Final days stateside

Our last big event, and what we based our scheduled return to Kyrgyzstan on, was the annual camping trip with our Generations Family! This is such a special and memorable event. Our kids love camping with this group of people.

The kids, hanging out and playing around the fire pit.

Gwangi, coming to meet me.

My Sissi girl, with her stuffed lambie.

My big guy, Krypto, still having fun, even in a cast.

Indy spent some time with the kids, letting them shoot some different guns.

Daddy and Sissi, doing some shooting practice.

Rainbows in the sky.

Sunday morning praise and worship.

A view of the campground by the New River.

Some archery practice was fun for everyone as well.

We all love our time in the water, so we took a trip down the river in kayaks.

As soon as we returned from the camping trip, we got laundry cleaned and repacked to head to Indiana and our family that lives right outside of Chicago. Since Indy's birthday had just passed, his mom couldn't pass up the opportunity to get him a cake.

Indy with his birthday cake.

And with his gift.

We got a day at the beach with the family. Walking and getting wet and just being together.

And, a hike up the sand dunes.

The view from part way up the Sand Dunes.

The girls got to make new tie dyed shirts and pose for a picture.

My, how much they've grown up since the last time they made matching shirts in 2014.

One more service at the local Lutheran church. So excited that they are celebrating and bringing in guest speakers about the Reformation.

Lunch after service, at our favorite, Red Robin!

A final game as we got the plastic bins taken out to the cars.

Saying our goodbyes to Calvin.

Sissi and her cousin, Lara.

More Sissi and Lara.

Family picture with Grandma Stamp.

The boy cousins.

All the grandkids with Grandma Stamp.

The girls!

Indy and I with Grandma Stamp.

Maria and I, just before getting in the car to head to the airport.

The boys with Ruth.

Grandma and Kyrpto.

Brothers.

Grandma and Gwangi.

We made it! All ready to check in...little did we know that they would weigh our carry-on bags this time and we would spend the next hour redistributing weight from our carry-ons to our checked luggage...we walked right onto our flight...and we're off to Kyrgyzstan!

Some final outings in the US

Once we moved out of our house in Winston Salem we stayed with some wonderful friends and during that time we were able to do some special family outings.

I asked the kids earlier in the month, "What one place did you really want to visit while we were back in the US, but we didn't get there?" and you'll never guess, but they said "Great Wolf Lodge!" We had never been there before, and don't really talk about it, so I was floored. I had heard it was pretty expensive and so wasn't thinking it was an option, but I decided to take a look online. We were able to do a mid-week room rate and get a significant military discount on top of that and thus, our reservation at Great Wolf Lodge became a reality. Indy and I decided to keep it as a surprise, as a "Thank You!" for all of the hard work the kids did during the move. It worked, they had no idea until we drove up and they read the sign! It was an amazing 24 hours of family time.

The kids, super excited when we arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Inside the water park, when the bucket of water dumps quite a few gallons of water on your head.

Racing down the water slides.

Riding on the intertubes.

Family picture, all wet and having a great time.

Working our way across the ropes on the obstacle course.

Arts and crafts time.

Before we left, they had to get a picture in front of the sign.

Later, when we returned to Winston Salem, we got to have a family outing with our friends...Baseball! Another first, we had never been to a Winston Salem Dash game!

The kids, sitting with their good friend.

Indy and I with our friends. Enjoying the game and talking during the slower times.

After the game there were fireworks!

The kids had such a great time. We love baseball!

Later that weekend, the kids got to attend a birthday party for a neighborhood friend. They went roller skating and had a great time.

The kids with their neighborhood friends.

Unfortunately, about 5 minutes before they were all done skating, Krypto fell and broke his arm. He spent the next couple of weeks in a cast. He is fully recovered now, and you wouldn't know he broke his arm at all.

Our final outing was Indy and I taking a few days away for his birthday and an early anniversary trip, to Asheville, NC. We picked a Bed and Breakfast in the old town area and our goal was to rest, relax, eat good food, and talk about the next few years and what our goals and vision look like for this coming period of time.

Our first dinner was at Tupelo Honey...some very good Southern food!

This was breakfast the first morning at our Bed and Breakfast, the Pinecrest.

Lunch our first day was Ethiopian!

Some of the architecture around Asheville was a surprise to us. Really enjoyed our walks around the older part of the city.

Dinner was all you can eat meat at a Brazilian Steakhouse.

Heading back to the Pinecrest that night, I thought we should take some pictures as we were leaving the next day. Each afternoon there were freshly baked treats.

The dining room area.

The shared living room.

Our bedroom.

Our bathroom.