Fun, fun, fun!

It's been a great week! Here are a few picts of Owen "enjoying" his new bike helmet and his stroller ride. Our bike ride last weekend was a lot of fun but extremely HOT. My word...it was seriously close to 100 degrees. I think we will choose a different time of day next go 'round. Owen enjoyed it, as long as he didn't have his helmet on! (FYI MOM: he was very safe and sound in the trailer. :)

Owen started his first animal sounds this week. He says, "Baa Baa" for the sheep, and "Moooooooooo" for the cow. He is really funny! Our great college friends, Jason and Tonya Yoder Rupp were here overnight last night and they got a kick out of hearing all of Owen's words. It was so good to see you both--hopefully we'll reconnect again soon!!

Today I met with some other moms and their kids in a new "mommy group" from church called, "MennoMamas." I thought it would be a good idea to provide a space for moms and kids to interact with one another during the week to network and connect with one another. We had a blast! Next week we are meeting at a park and then having a picnic lunch...looking for more good times of connections ahead.

Also--we are getting ready for our first roadtrip with Owen tomorrow, as we travel to southern Michigan for Shawn's family reunion. Not sure how Owen will stand the 18 hr. trip---we'll let you know...hopefully he'll be a trooper! We'll be back on Monday--so more pictures of Owen's first "camp" experience then!

Getting settled back home

It's been nice actually being home this week, with all of our recent travels (and more around the corner). Owen has enjoyed the normalcy of a schedule and familiar surroundings. As you can see--his newest favorite thing is to help me "put away" the dishes--or maybe play in the water in the dishwasher door. Anyhow, he made me laugh yesterday when I turned around and saw him sitting like this. :) He also loves to climb to the stair landing and act like a jailed animal, shaking the bars and yelling! He is a trip!

We are going on a family bike ride today on a nearby trail--so hopefully I'll have a few more pictures to add after that happens. We got a bike trailer for Owen to attach to our bikes and are excited for the family fun! There are some great paths around us, and we are eager to check them out.

Upcoming this week: friends from GC are visiting us (Jason and Tonya) and then on Thursday we are attempting our first road trip to Camp Amigo in southern Michigan for a Schrock family reunion (Shawn's mom's side).

We're back!

We made it! These last few weeks have been a bit crazy and chaotic! On June 28th, Owen and I headed to San Jose, CA for the Mennonite Convention where I was worship leading for the youth. We were out there 5 days early (officially began July 2-7th) for a leaders retreat where we did some intensive planning to get ready to lead 4,000 incoming youth from around the nation. Shawn joined us on Sunday, July 1. We were so blessed to have my mom with us to help with Owen...as it turns out, it was a double blessing because Shawn's Crohn's Disease flared up that week, sending him to the hospital and leaving him feeling pretty miserable all week. Overall, the convention was intense, exhausting, but very meaningful (despite the additional stressors Shawn's illness caused). It is quite humbling to have been asked to worship lead in this capacity. I learned a lot about myself and understood in a new and deeper way about my call to ministry. It was also fantastic catching up with friends--missed all of you! As good as it was, I am glad it is over! :) I am starting to feel a little "over exposed"--so I think I need to lay low to the Mennonites for awhile!

Anyways, we got back last Saturday and Owen was met by his Uncle Troy and Aunt Catie who were here from Pittsburgh! We were thrilled that they stopped in and spent the weekend with us before heading down to Catie's family in Cheraw, CO. We had a fun weekend with them: watching movies, went on a picnic, and visited the Denver Zoo. The picture of the zoo shows Catie jumping as far as a jack rabbit! Troy did a polar bear jump, and Rachel did a penguin (yes, I know I only have a "credit card" jump!) Anyhow, Owen had a great time and absolutely LOVED all the attention!

Now that we are back in town and it looks like our lives will be pretty low-key for while, I hope to post something every week. Update: Shawn is now (finally) feeling better--his steorids have kicked in and he isn't in so much pain. So, I think we are on the up-and-up. Until next time...