Another "I" State

Our whirlwind vacation was slowly coming to end but, not before one last stop to visit our friends, from the old seminary days, in Iowa. Our vacation seems to have revolved around the states of  Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Perhaps we'll check out some states with some other letters next year.

We arrived at the Sherrills' home just in time to grill up some "Sherm" dogs and roast marshmallows. The evening couldn't be any better. The weather was perfect.

The next morning was filled with some gator driving,

rope swinging,

tractor rides,

making new friends,

and Nerf gun battles.

Then, because they don't call me Camera Jan for nothing, we decided it would be great to get a photo of all of our children together. We lined them up by age and they all fit on the slide and they're all looking at the camera and smiling. How often does that happen?

The crazy thing about attending the seminary is that you meet some really wonderful people while you are there. You become friends with people that know what you are going through in your church because they are pastors too, and maybe they're going through the same thing at their church. You form these bonds with people at the seminary because you share a common interest, after all, when you graduate from the seminary you, God willing, become ordained as a pastor. The difficult thing is that when you get that call to a church you have to move. You no longer get live near your wonderful friends and they don't necessarily get live near you. The miles make it difficult, but then again, if you are on vacation, traveling by car, you almost always have friends to stop and see no matter where you are going.

It's been years since we've seen Nate and Tina, so this visit was great fun. Our families have grown and we haven't aged one bit. :) It was sure nice to see you guys, Nate and Tina. Hope you make it out to Denver soon!