Summer Adventures - Jer's Wedding

A good friend who found his best friend - enough said! Congrats Jer and Adrienne! So excited to hang out and get to know this girl of yours, Jer.

Summer Adventures - The Aquarium

The first of many Aquarium trips, I'm sure - Ben was in love with all the fish but possibly equally as enamored by the guy making balloon animals as we left :)

Summer Time

One thing I will tell you that is a constant frustration for me is Ben's 'helmet hair' - he comes by it naturally with Jon and I both having super thick hair and one of Jon's nicknames as a child being 'red helmet.' Either way, each little hair seems to have a mind of it's own and I am constantly wondering how to tame it but, every now and then, I have pictures like these where the sun catches each individual hair in just the right light and you can see the helmet in all its' glory. I hope Ben understands that, if it was just up to his dad, he'd have a buzzed hair cut all year long as a way of dealing with it, but hopefully he'll thank me one day for trying multiple different things to try to tame this beast!

 

Summer Time - Hanging around the house :)

Just a few of my boys!

Summer Camping Adventures - McCarthy Siblings!

We had such a wonderful time with Jon's brother, Greg, sister, Jenn and their families on this second annual sibling camping trip. Here's hoping we can make it a yearly tradition! It was pouring rain the whole weekend but the kids didn't mind at all and we all had a great time hanging out together around the fire under the fantastic tarp built by Dave, Greg and Jon. Thanks McCarthy's/Baergs for an awesome weekend and many great memories for the kids and us adults. Love you guys!

 

First foods for Jacob ;)

Not a lot of time to write about each of these pics but wanted to post them nonetheless as I think they speak for themselves :)

Summer Adventures....they just keep coming!

A few more of my favs from the summer! I love these boys :)

Summer Adventures #5 - 9th Annual SFU Crew Birch Bay Trip

I don't know any other way to describe this group of friends than as extended family. We all met in University and, over the years, we have all got married and some have started having kids but, what's really cool is that there has been a continued effort beyond University, beyond graduation and work or family taking us to locations extending from North Vancouver to Burnaby to WhiteRock to Langley and even Halifax, we have all made an effort to stay connected and that, combined with the strong connection we all had in University as well as what I truly feel is the hand of God on all of our friendships, we have stayed close and grown even closer over the years through all of lifes' changes. 

Some of the 'connecting' we do happens at get-togethers over the course of the year but once a year we all take time out and head down to Birch Bay to spend some quality time together. Next year will be our 10th annual trip and we're already starting to plan it so every one can be there. This year we missed the Mansfields, Zvonarova's and Andersons' but it was still a great time and so many memories were made.

I love all you guys so much and, Jon and I, look forward to the years ahead of continued friendship, fellowship and always silly fun no matter how old we get or how many kids come into the picture. You are all truly a gift from God and we so appreciate you loving us for who we are and loving our boys. We plan to return the favor with you all and your families for many years to come.


 

Summer Adventures #4- McCarthy Birch Bay 2011

Birch Bay - two words that mean relaxation, fun with cousins and, once a year, the July 4th fireworks and two special girls' birthday celebrations. Every year, we try to set aside a week with Jon's family and a week with my family for a trip of some sort and each year we LOVE going down to Birch Bay with the McCarthys' and, slowly but surely, Ben is growing to love the pool even more but the grandparents, the parades, the C shop, the ocean have all been favorites of his from the start. Here are just a few memories from this years' trip :)

 

Summer Adventures #3 - Family

The one thing I find with my photography is that I don't get in too many photos unless I ask and set it all up, which inevitably means that I don't get too many candid moments of me and my kids captured but the posed family shots will have to do for now and, I'm talking Jon into letting me pay someone to do family shots for us once every few years to satisfy that other desire :) Here are a few from one morning before church and, yes, I have the boys in matching outfits. I swore I wouldn't do that but I can't help myself. It's too much fun!

 

Summer Adventures #2 - Pool Time

Still being owners at Pepperwood has its' perks and the pool is one of them! Ben is slowly, but surely, getting to like the water better, though he still mostly hangs out on step 1 or step 2 of the pool. In fact, the photo in the middle was probably proceeded by a lot of crying but, the more I put Ben in situations where he is challenged to try something new, the more I am reminded that, when given the opportunity, he will continue to amaze me. It reminds me of a song I started singing to Ben before he went to bed and the words are so true, 'Ben is a promise, Ben is a possibility, Ben is a promise with a capitol 'P.' Ben is a great big bundle of potentiality and Ben is learning to hear God's voice and Ben is trying to make the right choice. Ben is a promise to be anything God wants him to be.' I love these boys and, love even more that, those words I can sing to Ben & Jacob can be impressed upon their hearts at such a young age so that, hopefully, with God's help and grace, my boys can understand the unlimited possibilities that lay ahead of them as children of God.