around the world in 60 days

Do you get Focus on the Family's Thriving Family magazine? I was so excited to see what was in their summer issue! Beginning June 2, you and your family can travel Around the World in 60 Days! Click here to download this colorful map, passports, stamps, itinerary and devotional guide.

Each week you'll visit a different region of the world and learn about a few of the countries in that region. There are Bible verses, things to pray for, crafts, activities, and sometimes recipes included in the daily entries.

 I hope you do this, too! It looks like so much fun. Happy travels!

life {the newly-condensed version}

Yes, this is an ocean and we still live in Minnesota.  :)

After being landlocked and covered in snow since January, we decided to take our spring break in sunny Orlando, Florida. Apparently this has been an atypical, long winter for Minnesota. We had snow fall even up to a week and a half ago.

We had a wonderful time together. Even though our days were long with lots of walking in the heat and humidity (to which we were NOT acclimated), the kids did great. They were real troopers and such a joy! One of the highlights of our trip was staying with Phil's cousin and family for a few days.

So here's a run-down of our lives these past two months...

Fun at Epcot!

 Kilimanjaro Safari in Disney's Animal Kingdom

 Disney World

 Disney's Hollywood Studios

Kennedy Space Center

We went on a few field trips with the homeschool group from our church and visited an old village where the kids attended 2 hours of school in an old schoolhouse.

Another field trip included digging for fossils near the banks of the Mississippi River. We found lots of coral, seashells and trilobites. Imagine--right here in the Midwest. Evidence of a world-wide flood!

Our first Minnesota Twins game and the kids' first baseball game. We had such a great time! The boys probably enjoyed it a bit more. The game was super long and the girls kept getting distracted by all of the vendors about half-way through.

And last, but not least, today was race day for the kids! Our city hosts a "Marathon" for kids by having them keep track of 25 miles of running, biking or walking for 2 months, and then running the final 1.2 miles on race day. Unfortunately, it POURED rain this morning. And I believe this is an understatement. It was loud and torrential. About 30 minutes after we arrived, the race was canceled, due to lightning. So we went to Super Target instead and did our final 1.2.