Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Happy Birthday Tooooo Jaden!!!

It seems like only yesterday that we welcomed this adorable little red head into our family.


But today is his fourth birthday!!
Since the day of his birth is drawing to a close, instead of writing any more words, I'll leave you with a select few of the multitude of adorable pictures that we have of him over the years.
Every little smile that you will see is just a reflection of the joy and liveliness that he has brought into our home.
I love you Jaden.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!













Thursday, July 24, 2014

Sonshine Festival

The Sonshine Festival.
An event where, for four days straight... you can fill your ears with as much live music by christian artists as is desired.
The departure date for this greatly anticipated adventure to Willmar, Minnesota came six days ago.



Due to the expensive consequences that would be the result of bringing the entire family, we left four boys at home to have an adventure of their own.

Praying with Dad before departure...

Our means of travel on this seven hour drive was the trusty RV.
There is nothing like being able to snuggle while driving long hours!


Honking the horn as we went under each overpass was the entertainment for a little while...
#itmakesthecoolestsoundever




One of our favourite games to play with the kids while traveling is one we call the "ABC game".
It is as simple as finding letters of the alphabet on signs, buildings, or vehicles in order from A to Z.



Since we were only able to leave close to supper time, we only traveled for a couple of hours before stopping at a Wal-mart for the night.
The next day we completed our journey.

Our days became ones of getting to bed super late (there were movie showings after the evening concerts for two out of the three nights we were there... and they only finished during the early hours of the morning), waking up late (8:30 a.m. yaaaaaa'll!! :), eating breakfast, waiting to eat an early lunch, eating an early lunch and then heading out for a day filled with music.

Below is Ker cooking up some supper.
We came back to the RV for an early supper during the music break, then once again headed out to take in more concerts.





This is the main stage... where we spent much of our time.







Colten Dixon

One of our favourite bands playing was the Newsboys!






That same evening, right after the Newsboys we watched "God's Not Dead" on the big screen. Though we had seen the movie once already, it was still a pretty amazing experience!


That was a bit of our first day....
Here is day two!









There was an area set up just for kids.
The littles of our family visited every day.











Jamie Grace


The big evening concert.... Need To Breathe.





Day three!
The morning of this day, I decided to go for a run down what turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL paved path along fields and trees in Willmar. About five minutes in it began pouring rain, and soon after, I was soaked through, shoes and all.
But I got my run in.
And it was still really beautiful.
And my shoes dried out nicely after about twelve hours. :)

Willmar, MN run; speed training (5k)
Sat, Jul 19, 2014 9:12 AM Central Time (US & Canada) By arrow runner
Summary
Distance:3.10 mi
Time:26:20
Avg Pace:8:30 min/mi
Elevation Gain:38 ft
Calories:362 C
Details
Timing
Time:26:20
Moving Time:26:20
Elapsed Time:26:20
Avg Pace:8:30 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:8:30 min/mi
Best Pace:7:21 min/mi
Speed
Pace
Laps4
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary26:20.43.108:30
18:13.01.008:13
28:33.01.008:33
38:38.31.008:38
4:56.10.109:23
Weather
68°
Feels like 68°
0 mph N wind
Humidity 78%
Source: KBDH



The rain didn't last very long, and so come noon time, we were back at the main stage...

7eventh time down singing "Just say Jesus"

This final day one of our most favourite artists was preforming.... Kari Jobe. It quickly turned into our most favourite moment of the entire trip.
Not only do we love Kari's music, but we also love her heart. She can lead people into the worship of her God like no artist I have seen before.
It was a feeling like no other to be surrounded by and joining in to the harmonies of other believers as we all worshiped together.






And with that final, sweet memory, we left the Sonshine Festival and traveled for a couple hours homeward.







After once again stopping at a Wal-mart for the night, we did some more driving, lots of shopping, lots of eating at Pizza Ranch... and then, home again.



#wetriedtogetagoodsisterselfie



And that was our fun, music filled vacation!