Ups and Downs

We had a great time at the lake this year! I even skiied this year! I don't think I've skiied for about 10+ years, so I was pretty proud of myself. We celebrated Caleigh's, my, and moms birthdays up at teh lake. I hope this is a tradition that we wil continue. Matt was able to get quite a bit of skiing in, as well as fishing. We went to the petting zoo (farm?) with the kids, and they got to jump on the trampolines. Caleigh and Miller both went for rides on the tubes, and we tried to get Cal up on the orange board, but she just wasn't ready. We will try again next year though.

We got a phone call early on August 5th from Matt's dad letting us know that Matt's grandma, Lillian Carswell, had passed away. Matt was very, very close with his grandma so it was really hard for him. Matt had the opportunity to live with her for his final year of high school. We are very thankful that we were able to visit with her in June and that she was able to meet Miller. She lived a great life, and she will be missed dearly.

Matt's dear friend Ryan's dad was diagnosed with cancer last summer. When we were in Medicine Hat for Grandma's funeral, Daryl took a turn for the worse. About a week after we got home, Daryl passed away. We immediately went down to Medicine Hat to give them a hand with the kids and anything else they needed. Andy, Nat, Matt and I took their two boys, so we ended up with 6 kids under 4! They were all so well behaved though, it was great. We went watersliding at the Medicine Hat Lodge, and out to Echo Dale park for a little fun in the sun. It was really sad to watch Ryan and Elyse go through so much, but I was glad that we were able to go down to help.

We ahve been enjoying our backyard so much this summer. The swingset was a huge addition, and we have really enjoyed our garden, although I'm not sure why our herb garden was such a failure. I don't think Caleigh's corn or squash was actually produce, but it was fun to have her be such a big help. We see her and Macy out in the yard eating peas and beans straight from the garden all the time, which is such a great summer snack! I'm glad we went to the effort to plant the garden, and we will definitely be planting another one next year!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer,
J&M&C&M&M