Monday adventures

We have had a very busy (and fun!) summer so far. I just got back from a 7 day cruise to Alaska with my best buddy, Katie, and her mom. John stayed home with the girls so that I could go on a "once in a lifetime" trip. This trip deserves a post of its own. Hope to do that soon! All 3 of my cuties got the flu while I was gone. :-( John did a great job and he truly is one amazing daddy. It was hard to hear they were sick but there was little I could do from the ship ... so I just prayed, prayed, prayed and they did get better. I spent a whole day after I got home sanitizing and cleaning our home so that the germs could be gone. Somehow they still managed to find their way into my body and I got the same 24 hour flu too!
We are doing quite a bit of traveling this summer so we only get a few weeks at home until the next trip. Again, it is me leaving. I have Air National Guard duty (taking a class) down in Salem, Oregon for a week. Thankfully, John and Johanna will join me for the first few days! One of the benefits of being a MSgt and getting my own room. :-) It is so hard to believe I have almost 15 years in the Air Force. I will reenlist for another 6 years in September... which will bring me to 20!
Johanna is going to turn 1 next week!! I have no idea how that happened. She is a beautiful baby and such a joy and blessing to our family. We are planning her celebration and excited for an outside party since she has a summer birthday.
Mondays are our family days. We usually go on some adventure... there is so much to explore here in the Pacific Northwest. The slide show that follows is from our adventure today. We went to a park on Puget Sound and enjoyed a picnic lunch, playtime at the park, time on the beach and we found 3 geocaches. FUN. We love these times together as a family. Enjoy!

Our Summer Adventures

It seems crazy that it is already October 1! Our summer was full of adventures - so, to catch you up on us and our life, we thought you would highlight the last few months of summer. Enjoy!

Nichole contracted the HINI virus while deployed in Tennessee in July. This picture was taken the night she got finally got to fly home. Lily wasn't so sure what to think. Nichole fully recovered and is all better now.

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Our summer vacation road trip in August began with a stop in Boise, Idaho to see the Smith family. They had a great park right by their house, so needless to say, this was Lily's favorite part of that day. :-)

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Our next stop was in Littleton, CO. We spent the week hanging out with the Elsner family. The Merriman family and Mitchell Scott joined us one afternoon at the Garden of the Gods. We had a great picnic and time together.

Ethan & Avery Elsner, Lily Gruber

Avery and Lily had so much fun playing and bathing together.

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Our next stop was Sioux Falls, SD. We spent the week with family and friends. Lily loves anything with wheels.

Lily's new best friend, her cousin Malachi.

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On our way back to WA, we spent two nights in Bozeman, MT. These next few pictures were taken in a park while we were geocaching.

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Ben & Leah spent Labor Day weekend with us. We did some geocaching together, a family sport for us, which led us to discover new and beautiful places.

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In September, we celebrated our 7 year anniversary (Aug. 24th) at Big Lake in Mount Vernon, WA. We stayed at an amazing home on the lake and did a lot of relaxing and reading. We also had our anniversary dinner at a cozy, romantic restaurant in LaConner, WA. It was a great time away!

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A few weeks ago, we were gifted a swingset by a family in our church whose kids had outgrown it. If you asked Lily, she would probably say this was the happiest day of her life. Now, she plays on it almost everyday and loves having her very own park. We named it Lilyland.

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So, that catches us up a bit. We didn't sell our house this summer, so we took it off the market yesterday. We are placing our faith and trust in the plans God has for us.
Nichole started a new position in the Air National Guard - she is now working at WANG Headquarters and is busily learning her new job. She recently passed her NCO Academy test and is hoping to be promoted to MSgt soon. This new job is taking her to Washington DC this month and California in November. Nichole continues to work for Care Net, part-time, mostly from home. Nichole is also doing Bible Study Fellowship this year, and Lily gets to go to a little class herself.
John is enjoying a new chapter in ministry. He is still the youth pastor at Christ Community Baptist but he is also taking on an additional role as campus pastor for a multi-site in Graham. If you want to know more, go to his blog by clicking here.
Lily is just a happy, healthy little girl. She loves life! Her favorite things to do include, singing and dancing, reading books, using her imagination for play, cooking in her kitchen, watching Dora and playing outside on her swingset. She brings an abundance of joy to our home and we thank God for her. It is hard to believe she will be turning 3 in just a few months. We love our Lily so much!