Outreach Orientation

Just a little "Blerp" about our weekend of orientation:

Last weekend we spent time getting to know our sending organization in a more personal way as well as getting to know some other great people with some pretty encouraging visions. We were really able to put some things into perspective and remember the reasons why we are doing what we are. Our time for departure is getting closer and closer which brings about a slew of emotions - excitement, fear, encouragement, determination, reality, love, sadness, boldness, creativity, etc. We made some great friendships and built on the ones that were already in place. We are thankful~

Apostle Islands

My family along with Dane & I just got back last week from a week of vacation. We didn't go anywhere tropical or on a cruise but we went somewhere really fun... Apostle Islands.


We had never heard of this place before but decided to check it out. It looked so adventurous and relaxing, we couldn't pass it up.

Sun Set from our Cabbin

We began the 8hr drive from Marion to Bayfield, WI. We rented a cabin that was the perfect size for our growing family which had a beautiful view overlooking the water of Lake Superior. The morning sun rises and evening sun sets were so beautiful and peaceful, it was exacly what we needed out of a vacation home.

Team of Swikers

Swiking

Dane & Jordan made up a new way of "transportation" called swiking. This is a combination of swimming and hiking. The boys came up with it one morning as they were down by the water and decided they wanted to figure out what was beyond "that rock" so they set out for an adventure that took quite a while. After they came back they were so excited at how far they had gotten and made plans to swike from our cabin to Bayfield (which was about 5 miles).



On our next outting we had to take the Ferry to Madeline Island (this was the biggest of all the islands) where we met up with a few other people and a very well worded man who took us kayaking. None of us had really kayaked before and it looks decivingly easy, but it's not! We paddled out to an area where there are some sea caves which took about an hour of paddling. It was very beautiful and well worth it!

Our next outting was to Raspberry Island where there is a lighthouse. It was extremely windy and fairly cold that day so the water was very rough, this made for a fun time getting on and off the boat with 3 ft. swells! Our guide told us what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper in the early 1900's... I'm not so sure I would want that job!

To the left is a picture of the whole family after our tour of all the Islands on the Island Princess.


On the right is Dane & I at the Berry Farm where we picked fresh Raspberries & Blueberries. They were very delicious (I ate about 3/4 of what we picked)!





The girls had fun horseback riding while the guys went golfing. Each of us had a horse with it's own personality. Chelsea rode Snoopy who had a hard time keeping up with the group. Mom had Apolo who couldn't be away from Kylie's horse, Brutis however, Brutis didn't care one bit about Apolo. I rode Scarlet who was easy going and went along with everyone else. We had a lot of fun!!

The whole Family outside our Cabbin

We sure had a great trip! Next family vacation... Mexico :)