Summer Nevada Storm

Last night we had a storm come through that dumped buckets of rain and hail within minutes! As you can see from the amazing pictures, it was fast and furious...

These amazing sunsets are one of the many reasons we choose to live in the middle of nowhere, Nevadan desert!

Thankfully, our garden seems to still be in o.k. shape! We've been eating lettuce and radishes out of it now for weeks. And, the squash & zucchini are in abundance and ready to be picked! Too bad a veggie-loving gopher got most of our carrots this year :(

Angel Lake

On Saturday we went with my parents and friends to Angel Lake, near Wells NV. This is one of our favorite places to go during the summer! There is still a little bit of snow at the top, which melts into the waterfall and into the icy, cold lake. We enjoyed hanging out for the day and watching the kids as they played in the lake. A few adults did some swimming and fishing... I was happy to just relax and take in the amazing scenery :)

Nice catch, Wesley!

My parents

Casey and Trenton ~ Trenton LOVED the water!

Jerry ~ the fisherman

Katie and Eliese enjoying their turn on the float

Corrie and two of their 4 kids, Seth & Caleb

Trent and his friend, Mr Chipmunk (he was a VERY brave little chipmunk!)

Relaxing by the lake, Casey and I with our tired little boy!

Sharla and Josiah

Taking a little hike... Casey and Trent up ahead. I say "little" because Trent's hikes turn into snail paced nature explorations :) We found lots of pretty wild flowers

Papa and Trenton watching the fish

This week has been spent busily cleaning the house and weeding outside. The kids have enjoyed playing in their backyard pool, eating lunches outside (a "picnic") and visiting our neighbors, Jeff & Dena. They love the sandbox that Dena's lets them play with. Yesterday, I took the kids and Briana to Elko for story/craft time at the library. They also turned in 3 of the 5 book reports/pictures due for the library's reading program. We had lunch at Burger King so that the kids could play in playland then, we got groceries before heading home. I was happy to have saved $60 in coupon and reward savings at Smith's ~ my best savings yet! After our busy days work, it's always nice to sit outside in evenings and watch the sun go down. The kids eat their favorite popsicles before heading inside for baths, reading time and bed. Here is Trent from last night:

Tys has been into playing with his cars, trucks and 4-wheelers lately. He lines them up so they can have races!

Mountains

Late Friday afternoon Casey and I decided to take the kids on a spontaneous trip in the mountains. We went up Hill Top Rd, the backside of Mt Lewis and ended up by Mill Creek (for those of you that know where that is!) It was a beautiful evening out and we enjoyed getting out often to let the kids explore and "look for treasures". We also saw quite a few deer at different times throughout the drive. I guess they were out for their dinner before bedding down for the night...

Somewhere behind Tys is a deer that we spotted; we slowly got out of the car and walked up closer to get a better look.

Katie at our first stop; the kids had fun throwing rocks in the little creek

Another deer

Casey and I

Pieces of an old mine

Question of the day: Is that a rain storm or dust storm headed our way??

waving "hello"! Colorful rock from an old mine is in the background

Trent, taking it easy on daddy's shoulders!

Sunset at Mill Creek (by the way, that is dirt! It never actually came close to us and made for some interesting, pretty scenery. That's Nevada for 'ya!)

Swimming Party

On Thursday evening our church had a bbq in the park and it's yearly swimming party at our local pool. It's awesome having the pool all to ourselves! Katie has been doing so well swimming by herself this year (with floaties) and Trent LOVES the water! Tys is a little more cautious about it but gets in and likes to swim around. That night the kiddie pool wasn't working so the kids all swam in the "BIG pool", with adults to help them. Katie taking a little break

Casey and Trenton

Little Josiah

Ken and Tys having a grand time!!

VBS

After last week's craziness, I am now back in the blogging world and ready to post some pictures of our fun week! Vacation Bible School was a big hit in our community and we averaged 60 kids a day. There were puppet shows, lots of singing and verse memorization, crafts, games, snacks and lots of fun! I was one of 4 craft teachers and enjoyed seeing the creative side of these awesome kids.... On Thursday, the kids got to paint flower pots. Katie had fun painting hers all sorts of different colors! They then planted sunflower seeds in them on Friday.

At the beginning and end of each day the kids and teachers filled the church's sanctuary to sing songs... it got REALLY loud at times! There's my dad with his junior class....

The fun puppet show

Katie ~ recuperating from a fun-filled, busy day!

On Wednesday afternoon we got to go to Katie's friend, Taylor's birthday party. It was a party fit for a Princess!

Flying Kites

Monday ~ Back to the grind of another work week... Keeping ourselves and our minds busy is the goal. Casey went back to work and our church's week-long VBS began! I helped out a little bit before having to go to the hospital for more blood work. Katie is truly enjoying VBS this year and was already singing new songs during the car ride home. In the afternoon, the kids and I took long naps than, enjoyed the evening flying kites with their daddy... The wind was just perfect to watch Buzz Lightyear and Dora soar through the skies!

Katie did a great job at flying her kite and "not letting go!" She's dressing herself these days :) I couldn't imagine wearing a sweater in this hot, hot weather but, she did!

Tys watching Buzz fly to "infinity and beyond"

Trent spent his evening eating his yummy ice cream and playing in the pool (he needed to play in the pool to wash all that ice cream off!)

For today's VBS we had a total of 64 kids! Crafts went well (my area, along with 3 other girlfriends) and the time just flew by. It's so awesome to hear all of the kids sing songs and recite their verses together.

Sometimes things happen in your life that make you love your precious children even more. We are saddened to say that I had a miscarriage over the weekend and am no longer pregnant. We are disappointed but doing ok. Casey and I both believe in God's perfect will for our lives and trust in His goodness. I am now recovering and taking it easy these next few days... My experience in the hospital on Friday night/Saturday morning was one that I shall never forget. It makes us believe even more in "life at conception" and how truly each baby is a miracle!
We hold each of our children a little tighter now and cherish them even more and, wonder what our unborn baby would have been like.
A huge thankyou to our friends and family who have been there to help us, we love you guys!