Love ya, Sarah Decks! So glad you’re with me! Hugs!!!!!


(I know I use this song a lot, it just seemed to fit...)

David got a little bored waiting for everyone to get here…

I know I’m biased, but I LOVE this smile!!!

My handsome father

Okay, I guess I got a little bored, too. Not a good picture of either of us, but had to share our fun…

Don’t ask…

We were all so excited to see cousins again (and eat) that Mom stationed herself by the front door

As soon as they arrived, the fun began!

Cousin Hannah

Cousin Lily

Cousin Levi

Another thing that made today special was that Hannah turned 10! To celebrate, we all enjoyed some strawberry cake and vanilla ice cream. Yum!

I have the world’s greatest mother. She knew that there were 6 energetic kiddos (not counting Dave, Tim, and I) headed her way, and wanted something fun for them. So all week, she’s been planning a spiritual scavenger hunt for them to do. At each stop, they were asked a Bible question, told to sing a song, or told a little Bible story before receiving their prize. It was a blast and the kids loved it! Great work, Mom!

The hunt begins…

Lily was so excited to have a bag like everyone else, but at age 2, she had a tough time keeping up…

Lily was still having a tough time keeping up, so I snatched her up and took off running with her

Aunt Karen reads the question to the adventurers

Before receiving their prize, they were asked to sing “Jesus Love is a Bubblin’ Over”

The prize? BUBBLES!

These three were “looking for something blue”

“Jesus is always there for us, even if we’ve pushed Him away before. Who wants to raise their hand and decide to never push Jesus away?”

Lily had no clue what was going on. When everyone’s hands were raised, hers was not. “Lily! Raise your hand!” Hannah whispered emphatically.

Lovin’ her some prizes!

Yo-yo’s to remind us that we are always connected to Jesus. Even if we stray, we can come right back if we ask Jesus to help us…

Next, Mom sent the kids to the rock, a reminder that Jesus is our Rock. Here, they found water guns. The spiritual application? Basically, by this time everyone was so blistering hot that we needed to cool off. So fun to watch everyone in action!

As soon as we got to the rock, Lily opened her bag for me to put a prize in it. She had the routine down!

Cousin Matt gets pelted by one of his boys

Andrew was quite the super-soaker

Lily couldn’t decide whether to shoot her watergun or protect herself from the assaults of her cousins

Lucky for Lily, Aunt Larisa came to the rescue!

Cousin Tim gets in on the fun

Hot and tired, Lily and Judah wait for the next clue

Listening intently to Aunt Karen’s instructions

A water balloon toss was our next stop. Another great way to cool off…

Lily was a little confused as to the object of the game. She squeezed the balloons as hard as she could and finally threw them to the ground, trying to get them to burst. As soon as one would pop, she applauded herself and run back to the bucket for more. Guess she thought popping them was the goal. Regardless, it was hilarious to watch!

Johnny was quite the pitcher! He was serious about the challenge and did a great job.

Andrew’s big grin followed an extra-high water ballon toss

After finding fishy crackers and glow sticks, we headed inside for a craft. These stickers were the coolest! Such bright colors and minimal mess.

Judah’s masterpiece

Levi sporting his beautiful smile

The Birthday Girl and her Daddy

Aunt Karen got Hannah this beautiful dress for her birthday. It looked so fun on her! We snapped these photos to document her fantastic 10th birthday…

Happy Birthday, Hannah! Thanks to Matt, Larisa, Jesse, and Carrie for driving down here to see us. It was a blast! Love you and your families. And thanks, Mom, for the super fun day!

Emily spent her time in front of my camera several months ago. She graduated from nursing school at the beginning of May, and had me take these to send out for her announcements. At the time, I was extremely stressed out by college and did not take the time to post my favorites. Although there are several more I could post, these are a few of the best:

Thanks for being patient, Em! I love you! Thank you for inspiring me to be a better person and a more devoted Christian. You are truly an inspiration. Congratulations on your graduation! You’ll make a fantastic nurse!

Aubrey and I became friends during ASI Youth for Jesus. Although we’d known each other for years, we hadn’t spent any time together until YFJ. In celebration of the completion of high school, Aubrey asked me to take some pictures of her. Her father is also a photographer, so I was very honored that she wanted me to take some, too. Aubrey is a videographer herself and, like me, prefers to be behind the camera. I was a little nervous about whether or not she’d loosen up. Why do I ever worry? She was fantastic! We laughed hysterically throughout the shoot and had a blast. And, although she hates it when I say this, “Aubrey, you are gorgeous.” Thanks for letting me capture your beauty!

Aubrey found some blackberry bushes and gave me a sampling. The first one she gave me was red and uber tart. The one she is holding in the picture was delicious, though! I didn’t think I liked blackberries, but if they all taste like that one did, bring ‘em on!

