Disney World

During the first week of May, Nichole, Lily and I flew to Disney World. There we met Nichole's parents, brother's family and sister's family for a fun-filled week in the sun and amusement parks. There were fourteen of us from age 4 to age 65. You might be thinking, "What did Johanna do?" She stayed with a wonderful family from our church and we are very thankful for them.
The first full day was a Sunday and we hung out at the rental house, swam in the pool and had a great steak and shrimp meal.
On Monday we woke up bright and early and headed to The Magic Kingdom. Dale's favorite ride is Pirates of the Caribbean and he really wanted all of us to go on that ride so we marched in and enjoyed the cruise through pirateville. That night we stayed late at the park to view the electric parade and fireworks show.
On Tuesday we headed to Animal Kingdom. Lily's favorite ride was here, River Rapids, where she and Nichole got totally soaked and she had to walk like a penguin.
On Wednesday we went to Hollywood Studios and this park was highlighted by meeting characters, Minnie, Piglet, Chip n Dale and Handy Manny. We also really liked the Toy Story ride.
On Thursday we went back to Magic Kingdom and took pictures with three princesses. Lily was very excited. Part way through the day we headed to Epcot and enjoyed the rides and countries. I even found a Wunderbar in Canada. On Thursday night we relaxed at the house and Lily loved swimming in the pool.
It was a busy, hot, fun, exciting, enjoyable week. We had a great time making memories and experiencing Disney World.

Click on the slideshow for a more in depth look at the fun.

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!