July Furlough pics

Below is a journey of our travels in July......

We started our journey in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Robert has been in Michigan before, but this was our first time as a family. The weather was so pleasant there. I have never been in a place that I felt I needed a light jacket, especially in July. Below is a pic of Pastor Burnett of 12th Street. Compared to the boys, he looks like a giant.

We got a chance to touch the waters of Lake Michigan. The sun was setting and it was absolutely beautiful. We took off our shoes, and ran in the cold white sand. The water was registered at 46 degrees. Way too cold to swim in, but the boys did wade in it alittle, until they froze....which didn't take long.

Jess looks like he's been photoshopped in, but he just happen to move at the moment I took the picture. He really enjoyed getting to wade. The boys also enjoyed getting icecream at the little snack shack on the beach (not pictured)

After Sunday am with 12th Street Baptist, one of the members invited us over for lunch at his house. He had a wonderful garden full of any and all kinds of flowers.

After leaving Kalamazoo, we headed for Chicago. We had planned to go to an aquarium there, but ended up changing our plans. It just so happened that our cousin was with his youth group there, singing downtown as part of their musical/mission tour. We thought it was pretty cool that we were going to be in Chicago the very same day they were. We worked it out where Colin didn't know we were coming. When we showed up, he was speechless. It was a pretty cool day for all of us. By the way, downtown Chicago is very nice!

Though we don't have any pics of the boys at the SOAR meeting in St. Louis, we did get pics of the town. We had a really weird thing happen to us while there. On July 3rd, we were in TGIF eating lunch. They were handing out raffle tickets, and we noticed a radio station doing a broadcast inside. We soon found out why they were there. They were giving out 2 tickets (ground floor) to the July 4th Cardinal game. You will never guess who won those?!!! Jesse Murphy proudly walked up to the broadcasters to receive his tickets, of which he couldn't use. It just so happened that Robert was speaking at the very exact time that the game started. And....they only gave 2 tickets. Buying more tickets that late was an impossibility. So, we ended up selling the tickets a couple of hours before the game, and the boys split the $100 that we sold the tickets for;)

This was taken under the St. Louis Arch, looking up into the sun.

Jess standing by an exhibit inside the museum of the St. Louis Arch. Once again, we didn't get to go up into the Arch tram. We didn't have time. Some day, we will actually get to do that!

Random pics

On our last trip to Mississippi, we realized that we were in the same area as the Moore's, who were also home on furlough. We got a chance to eat with them and enjoy their company.

We also got a chance to visit some more good friends while in MS. Though I didn't put a pic up of the dancing game, they enjoyed 'attempting' to dance with the mat on the floor. It was quite hysterical. Thanks guys for the wonderful time we had with you guys!

Bro. Meade's friend had a pet deer. The boys were able to go in and pet this sweet animal.....a first for them (besides petting zoos).

While in Louisiana, we visited with the Miley family. We enjoyed their company, their pool, their horses and a time of fishing. It was overall a pleasurable experience.

Jamin and Grandma Bruce

PawPaw Bruce and cousin, Ryleigh

While eating at Country Kitchen in Baytown, TX, someone in our party ordered a Texas sized chicken fried steak, only to be surprised that it was truly Texas-sized! Compared to the size of Jesse's head, can you imagine that being a single serving? No, it wasn't Jamin or Jesse's meal, haha.

While being in the states, Robert took on several projects that needed to be done while at his dad's house. Several times, the boys would get out to help, but usually not for very long. This was one of the projects below.