twotimesfive

We had the awesome opportunity to go on a missions trip with our youth group. We drove about five hours to Grand Junction, Colorado. Todd, our youth pastor, and his wife just had a baby so we stayed close to home. Throughout the week we were split into three groups and we all experienced different service projects. The four days we served, my group had the opportunity to clean a homeless shelter, minister to a daycare facility for adults with disabilities, clean Marie’s house (an elderly woman who became blind six years ago) and organize Second Chance Thrift store (which benefits the homeless shelter we worked at.) Travis’ group worked at the Salvation Army in town and sorted through a HUGE , never ending, always growing pile of clothes. They sent some of the totally gross clothes to different countries that needed the clothes too. Todd’s group served lunch to the homeless at the Catholic Outreach and they passed out bagged lunches to some homeless in the nearby park. The week was exhausting yet completely fulfilling. On Friday we drove another hour and half to Moab, Utah. There we went rafting in the Colorado River and experienced the dessert on a Hummer Tour. We had a blast with the kids and have decided we have some of the best youth group kids EVER. The pictures are awesome.

Travis and I drove to California to see family and friends. As Travis said earlier, we left at 2 in the morning and got to California around 4. First things first, a trip to see Reagan. Travis was dying to meet his first and cutest niece so we went straight there. We also made it to Disneyland with the Carlsons. We had a blast in 100 degree weather. YEAH! Our trip was awesome. The big bummer was Travis having to work. He worked in CDF’s Irvine office. We feel blessed that he had this opportunity, we just packed way too much in the two weeks. Thanks for all of you that made time for us. We appreciate you allowing us to intrude on your busy summer schedules.

So we are going to be in California for 2 weeks. We head out early tomorrow morning. We should be arriving in California sometime tomorrow evening. The plan is around 7 but we’ll see how far we get. I will be working out of our Irvine office during the days and Nina will be hanging out with friends and family. But our evenings and weekends are free and we would love to see and catch up with everyone we can. If your free over the next 2 weeks give us a call.

We have some friends who drove their truck out in February to visit some of their family and ended up having to leave Colorado abruptly to get back to California. Well, Nina and Laura decided they would drive the truck back to California for them so they could visit some family and friends. It ended up working out really well because Nina was able to see her brand new niece. Here are a few pictures of her trip.

This year we made a decisions to celebrate Christmas in Minnesota with my Dad’s side of the family. This was the very first year that we all were together in Minnesota. It was so great to see everyone and enjoy the time together. But because we were having so much fun, I didn’t think twice about pulling my camera out. So here are just a few pictures from the trip. The day after Christmas the guys went ice fishing. Of course it was freezing and yet Heath was still only wearing a short sleeve short.

I was able to take some time off of work to attend the Herrscher wedding and spend time with friends and family. The trip was great. I went flying with my Dad (click here for pictures) and enjoyed a long weekend with just the guys. The wedding took place at a golf course that over looked this valley with a stream at the bottom and tons of fall colors along the hillside. They couldn’t of picked a more perfect location. After the wedding, Nate, Heath, Justin and I were able to enjoy a late night of watching movies and grabbing a pizza. The weekend was a total blast but returning home to Nina and brand new couches was the perfect way to wrap it up.

We were so thrilled to be a part of Kristi and Chris’ wedding! It was so much from to be there and celebrate with them. Travis helped design and make their wedding invites, programs, and favor boxes! They came out beautiful. The bride and groom both looked fabulous and the reception was a blast! The wedding took place in Newport Beach and the reception was just a block away. We so enjoyed ourselves but payed for it once we returned home. It took us over a week to recover from all the fun. We hope the Galardos will come visit us soon as a married couple.

From rock climbing to flying in float planes, Alaska was breathtaking! We got to see bears eating off the outside grill where we just had our fresh salmon grilled, whales messing around along the waters of our ship, and glaciers that extended for miles. If you haven’t gone, go!