Love the smiles in these! Probably two of my favorites…

Aubrey, thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone and getting in front of the camera. I hope you love these pictures as much as I do! Love you!!

Last summer, I was assistant girls’ dean at ASI Youth for Jesus for the month of July. A majority of the girls I deaned happen to be from the Keene area. I miss them all, and decided to pull together a last-minute lunch with as many of them as could make it. Here’s me with 6 of my lovely ladies at Joe’s Pizza and Pasta, a family favorite.

Some of the energy I thrived on last summer…

A Joe’s tradition: when Dave and I were younger, the cashier would give us a quarter after every meal to get a gumball out of the machine. Now that we are older and aren’t given quarters, we use our own to carry on the tradition.

As I mentioned previously, the rest of our weekend was a whirlwind of graduation events. Dedication Friday night, potluck Sabbath, and actual graduation Saturday night. Justin and Devin left early Sunday morning to work at summer camp, leaving us with a day to spend at their house without them. We met Kim, the girls, Dale, Ryan, and Marlise for lunch at… you guessed it! Joe’s! Then, the girls came over to Bowyer’s house to swim. When we first got into the pool, Shaylee could not swim. Miss Karen and I worked with her the majority of the time we were out there, and by the time we were done, she was swimming like a little fish. Still needs some practice, but can swim by herself now! Yay, Shaylee!

While we worked with Shay in the shallow end, Brenna dominated the diving board.

Momma Kim watches on from the sidelines…

The diving board is twice the fun when David jumps off of it with you!

Shay eventually got brave and ventured off the board herself

The lovely swim instructor and her pupil

Kenzie had been sick up until Sunday, so she took it easy with us in the shallow end. She still managed to have a good share of fun, though.

Swimmin’ by herself!

And now for my final photo from our Texas visit. I was downstairs working on the computer when Mom sent me a text message. To expedite the process, she soon appeared at the office door. “You’ll never guess what Decker’s doing!” she exclaimed. Decker, my stuffed bear, had been left sitting on my bed upstairs. “Come see!” she instructed, before racing ahead of me up the stairs. As soon as my eyes caught sight of my teddy bear, I burst into laughter. “He’s been getting into the Cheetos,” Mom said with mock-disapproval plastered on her face. We both spent some time in hysterics before removing the temptation from the poor bear. Probably would have been better for us if we’d just let him finish them! Mom, you’re too funny! Thanks for making me laugh!

Again, Texas was a treat. After being gone for two weeks, however, I was extremely relieved to walk into my precious bedroom. Nothing is quite so comfortable and dear to my heart as my down comforter and fluffy white pillows! I’m a busy woman and will be traveling more soon. But for now, this is goodbye!

Now on to my most recent adventure! From Florida, where I was visiting my friend Sarah and her family (see posts below), I flew straight to Texas. We spent the first part of our vacation with our “family,” the Sexsons. I love waking up to the sight of three eager girls peeking into my bedroom, knowing that the snuggles and giggles that are soon to follow are priceless. Nothing beats lounging around the house in pjs with my girls, their Momma, my Mom, and Dave. When we finally got up and around on Wednesday, we headed to Saltgrass Steakhouse for baked potatoes and salad.

Mom and the girls woke David up with the help of this kind sock puppet

To Saltgrass we go

A normal picture and a silly photo with each of my girls

Two of my favorite guys

Even meal times are entertaining…

After devouring our baked potatoes and salad, which were fantastic, we could not resist ordering dessert. Saltgrass has some of the best desserts I’ve ever had. No joke. Here’s Kim’s reaction to one of the desserts the girls and I split.

The cause for her astonishment:

Mickynzie, Brenna, Shaylee, and I (plus anyone else that wanted some bites) split this sundae AND an incredible piece of cheesecake.

My affections were torn. Saltgrass has some of the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. Seriously. But I am, as anyone who reads this blog at all can tell, an ice cream addict. SO, I shared the sundae and the cheesecake with the three girls. Too much enjoyment for one day…

Once we were thoroughly stuffed, we headed to a Putt Putt place we used to go to when we were kids. It was a hot day, and everyone was dying to ride the Bumper Boats, so that’s precisely where we started. (There are tons of pictures. Got a little carried away… Kim just took too many fun ones!)

Since we wanted pictures, Kim sat out and played photographer. We had two tickets left over, however, so I volunteered to go out for a spin with her once everyone was done. Her famous last words: “I don’t want to get wet!” The following photograph was taken while I was still on her good side…

Our final adventure for the day involved braving the heat for a game of Putt Putt. We split into two groups and played a fun round of golf. Dave, John, Brenna, and Shay took the “Adventure Course,” while Mom, Kim, Kenzie, and I embarked on the “Harbour Course.” Fun, but oh so very hot!

