Jude loves fireworks

Kentucky....

Hey! We are back in smoldering-hot Austin as of Monday, June 15th. Our time in Kentucky was absolutely precious. Troy took a class on cults and new religious movements. He found it extremely interesting, but thankfully nothing sounded good enough to draw him away from his faith in Christ =). Jude and I spent the week with my friends Susanna, Josie and their two little boys, Wheeler and Jack, respectively. (Jack is 2 mo. younger than Jude.) We got to see many other old friends and were thrilled to attend our old Bible study and our old church. Jude LOVED the Louisville Zoo, we picked Strawberries with our friends, ate lots of good food, and enjoyed reasonable daytime temperatures! Here are some highlights:


Troy, David, Jude and Wheeler before the Bats game.



Jude "helping" Wheeler play.



Getting ready to pick strawberries at Huber's Farm, with some of the coolest people in the whole world!





Jude getting to sit on an old tractor (his true passion in life is tractors)!

Jack and Jude at the strawberry patch...Jude is drinking Jack's water.

picking berries....

Jude got re-acquainted with his old friend, Annabelle. Annabelle is the daughter of some old friends who now live in Kentucky. They liked each other lots!

This is Annabelle's new baby brother, Elijah. He is seven days old in this picture.

Some catching up...

Hey everyone! We have been so busy the past six weeks. Sorry for the lapse in posting! A.J. was here until May 2nd, then Stevi's parents visited for 10 days and just left last week. It's been lots of fun spending time with family. Jude enjoyed getting re-acquainted with his Washington grandparents, and he learned very quickly that Grandpa would give him "emelemels" (M&Ms) WAY to often!

Troy just finished up his school year, so we have three weeks off together before he leaves for a classical learning conference in late June. This weekend we will fly to Kentucky for Troy to take a class, and to see all our dear friends in Louisville!

Here are some pictures from the end of April:
Cuteness.


This is most likely water out of the dog dish...



Hamilton Pool

Hamilton Pool

Hamilton Pool

Eating dirt

A.J.'s getting ready for his first day working at Veritas.

Stevi attempting to climb.

Happy Easter!

We visited the Wildflower Center on Good Friday....

Here are some pics of our Easter celebration! A.J. is currently here in Austin, so we've had a very special weekend....

Jude spots his Easter basket!

Jude's first time in a 3-piece suit!

All the cousins with their new sunglasses! This shot was a challenge.

Troy's Grandma (Mummu) who lives in Oregon was here this weekend. We enjoyed getting to see her. She taught all the girls how to make traditional Finnish Cardamom bread!

Lindsay comes to Austin!!!

Once in a while, worlds collide and God kindly reunites you with an old friend....this was one of those weekends! Lindsay was in Texas for work and came to Austin for a quick visit. Though it was short, we tried to show her as much Texas fun (and sunshine) as we could in less than two days! These photos are yesterday at the beautiful gardens downtown which are now in full bloom. Last night, we had coffee on the dock at my favorite Austin coffee shop, Mozarts, while listening to live music--of course.

Afterward, we were caught in traffic downtown near the infamous 6th street for much longer than I think either one of us would have wanted...though we certainly saw some interesting sights. After being thrilled by cars with hydraulics, motorcycle gangs and some....amazing...outfits, we decided we preferred eating gummy bears at home to the Austin night life!

It's such a blessing to get to spend time with a true friend who loves Jesus with all her heart. It was truly a gift to have some fellowship with my sister in Christ. Thanks for coming, Lindsay!

Spring Break, March Madness, and Troy's Birthday

Last night, we celebrated Troy's birthday, which was Tuesday. We had a family "Iron Chef" competition, which always results in an amazing meal. Troy got to choose the secret ingredients this time, and each team bought 3-5 ingredients for another team. Wow! Let's just say we have some amazing chefs around here!


This picture is Jude and Josiah playing with Troy's new bingo game.
This is Troy toasting coconut to take to Erin and Cameron (we bought their secret ingredients). He wanted to make sure it didn't burn. They also received peppermint extract, chocolate chips, and coconut milk. The dessert and drinks that resulted were quite amazing.
This is Troy and his dad yesterday...both in the GU spirit! March Madness has definitely interrupted our routine, but it's a welcome interruption, especially since Gonzaga ROCKS!
This is Jude last week, happily using his new kitchen stool. He's sporting hives....we found out last week that he's allergic to penicilin.
This is Troy and Jude on Thursday, during the first GU game! Aren't they full of Bulldog spirit?
Back to work tomorrow!

Valentine's Day and Visit from Mom

Well, here are some more pictures....Troy and I went to a State Park near our house and went hiking baby-free on Valentine's. Also, my mom was here during February and we went to the Botanical Gardens. Jude loved the stream!