Summer Fun & Other Random Updates

Now that the weather is finally cooperating, (meaning it is finally over 70 degrees) the girls have been working almost every day at the lakes.  (Unfortunately, it's like it immediately went from 70 degrees to 100 degrees overnight!)  In any case, after working two full weeks at the lakes and also manning a concert in the park, they somehow both found themselves with a day off this past Tuesday.  They decided to drive up and spend the day together at the zoo.  I didn't go with them, but Marissa sent me a couple of pictures that she had taken and it looks like they had a fun day together.  Unfortunately, due to the heat advisory, the zoo actually closed early and a lot of the animals were put inside.  

A little heat and sun doesn't keep these two inside... LOL

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On Wednesday morning, the Warsaw Parks Department hosted the first Wipe-Out event of the summer.  Both of the girls were lifeguarding all day on Wednesday and they asked Nolan if he was planning to come.  Since Nolan's cousins are in town for two weeks, we all decided to meet up for a picnic lunch and let the kids play for a couple of hours.  

The line was pretty long and slow moving, so Nolan did the event one time and then decided that he would just rather swim in the lake, but Elizabeth and Eleanor were able to do it several times and they really had a fun time.

He was getting ready to run across for his first try but he said that he had to stop and say 'hi' to Morgan first as she was guarding right behind the course.

We still stayed at the lake for almost three hours and all of us got plenty of sun, especially the lifeguards.  Once the event was closed, some of the guards used their safety break and took turns running through the course and taking a few minutes to cool off themselves before returning to guard from the pier.

Marissa was still guarding from the board as two of the guards ran the course.

Then she returned to the pier and Morgan helped pull a few more boards and supplies from the water.

Since we had already stayed for over three hours, we waited just long enough for the girls to walk by us and then we quickly told them good-bye and headed back home.

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Nolan started (and finished) the Maze Runner in two days.  He is really enjoying finding books from his sister's bookshelves and it's sure nice watching him just sit and read for hours at a time.

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We've had some pretty incredible sunsets once again all week.

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Noel and I worked on weeding....again.

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On Saturday, I woke up and drove to a location where I would be taking pictures for a friend's extended family who are all visiting from out of state.  We also had another open house to go to - this one for Annie.  And then we came back and went to a "prayer walk / home dedication" in the evening for a couple in our church who recently moved into their new house.   Their home is beautiful and I know that they will use it to bless many others who will be invited to stay / and play in it.

Melayna was sad that she would be gone and would miss Annie's open house, but I found this fun picture on Annie's photo board so I took a picture of it so Melayna could see it later.

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Our county fair starts next weekend so in order to keep the fireworks from interfering with all of the animals, our city decided to host the fireworks on Saturday the 28th instead.  Because of the other things on our agenda on Saturday, we didn't make it down to the lake to meet up with anyone for games and fellowship ahead of time like we normally like to, but we did make it down about 20 minutes before the fireworks started and that's where we ended our day.

Morgan and Marissa had met up with two of their friends earlier in the evening as soon as they had gotten home from work and they had found a nice spot to sit right near the lake.  Nolan noticed them as we were coming down the hill so we stopped to say 'hi' to them and to talk about their day a bit.  Of course he wanted to stay with them, but we went off to find another place to sit where it wouldn't feel like we were right there watching over them.  

We still had a great view and enjoyed the fireworks together as the three of us.

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Our nephew Zach also graduated from high school this year so his family hosted an open house for him while they are here in Indiana.  We met over at Gramie C's house on Sunday to spend the day there celebrating him.  I didn't take any pictures, but we had a nice time visiting with family and friends.

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On Monday the 30th, I marked quite a few things off of my to-do list during the day while Morgan worked at the lake.  Noel was working at a house near-by for his work and Marissa started her next two online summer courses before meeting a friend for lunch.  We also received a few updates from the youth team through-out the day as they spent Monday flying back home from Budapest to Dublin and then Dublin to Chicago and we were finally reunited with Melayna around midnight on Monday night.  She was tired but smiling ear to ear.  I'm sure that she will have a lot of stories and pictures to share from her days overseas and I'm thankful once again for this amazing opportunity that she was blessed to have.  

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Here is one of the pictures that we received while she was gone.  She's loving on the kids so that's definitely where she thrives.

Day at the Dunes 2024

 We went to the Warren Dunes on Saturday.  And from the long line waiting to get into the park, we apparently weren't the only ones who thought that it was a great day to go to the lake.  Wow!  I have never seen the parking lots so full and so many people and dogs at the beach.  Despite the large crowds, we still managed to find a spot on the beach where we could soak up the sun, cool down in the freezing cold water and enjoy a great day all together before the summer quickly comes to an end.

It's like Nolan is walking through the "calm before the storm".  Once we got past that clear spot, there were just people everywhere!!

It didn't really matter how busy it was on the sand though since none of us planned to just sit anyway.  Noel and I went for a walk along the beach while the kids immediately went to the water.  When we came back from our walk, we found them having chicken fights, having swimming races in the water, and seeing how many people they could "stack" into a tower.  I just sat on the sand near the water and listened to them laughing as they were having so much fun and just enjoying the time there all together.

Nolan and Melayna got cold so they came back to the sand to warm up and to build some castles.  Eventually, Noel joined them.

And then the others came up to the sand to take turns burying each other.

'Had to make sure that we climbed the dunes at least once and then we took some fun pictures at the end before heading home at the end of a long fun day in the sun.