Congratulations Darrel & Karen

Last week we had the good fortune to attend the wedding ceremony of Doug's brother Darrel and new sister-in-law Karen. It was a beautiful ceremony for a wonderful couple.

Here they are exchanging their vows surrounded by their children and parents.

Mati's First Race

Mati entered her first race today; one I hope becomes the first of many. Judging from how excited she got at the end of the race when everyone was cheering for her, I think she liked it! It was just too sweet... many older kids stayed behind after their race to high-five the littlest kids as they crossed the finish, it was precious.

Before the race, in the stands. The waiting is the hardest part.


At the start... she's over there with Doug somewhere.


At the finish, hurray for Mati!


Getting her medal.


Walking back with dad after the race.


Our family... Mati wouldn't look, she wanted to watch the other kids.


The video of her crossing the finish line:

Happy Birthday Taylor!

We got to celebrate Taylor's 1st birthday on the lake. What a great time we had! It was nice to see family and Mati enjoyed the sand, sun, and water.

Mati lounging lakeside:


Mati floating in the lake; she did not want to leave the water!


The birthday girl and her cake!


All of the grandkids...

Pool Time Part 2 - The Video

A video of Mati splashing around in her pool.

Pool Time

The hot weather has provided the perfect occasion for Mati's new pool. Here she is enjoying the water...

Getting ready to head out; can you believe my baby's hair is long enough for a pony tail?


Washing the inflatable dinosaurs:


Kicking around:

Tire Swing

Grandpa Armock installed a new tire swing in the backyard and it was quite the hit. Here are a couple swinging videos:

Aly's Fun Birthday Party!

Cousin Aly turned one and she had a super party! Aunt Jen worked her butt off to put together a sensational "garden" themed party. Here are some of the highlights:

The super-duper cake that Jen and I co-decorated. It was fun and turned out cute I think. It tasted great too! Jen did the work of baking and crumb-coating the cake ahead of time, then we met up Friday night to decorate.


The buffet, all garden themed, adorably labeled, and delicious!


All of the kids got to make a bug jar and then go on a "bug hunt" for plastic bugs and gummy bugs. Mati loved it!




Our family! We need to get a good one with Mati smiling. She's so on-the-go when you pick her up for a picture she gets annoyed.


The popular recreation item of the night, the new tire swing!


Here she is! The birthday girl diving into her cake!