Summertime thus far

When school let out at GBS this year instead of spending several weeks to relax, Philip and the rest of our family had to kick into high gear. In June our family (and two of the trips Philip took himself) traveled a little over 4,000 miles in 8 states. Add a garden, chickens, and outside work that comes with summertime and you have a very weary family. Just last week things began to slow down a bit so here's a recap of the summer thus far:

Even though Philip wasn't done with his work at school, he did have Memorial Day off and we went to the parade that our church participated in. This was the boys' first parade experience and they really enjoyed it (or maybe it was the candy they collected).  We had a wonderful spot in the shade on the parade route.

 It thought it was so funny that they had such a height discrepancy with these guys.

One of the unwritten rules of a parade is there must be one tractor......

or more........

Actually, it reminded me a lot of the town I grew up in with their cars, farm implements, and marching bands.  We had packed a picnic lunch and went to a local park to grill hamburgers while the boys waded in the creek.

First watermelon of the season!

Our last day of school was a Field Day spend with other THINK (Teaching Homes In Northern Kentucky) members. I think they said there were about 160 children who participated. I had volunteered to help and so I wasn't able to get many pictures.

Then we traveled to PA for a family reunion of my mom's side of the family. My grandma Miller who is 83 just moved from the area she lived in for 60 years to her son, David's home. She has such a nice little apartment of the side of their house and is still able to get around quite well. She doesn't like to have her picture taken so you have to zoom in when she's not looking.

 These are some of my mom's brother's and sisters - David, Steve, Grandma Miller, MaryLou, Faye, and Jeff.

 The siblings, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

 The only grandchildren who were able to make it were Andrew, my brother David, my sister Jennifer, and myself.

 And these are a few of the great-grandchildren.

After leaving PA we came back to OH to mow the yard, take care of the garden and chickens then left for my brother, Jonathan Slagenweit's installation service as pastor of the Easley Bible Methodist Church in Easley, SC. This is the church that Philip and I attended while at Bob Jones University so while we were there we swung by the University to see our friends and also had the opportunity for the boys to meet some of their Bob Jones University Press Distance Learning teachers - that was a highlight!

Then another trip back to OH so that Philip could turn around and make a trip to AL. The boys are so glad that we have called a halt to all traveling and they're not anxious to get back in the van for any length of time. They've just been very content to do things around home here. So that's a few of the things that we've been doing and I've gained a greater appreciation of "Home Sweet Home."