A Quick Recap of June!

Warning: LONG POST WITH TONS OF PICTURES!

Happy Friday! Happy 3rd of July!

First of all, a BIG HUMONGOUS hug to all of you for such sweet comments about my last post. Seriously, I was thrilled to see that you were all still hanging around even though my blog has been pretty quiet over the past months. You'll be happy to know that because of YOU GUYS, I've been inspired to start up again....with SCRAP STASH Saturdays! Many of you mentioned how that feature used to be one of your favorites here at Heartfelt Greetings, and I thought that it was a great way for me to get back into the swing of things making cards and blogging again! So, be sure and stop back again tomorrow for my first Scrap Stash Saturday card in a very, very long time! I actually got it made this morning, and it's a perfect one to kick off the July 4th celebrations tomorrow....

Until then, I thought you might like to see what I've spent my time doing the whole month of June, starting with our son's Graduation Open House, which was the very first weekend of June....

First of all, let me tell you that it turned out to be the stinkiest, coldest, ugliest weekend! Up until our party, it had been pretty nice....no rain, sun, warmth. But on Saturday of that weekend, it was rainy and freezing! It poured and poured and poured, and it was under 50 degrees! I felt terrible for all the open houses (not to mention weddings) that were scheduled for that day. We went to one open house that I literally froze my patootie off standing in the garage socializing! The good news was, it didn't keep the people away, but it sure made for a miserable afternoon! Thank heavens our open house was the next day. And while it wasn't nice for our party, it wasn't raining and it was a tish warmer than the day before. Here are a few pictures. I was planning on having our party in the backyard, but because of the rain, that made it impossible. And since I don't live in a McMansion, we opted for the garage, and then set up the tent over the driveway directly in front of the garage. You just do what you gotta do, right? By that point, I didn't care anymore. All in all, the day was a success. We had a taco bar with all the fixin's, mixed fruit, nacho cheese and chips (A HUGE HIT!!!), and cookies with "Eric '09" written on them. Oh, and a keg of rootbeer! Delish! I highly recommend a menu like this...it's so popular with everyone!

Oh, and I made some really fun water bottle labels for Eric that guests could take with them as a little favor! They turned out so cool! I had my little digital frame set up so everyone could see pictures from Eric's graduation ceremony too!

The next weekend, we had my niece's graduation party, and right after that, we headed up to C.O.P!!!! Yep, we had the whole truck packed before we went to Jessica's party and from there, we high-tailed it to Lutsen, MN for Family Work Week. Woo-hoo!

We were all desperate to see the pearly gates of this place, Cathedral of The Pines. Even the kids were exhausted from all the hubbub of graduation and needed the peace we've come to know when we drive through this gate for the first time each summer.

It was absolutely stunning each day we were there, which, if you know anything about the North Shore of Lake Superior, know that warm, sunny weather is at a premium this time of year. God truely was shining his light on C.O.P. that week.

As usual, we worshipped down on the shore one night, always a favorite event for us. I think I like that night most of all because it's so fun to take pictures with the view of Lake Superior in the background.

These handsome dudes are Doug (my hubby), Tom, Mike and Jimmy. Here are all the kids who have been coming with their families to FWW for years! My youngest is in the red sweatshirt in the front row, and my oldest is in the back row next to Lindsey who's wearing the yellow sweatshirt! I adore all of these kids!And chapel night on the shore isn't complete without a rousing round of camp songs, lead by the wonderful CS Men and JS Women.

Our trip up to camp wouldn't be complete without a drive further north into Grand Marais, another one of our favorite places to be. We skipped rocks with the Nelson's (some family friends), shopped at the Trading Post and Ben Franklin, and took the requisite family photo on the pier. Nice shot, uh? Best brothers...



In the afternoon, after we're done working, there are some wild games of softball going on. Usually it's the Old Guys vs. Young Guys, and I'm happy to say, I think the Old Guys won this year!
Here's my Young Guy (Eric), heading for home....he's a gazelle!

One night during Family Work Week, there's a family dance that all the kids raid the costume closet for.....That's Scottie on the right.... And that's Eric second from the right with the bird hat...

And I can't resist snapping a few shots of all my boys. Aren't they a handsome bunch?

Well, I think it's time for me to close this post out, but be warned, I'm not done documenting all of June yet. I took nearly a 1000 shots of my nephew's wedding last weekend! I'll share some of those tomorrow!

Thanks for sticking with me.

Hugs,

Amy