while dad's away

Early Friday morning Bill left the country for a week. He, along with 16 other people, went on a missions trip to the DR. It is always hard to have him gone but I say ever time he leaves for a mission trip that God has just as much in store for me to learn as He does for the people that travel on the trip.
While dad is away we are trying our hardest to keep busy! Otherwise we would just sit around and miss him too much! All three of our girls are daddy's girls so not only do I miss Bill being gone but his other girls miss him too.
We decided to head to mama and papa's house for a few days. I am so thankful for our family! They helped entertain us and make the first few days without dad go by quickly.

Each evening we were there we walked over to the park after supper. These two are pretty cute in the wagon together.

 Pretty sure Mikayla is trying to tell Kelly something really, really important here.

 Along with going to play at the park, the girls thought they needed to ride papa's motorcycle. Lots of circles were made around the parking lot. Always fun to see their excitement about riding with papa. Not so long ago Mikayla could have cared less but now she makes sure she gets her equal time in on the mini-trail!

 I think Papa had been home from work for about five minutes before Jennifer started begging for a ride. It is looking like she may be getting a little too big to ride with papa though. Next I'm sure she will be asking to ride all by herself! That may be a few years away though...

 Even Kelly got to have a little ride with papa! She wasn't too sure what to think but she didn't cry and I'm sure in a few years she will be just like her sisters and be begging for a ride.

 On Saturday afternoon papa packed up the boat, mama packed a picnic lunch and headed out for a fun afternoon.

 Doing a little fishing in papa's boat (her pants are wet from water, not because she peed in them!).

 Kelly and mama went for a walk while the rest of us fished but Kelly got to play in the boat for a little bit when we were done.

We also got to visit Grammie and played with Cole and Logan while we were there. And we visited Papa Jim, Mama Sue and great grandma. A huge thank-you to our family for caring for us while daddy is away. You helped us make the days fun and go by quickly.
Now we are home again and counting down the days until Bill returns!