Cousin Time

By the 3rd day, this gang from sea level and flat terrain was ready for a day of rest.  We found some great yard sales, played some frisbee golf, and had time for just hanging out and playing games.  I failed to get a picture of the Perplexus ball which seemed to always be in someone's hands.

We drove to Loveland to check out a discount grocery store and another store named Scheels which was the largest sporting goods store we have ever seen.  It had a Ferris Wheel inside (which a bunch of us rode on) and a very cool fish tank.

This was only one end.  It had 2 arches/3 pillars.

We met Elena's furry (??) friend, Berry, and let him (her?) enjoy a few moments of freedom.  

So adorable!

Thanks so much, Freed's, for letting us crash in on you for a few days!  We really enjoyed seeing where you live and where you go to church and spending time with you!

Joy & Shaun

Elena, Landis, Greta

Rocky Mountain National Park

We also were able to spend a day in Rocky Mountain National Park.  This is just over an hour from Joy's house.

The first hike was to Alberta Falls

From there, we hiked to Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake.

An elk close to the trail.

The chipmunks were very tame at Emerald Lake.

Sisters..... the water wasn't very "emerald" on this day.

More sisters....

After the hike and a packed lunch, we drove along the Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center.  This was a road that kinda made you queasy at times but the views were amazing.

The visitor center sits at 11,796 ft. above sea level.  Devan hiked a short distance up higher to be at the very top.  The temps went down to 53* at this spot. 

The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows his handiwork!  The mountains and the hills will break forth with singing.

Boulder, CO

Our family was able to take a trip to Colorado in June to see Jolene's sister, Joy, and her family. She lives in the rural town of Mead, CO, between Denver & Loveland.  The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed some beautiful sights as well.

The first day was spent in Boulder.  We hiked up between the Flat Irons to the Royal Arch.  It was a workout for some of us, but the view was great.

The rocks look like "Flat Irons"

At the top by the Royal Arch.  Town of Boulder below.

Royal Arch

From the other side

After our hike, and some ice cream cones, we went to the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory.  This is a free tour and a neat place to stop if you are ever near Boulder.  We couldn't take pictures during the tour, but we were able to try samples of tea while we were waiting for the tour to begin.

Class of 2018

We had two graduations the same weekend!  Darryn & Ericka both graduated from RBC in Ohio on May 26 and Dwight graduated from GMS in Delaware on May 27.  We decided to make it work to go to both events.  We drove to Ohio on Friday, the RBC grad was Saturday morning, and we drove back home Saturday afternoon/evening.  Dwight's grad was Sunday afternoon.  We are proud of the kids for reaching these milestones!

Darryn & Ericka both graduated with honors 

and received an associates degree in Biblical Studies.

(missing Dwight who stayed home to get ready for his grad)

It was fun to have Grandma with us!

Darryn's special friend, Danae, also graduated.

We were pleased to find out 1 week before graduation, that Dwight was going to be the Valedictorian for his class.  He knew he was in the running and finished the year strong.  There were several in the class that could have received this honor, and he knew he had to put forth his best effort.  

He did a good job on his speech.

GMS Class of 2018 (4 girls, 10 guys)

It was a really good class to be a part of!

With Grandpa Byler

With Grandma Helmuth

A great group of kids!

On Monday, Memorial Day, we had a graduation party for Dwight and his good friend, Ryan, at our house down at the pond.   Lyn made barbeque chicken in addition to mac & cheese, baked beans, salads, chips, watermelon and dessert.  It was a wet weekend but it was nice during the time of the party.  Thank you to all those who came and helped us celebrate!

 (It should also be noted that Ryan, a.k.a. David at GMS, was the Salutatorian for the class!)

End of year highlights for Dwight

May is always such a busy month if you have school age kids and even more so if you have a senior.  Here are some highlights from Dwight's last month at GMS.

He played baseball all 4 years of high school.  He was very loyal to the team and probably enjoyed just being with the team more then actually playing.

When he wasn't on the field, he was always standing by the fence giving his team support.

The 4 senior guys - they said this was their "girly" pose.

Sibling support

The Jr/Sr Banquet is always a big event.  This year Dwight and several other guys didn't take a date.  This is the senior class all dressed up (missing two).

Best buds!

Dwight & Ryan

Random mentionables

Renae played basketball for the first time this year.  She was able to have some playing time and really enjoyed it.  This was one night that we convince Grandpa to come watch her play.

Feb. 2018

At the end of March, Lyn & I flew away for a few days.  We landed in Tampa and rented an air bnb apartment.  It was about 10 min from Madiera Beach.  Our days were pretty low key and we stayed up way later then normal and had slow mornings.  We did go to a Phillies spring training game, but otherwise just explored different beaches, downtown St. Pete, and some touristy areas.  We were there in the height of spring break, so after 3 days, we were ready to get away from all the people.  It was one of the first times since our honeymoon that we didn't see any relatives, or attend any meetings, or have any kids with us!

Sunset over Gulf of Mexico

March is a busy birthday month at our house.  Here are the 3 with March birthdays.  We celebrated when Darryn & Ericka were home for Easter.

Darryn - 23; Ericka - 21; Dwight - 18

And here is the youngest member of the family, in case you have forgotten about him.  

Dexter

Hunting "Firsts" in 2018

Back in Jan/Feb was Canadian Goose season.  Renae was able to go with Lyn one day after school and she bagged her first goose.

 

This was the whole group's bounty.  Limit is 2 each.

Renae modeling face paint

There was a youth hunt day after the regular season was over so 3 dads took these kids out one Saturday and Devan got his first goose.  They all limited out.

Morgan, Chandler, Cody & Devan

(Don't be fooled by the 2 decoys on the left)

And in April, Devan bagged his first turkey.  He & Lyn were able to call it in and his story is that it took the turkey a half hour to come 30 yards into shooting range.  He was strutting his stuff to what he thought was a pretty female calling him.

10" beard, 1 1/4" spurs, 19 lb. 11 oz.