Playdates in PA!

Some close friends of ours, Brian and Becky Pinzer, moved to Pennsylvania shortly after we did. Brian got a job at Lancaster Bible College and he and Shane are working together. They are living only about 5 minutes away from us. They have two kids who are very close in age to our kids. It is such a blessing to have these good friends living near us. Wiley loves playing with their son, Samuel, and it is nice for Evie to have a play mate too in their daughter, Claire. We are so thankful that God brought them here and that we can have this precious friendship! We try to have playdates every week. Here are a few photos from a "pool playdate" we had recently! We are enjoying every moment we get to spend with these precious friends!

(One other HUGE blessing is that Brian and Becky are sweet enough to offer to babysit for us from time to time so we can have date nights! We enjoyed a nice night out to celebrate our 11 year anniversary, our first date in 4 months! We are planning to swap off with them from time to time so we can all have some much needed time alone with our spouses. What a blessing!)

May was Wedding Month - Part 2

The second wedding in May we were blessed to be a part of was Lydia's younger sister's wedding. They were married on May 23. Shane officiated, Lydia was a Matron of Honor, Wiley was a Ring Bearer, and Evie was the Flower Girl. It was a wonderful day and we were so thankful to all be a part of it!

The 3rd picture from the end is of Wiley, he decided to give an impromptu speech during the reception! It was too funny!

May was Wedding Month - Part 1

In May we traveled from PA back to SC for 2 weeks. While there we participated in two special weddings. First, friends of ours Dawn Rosado and Mike King were married. Dawn is from the first youth group Shane ever youth pastored. We've kept close to her over the years and were overjoyed to be a part of her's and Mike's special day. Shane officiated the wedding and Wiley was their ring bearer. Both guys did a fabulous job (and looked really handsome too i must say!)

Wiley was too

cute when he pointed at the bride as she walked down the

aisle!

Benton Family Visit

Towards the end of July, Lydia's parents came for a visit followed by her sister, Katie and her new husband, Brendon. It was such a joy spending time with them and getting to show them around Lancaster. We did a lot in the time they were here and had a blast!

One really fun thing we did was go to the Hershey Factory in Hershey, PA. We got to learn all about how the Hershey company got started. The kids loved the "Hershey Factory Ride" the best.

The other really neat thing we did was to eat

dinner at an Amish family's home. It was a really neat experience. There were a few other families there as well and the lady and her daughter served us dinner at their kitchen table. It was a neat experience to meet them and get to learn a bit more about their religion and culture. After dinner, she and 3 of he

r daughters sang some beautiful songs for us in German and in English. The food was DELICIOUS and probably the closest thing we have had to good ole' southern cookin' since we've moved up here :) It was a great time together and we were so thankful our family could come and visit and see where we live now. Here's a few photos my sister took from our time together.

Getting ready to go on the Hershey Factory "Ride"

Evie really liked the ride, especially the singing cows :)

This is at the Amish family's home where we ate dinner. Beautiful garden!

Random Photos of Cuteness in July

4th of July, Cookout, and Sparklers

Our family enjoyed a nice 4th of July this year. My Uncle and cousins had been in town for a conference so we got to spend the holiday with them. The kids had a blast playing together and us adults really enjoyed getting to visit with one another. Wiley and Evie loved the sparklers especially!

Fun at Camp Willow Run

Our family had a blast as always at Camp Willow Run in Littleton, NC, the first week of July. Shane was invited to come again this summer and speak for their high school week to the campers. It is always a real treat and joy to visit Camp Willow Run and get to see everyone who works there. It is a joy for Shane to get to preach again and work with students, as he doesn't get many opportunities for that anymore. And, of course, it is a REAL treat to get to spend the week together as a family! The kids had a blast and were a big hit with all the campers! Here's a few photos of our week. (I had to include these top ones of Evie. She had her hair in pigtails that day and it looked so cute when I took the pigtails out - she reminded me of the "Mad Hatter"! Jonathan, I thought you especially would like these :) And Katie, we missed you like crazy this year!!!!!)

Words With Wiley

* "Away, away, away in Sou-fen Dixie! Did I sing that right Mama?" (Southern Dixie)

* Wiley - "What do pigs eat?"

Us - "Slop, which is the leftover food people don't eat."

Wiley - "I wish I had a pig. Then it could eat my salad so I won't have to."

So lately, Wiley's cute Wiley-isms are coming from the fact that he can't quite remember words and names of things correctly when he's playing. It makes for some pretty adorable goofs:

* Wiley's Pirate impersonation: "Aarr, me Artie!" (Instead of Me Matey)

* "Harcey Two Pick" (Harvey Two Face, villain from Batman)

* "Mad Hatarin" (Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland)

* "Air-Pin" (Apron)

* "Would you like a re-frill?" (Refill)

* "Daddy, I just Bible-tized my guy" (Baptised)

* While discussing a wedding he was recently in, he asked, "Why did I have to wear a tux-scooto?" (tuxedo)