Arizona Cousins

 Our Arizona Cousins came to stay with us for 10 days over the Fourth of July.  Of course it was so much fun as several of the kids line up in age.  They connected really well and spent so much time together.  Kaylee and Aria were two peas in a pod.  Dawson & Kipton, different in height, but their brains were on the same wavelength all week.  Kamden, Nathan and Owen were a great team.  And little Alina went from group to group, and got her ride on Uncle Nate's tractor.  Nick and Carissa were fun to have around and spend time with.  What a great visit, and great memories. 

Lake house tubing with cousins

Simplx 80's "We Are Family!"

 We had an office Simplx event with an 80's day theme "We are Family."  Everyone dressed up in 80's attire, complete with fanny packs and candy cigarrettes.  We played some fun 80's music, did some games, learned some technical wiring and come together as a team.  Then we piled in the big van and went to Jalopeno's for lunch.  It was great bonding time with the office team. 

Fort Wayne Children's Zoo

 We spent some fun times at the zoo.  We went one day with some Simplx friends, Christian & Greg with their kids.  We also tried out the new ropes course that the zoo offers.  This was definitely a hit.  All the kids loved it. 

Cub Scouts Bottle Rockets

 The Cub Scouts have an annual bottle rocket day in the summer.  The kids bring a 2 liter bottle and create a rocket, fill it with water, and then launch it with a launching machine.  Of course we always have a good time at this event!!

Boy Scout Summer Camp

 Dawson attended Camp Chief Little Turtle for Boy Scout Summer Camp for the first time this year.  He absolutely loved it.  He thrives within his Boy Scout community and is so happy being outdoors.  We were able to go up to see him on "Family Night" and have dessert with him.  Here are some photos of our time with Dawson.  

 

The Scouts made this by the end of the week.  This is the drawing they went off of.  I didn't get a pic of the final product. 

All kinds of cobblers being cooked in cast iron skillets with hot coal.

Cobbler

Dawson & Lucas

Dawson & Jeremiah, tentmates

Dawson & Elliott

Garrett Bands Trip to Disney

 Jaxton and the Garrett Band were able to go to Disneyworld as a group, and Nate & I went with them!!  What an amazing opportunity for the Garrett Band.  They'd never done a trip like this in Garrett Band history, and Mr. Hettinger was able to provide this memorable event for the kids.  We flew out of Indianapolis at midnight, arriving in Orlando around 6am and entering the park by 8am.  Crazy night!  

We each got tickets to all four Disney parks:  Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios & Epcot. Jax was off with his buddies most of the time.  His teacher Cody knows Disney inside and out, and helped us get the best ride passes, fast passes etc. We didn't have to wait in many lines.  It was a lot of fun to get to know the Garrett families and the Garrett band kids.  All of them are such good kids.  And it was a lot of fun to spend time with Jax.  Nate and I celebrated our 20 years at Disneyworld, so we enjoyed Epcot, drinking around the world.  All in all, it was so much fun!