Fourth of July

 Cousin Kayla was back from her trip, and the cousins packed a vacations-worth of play time into the afternoon.

 Water gun fight - Go, Grandma, go!

 Looking patriotic with Auntie Karla

Happy 4th of July!

Fishing at Farrish

A favorite Boaz family day trip... fishing at Farrish Recreation Area in Woodland Park.

 Fishing

 Relaxing

 Paddleboating

 Fresh air

 Crawdad catching

 Eating crawdads (Just kidding!)

 And lots of fun!

Catching Up in Casper

Summer Vacation Leg #4:  North to Casper, Wyoming

Two years ago we left Casper to move to Texas, so we were very excited to see our Cornerstone church family during a whirlwind weekend visit.

 I was so busy catching up with everyone I really didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked - I was especially bummed that I forgot to take any pictures of the beautiful new additions to the church building that were almost finished. 

But we had a wonderful time visiting a Life Group, playing (for the kids and I) and flyfishing (for Kevin, of course), having a BBQ at the Kroekers, Sunday morning at Cornerstone, and enjoying fellowship with the staff at the Olsen's home. 

Rachel and Ezra pose for a picture with buddies Rachel and Ezra!

The boys taking a break from sword fighting on Saturday night

 We were so thankful for the hospitality everyone showed us on our visit, including the Kuhnels who gave us their home for the weekend!  

Golfing, Boaz-Kids Style

Whenever we go to Colorado, Kevin always goes golfing with the Boaz men.  But this trip, the Boaz kids got in on the golfing action... miniature, that is! 

 Naomi was only too happy to wade in to retrieve balls for us.  And Johnathan made sure we got holes-in-one on most holes by grabbing the balls and putting them directly in for us.

 There was a lots of posing with statues, pirates, and gorillas, too.

And Ezra patiently watched the goings-on and plotted how he would add to the craziness in a year or less.

Fore!

Learning about Compassion

 One of the highlights of our time in Colorado Springs was going on a tour of the headquarters of Compassion International.  We started sponsoring a child this year, and we hosted a Compassion Sunday at our church this spring, so we were all excited to see where all our mail goes.

 We saw the machine that opens and sorts all the contributions, lots of displays about the work Compassion does, and the huge mail room where all our letters go to be sent to the center where our sponsored child lives.

 We saw a life-sized replica of a typical home, which was eye-opening for Naomi and Johnathan.

 The tour ended in a life-sized replica of one of the centers where Compassion provides services for the sponsored children.  We had so much fun checking out all the educational activities they have for the kids, nutrition and hygiene centers, and watching the videos of the kids playing in the yard outside the simulated windows.  Naomi's favorite part was working in the director's office
(she even borrowed the glasses sitting on the desk to look more official!). 

 Visiting the Compassion headquarters was so great - it gave our kids a connection and tangible memory to keep in mind when we talk about our sponsored child. 

Cousins

 Johnathan, Moshe, Prisca, Naomi, and Ezra made sure the photo shoot was lively!

 These girls know how to pose!  The boys, however...

... Let's just say they have other priorities.  But it doesn't make them any less cute!

Stata Family Pictures

 With two new little boys in the family, it was time for new family potraits while we were in Colorado!