The End.

Well, folks… our little family is home now.  We’ve traveled to Honduras, Utah, Colorado, and Hawaii this summer.  As we sit on top of about 5 loads of laundry, luggage to put away, and a neglected house we can now finally reflect on what it was like to be gone over a month (total) this summer!  I can’t say that it was always easy, but Joelle was pretty wonderful overall.  She slept on the majority of the flights and did really well away from home.  Wherever we were, whether it was the mission trip, student camp, or vacation we tried to stick with a schedule and routine as much as we could.  Looking back I am glad that we decided it was necessary for us to travel as a family and not leave anyone on their own.  Joelle would have missed her Papa way too much if he had gone to Honduras or Colorado on his own {because, let’s face it… it was never an option for me to not go to Hawaii ;)}  So, I’ll take the piles of laundry, empty pantry, homesick puppies, and tons of more packing/unpacking if it means that we can be together as much as possible! With all that being said, I need to finish showcasing our pictures from Hawaii… there’s only a few left!

We did end up taking a boat-ride because Joelle was DYING to go on one.  All she could talk about were the stinkin’ boats, but not in a whiny/complaining kind of way, so we decided to go for it!  Jared found an awesome speedboat that went all the way around the island of Lanai.  Great views and snorkeling!

 No matter how much we showed Joelle in Hawaii or the amount of beautiful fish and turtles we swam with, her favorite thing to do, by far, was playing on the beach.  This girl LOVES the sand and crashing waves.  At one point we found her with one shoe and a stick in her hand.  Apparently she was a crab catcher… an unsuccessful one at that 🙂  She’s still the cutest crab catcher I’ve ever seen!

 I always love seeing her Congolese roots shine through!  She can balance things on top of her head with the best of them!

  

And, the sand… oh, the sand.  I’m pretty sure we covered our entire condo with a layer of sand!

 I can’t even tell you how impressed I was with Joelle’s snorkeling skills.  Did she drive us crazy some of the time, absolutely!  Did she whine because she got cold, YES!  But, to her defense, we snorkeled A LOT!  

 And, we just can’t get enough of these turtles.  We found a great little snorkeling spot with at least 30 HUGE turtles.  There’s just something relaxing about watching turtles take their afternoon naps in caves!

 And, there you have it.  Our vacation has come to an end, and unfortunately the laundry is calling my name!  I’m going to wrap it up thanking the Lord that Joelle was able to watch others serve and do a little serving of her own in Honduras, saw her BEST friend from the Congo in Utah, experience several of our students come to know Christ in Colorado, and saw the beauty of God’s creation in Hawaii.  Can’t get much better than that!