Eat Mor Chikin!

While in North Carolina, Chick-Fil-A sponsored a cow appreciation day. All we had to do was dress like a cow and Chick-Fil-A gave us a free lunch. Bryce opted not to come because he didn't want to dress like a cow. Oh well, he missed lunch and the rest of us had a good time.

Happy Birthday Kiersten!

In the midst of all our travels, Kiersten turned 4 years old! We celebrated her birthday on the 4th of July at Tanya's house in Idaho. She had a great day! First there was the parade, then a picnic lunch complete with Scooby Snacks and Salsa, a water fight and finally cake, ice cream and presents. Because Kiersten's Uncle Jeff has a birthday a couple days after Kiersten's, Tanya arranged for a cake to celebrate both birthdays. Kiersten loved all the time with her cousins: James, Joseph, Ben, Emma, Logan, and Aiden!

We love Princess Kiersten! We're thankful you are in our family!

North Carolina

Bryce, Keith, Kiersten, Hunter, and cousin Andrew at the Turtle Hospital

Hunter, Lauren, and Kiersten walking home from the beach with the cousins

The 3rd Generation

The Birkeland Family - 3 Generations

John showing Connor how to fly a kite with Hunter watching

Melanie and Kiersten making a sand castle

Lauren showing off her new hairdo compliments of Dottie

Keith flipping off the sea kayak after being hit by a wave

Our family with Lois

We were very fortunate to go out to North Carolina this month. I spent 2 weeks in NC with the kids and Keith was able to come out for a week. During the time we were there, we attended the Birkeland Family Reunion. Keith's mom, Lois, and her sister, Joyce, planned a fun filled week on Topsail Island. In total, we had 30 adults and 20 kids. Our kids had a great time playing with their cousins!

We spent most of our time on the beach digging holes, boogie boarding, and body surfing. One day, Keith's cousin's husband took all the boys way out on a sand bar to give them a good push on their boogie boards. By doing this, the boys could ride the wave half way back to the beach. Keith perfected flipping over the waves. Kiersten didn't like the water very much because she got pummeled by a few waves. She would walk up to the surf and fill buckets with water to use in her sand creations. Lauren just LOVED having girl cousins her age and spent a lot of time playing with them and even had a few sleepovers.

Bryce, Connor, and Hunter were just 3 of the group of 11 boys that ranged between 6 and 13. There was one other boy cousin who was 2, so he missed out on a lot of the boy stuff. One night all of the boys spent the night at our house. We decided to play a joke on Keith's Uncle Don. We took all the boys over to Uncle Don's house with their pillows. They knocked on the door and demanded a sleep over. It was pretty funny! Afterwards we took the boys down on the beach with flashlights and went ghost crab hunting.

Keith has also discovered Geocaching. Keith took the kids and many of the cousins on Geocaching adventures. This is something fun our family is going to continue with. If you want to learn more about Geocaching go to: www.geocaching.com

We had a great time with Keith's family and the kids can't wait to get together with their cousins again. Everyone talked about another reunion in 3 years. We sincerely hope this will happen.