.

Some great friends of ours who had just moved to Denver were sweet enough to keep us one night as we traveled back. It was really good to catch up with them and I think our kids had a pretty good time too.

The drive was gorgeous and once again Traever drove the entire distance while I took care of the kiddos and read him a couple of books. The kids did amazing; they really are the best travelers! As we were nearing Las Vegas Adalai looked up and said "I call this land...Light Land" to which we chuckled and then appropriately told her it's other nickname. I'm pretty sure she's terrified of the place now. We made it back to our California home in the wee hours the trip totaling something just over 40 hours.