Brenna was the overall winner. We won’t mention who came in last… Several stops were made on the way home, and many of us indulged in naps during the ride home. Shaylee was out within minutes. Brenna held on for a little while longer, but eventually dozed off. I couldn’t sleep good because I was holding Brenna’s head up, but snoozed a little while parked in the Target parking lot.

I guess being the overall champ wears a kid out…

When we got home, the two girls that had napped were pumped and ready to go. Ms. Karen introduced them to a new song, and they were eager to dance to it with her. Here are two blurry, action-packed shots of the four “Great Googa Mooga” dancers!

Shaylee slept a little too long and was a crazy dancer

The next morning, we relaxed at the house. While the we older girls chilled inside, Dave and the two energizer bunnies played outside. Doesn’t Dave look fantastic on a pink scooter?

I am so grateful that Mom and Kim have both prioritized staying in touch. These girls are what I miss most about Texas, and spending time with them was such a treat. Tune in soon for Part 2 of our visit to Texas…

When we arrived in Miami, the temptation for ice cream was too great. Although we had already passed up this ice cream shop, we went out of our way to turn around and make our way back for a tasty treat. After many u-turns and much laughter, we pulled into the parking lot to discover that the shop was closed! This brought on a new bought of laughter and many jokes.

After checking into the Hostel we were staying at, we made a trip to Walmart. What did we happen to find while out and about, but another ice cream shop! This time, we had more success…

Goodmorning, Sunshine!

Sarah poses in front of our Hostel

Thomson headed out for a day of caterpillar hunting, while Sarah, Taylor, and I spent a few hours at the Miami Zoo.

LOVED these trees. They were all over and so beautiful.

The Amazon exhibit was by far my favorite. Unlike any other region, this section had music playing, misters also adding to the effect. It was very cool.

When we finished, Thomson was still about 30 minutes away. So, we sat down at a table near the zoo entrance and watched the birds.

Looks like fun, no?

Chipotle was the place chosen for lunch. On our way, we picked up a homeless man and took him with us. He was hysterical! Wish so badly we’d taken a picture with him. He had us in stitches throughout the whole meal. Definitely one of my favorite Miami memories!

Pictures of Sarah and I in the car, where we spent the majority of our time together during my visit

Welcome to Miami!

As the final hoorah of our trip, Sarah’s parents treated us to an evening of water skiing. Thank you, Paris Family! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. By the time we got logistics worked out and got out on the water, sunset was rapidly approaching. On our trip back into the marina, we were blessed with a breathtaking view of the setting Miami sun. I wish so badly that I’d had my camera. The sun setting over the city was truly spectacular. And I don’t even like cities! Alas, our adventure was truly to wonderful to describe.

Fruit smoothies complete our day. Thomson picked us up around 9:15 and we began our drive back to St. Augustine. Our trip was full of laughter and fun music. Getting back to Sarah’s house around 2:30 AM, we staggered into the house and climbed into bed. I was up at 7:00 for the next step of my journey: a flight to Texas. I couldn’t have dreamed up a more fun time in Florida if I had tried. Thanks so much to the Paris family for making my stay in Florida one to remember!! Next blog adventure? More Texas times!

Sarah and Decker enjoy the chill morning

Remains from the previous nights fun…

Loading the car!

Getting cozy with the kayak

It took Sarah and I both to pull this load in for Momma D. Talk about feeling like pack mules…

The all-important camping ingredient: ROOT BEER!!!

And no Sarah-Liv adventure is complete without Lime Chips!

Welcome to Tree House 7, temporary home of Sarah and Olivia

Sabbath morning, we woke up before the rest of the group for some kayaking. It was gorgeous and oh so much fun! I didn’t want to risk taking my camera out on the water, and besides, sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment and forget about the pictures. Here is Sarah, eager to get out on the water:

Sarah got tired of waiting for 7:00, the time we had agreed to meet Taylor and Thomson, and snuggled back up under her towel.

When we got back, everyone was up and about and it was time for breakfast. The kitchen crew got right to work, heating up griddles and mixing up pancake batter. Making pancakes was tons of fun!

Loved this lid! So fun!

After “breakfast,” the rest of the group headed out for their own kayaking adventure. Sarah and I indulged in showers, naps, and some reading time. Other than the stifling heat, my first treehouse camping experience was a good one.

Final Florida post airs tomorrow!

Sarah enjoying her devotions

Sarah squints as she follows Taylor’s surfing instructions

If only it was as easy to surf in the water, right Sarah?

Cool story: Taylor lost his wallet while we were at the beach. We were all praying that he would find it, but after retracing all our steps, he still hadn’t found it. The next morning, he got a call from some people who had found it that morning in the ocean! How cool is that? God is so good! More fun pictures to come!!!