Good Ground

Everyone has been clamoring for pictures of our time at the Good Ground Mannings' house, some angrily.  So, here they are.  Forgive the quality as they were all taken on my phone.  We really had fun playing with the kids.  They have a huge basement playroom that is perfect for intense Ring Around the Rosie, board games, and jumping rope. Zach is pretty much the best Dad and Uncle ever and gets right into the thick of the fun. 

 

 The Mannings now own a huge 25 acre property that has a creek, lake, and rolling woods.  It's such a nice piece of land and surprising to find in the middle of cornfield Illinois.  The morning after we arrived, Owen was excited about swimming in the lake.  He put on his swimsuit and headed out to the lake unaccompanied, though Zach quickly got out there too.  Soon Joel, the girls and even Cae-baby joined them.   

 

The lake outing was hilarious. I was holding Carly and got to watch the fun of Zach trying to get the boys to the floating dock while avoiding getting nipped by the fish in the lake.  Caelum hopped right in with his life jacket on and immediately rolled onto his face.  Owen and Zach tipped while on their float, and from that point on Owen preferred to travel with Uncle Joel.  Poor Zach also had to get Caelum back from the floating dock, after he was falling asleep on it. Haven and Cadence are awesome swimmers and love to be in the water.

 

 

 

 

 Carly June is a sweet little baby.  All the kids adore her, including my own, seen given kisses to her in the following pictures.  I definitely plan on using a pacifier with my next kid (that is NOT a subtle pregnany announcement, if you're wondering) because those things are great.

 

 

 After church on Sunday, the Mannings took us to the Rainbow Resource warehouse so we could see where Joel works and do some shopping.  The kids very patiently played on carts and conveyor belts as I giddily spent way too much time looking at school materials and toys. Their selection and prices are unbeatable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at Steph's parents' house so the kids could take a ride on their ATV.  It was a muddy and fun ride.  Joel was able to return with all the kids still on board.

 

 We have missed hanging out with Joel and co. on a regular basis and hadn't seen them for a year.  We fell right back into the groove of eating big meals together and playing games.  Joel even caught and prepared a few bites of fish from his own lake. Haven was right there with him the whole time as he skinned and cooked it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We learned, and purchased, lots of new games and the kids played really nicely together as we did so.  Avery and Caelum became fast friends and could usually be found in the pantry together, sneaking a cereal snack. Owen has already been asking for a repeat visit, and he remains unfazed by the long drive to get there.  Steph, sorry I don't have more pictures of you.  I know you really wanted to see some since you were so excited for a post about you.   Sorry!  I'll be more intentional on our next visit.  Because yes, we'll be back.  

 

 

 Thanks for having us, Mannings! We love you guys!