Mr. & Mrs. Branden Lutz

Branden and Katie

We used to see this view from our living room when we lived in Boulder!

"The Happy Couple" with Den and I

Beaver Creek

We took a whirl wind (3 days) trip to the beautiful Colorado Rockies.  We were able to witness our son getting married as well as see a few of our "favorite" sights.

some fantastic artwork drawn straight from the hand of God. . .

in spite of some unbelievable humid days we have some unbelievable cloud formations!  and just like winter, here in mid-Michigan, we get bypassed for all the good thunder/lightening storms. . . .again we are the Bermuda Triangle of Michigan. . . .they go north. . . .they go south. . . .but they never hit here!  but we just couldn't pass up an opportunity to "ooh and ahh" over what God gave us tonight!

its a girls day out!

later this morning Jacqueline and I are headed out for a few hours, just the two of us! I can't remember the last time we were able to enjoy some mom/daughter time (she wants to see a movie).  I'm excited. . . I think she is too. . . .and I know we are both looking forward to it! I love that girl so much and can't believe she will be in junior high this fall! Seems like just yesterday she was Victoria's age!  I'm glad she still wants to do "stuff" with her mom!  (I think we will be extremely happy to sit inside of a cold theater for a few hours too)

so sweet. . . .

as Victoria was in the bathtub this morning she was playing and she says, "Mom, I'm thinking about. . . . .Bwad, Manda, Wilson and Wakhur and how much I wuv them. . . ."  Every now and then she just has to say share how much she loves her siblings, and she doesn't miss a single one of them either, she names them all even in her prayers, sometimes she even says them twice!

lake versus ocean

Thursday morning we decided to head over to one of our favorite family spots, "Gun Lake."  The weather forcast was to be hot and muggy, perfect for beach fun.  We loaded up the van and headed over.  Arriving at Gun Lake the sky was overcast but the air was warm as was the water.  In a manner of minutes we were all in the water playing.  Though the sun peaked out on occasion we all preferred it to be overcast; it wasn't blazing hot, nor did we have to squint.  Den readied the grill and cooked us up some fine burgers and hot dogs, then it was off  for more water fun.  We practically had the beach to ourselves, at least one end.  Colson and I had fun writing words in the sand as well as a family sand castle building contest (I think Brennan and I won!) and then the dark clouds started rolling in.  It wasn't long and we decided to head for home before the sky opened up and let loose.  We didn't get too far from the beach before we saw evidence of rain and as we got closer to home we drove through a torrential downpour; flooded roads, ditches, branches and limbs down!  We found half of our area without power, of course all the main stops, "Krogers, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, RED BOX (a real bummer)".  We were hoping we would be without power (crazy I know) as the kids thought it would be fun to experience it! Of course Den was happy our home wasn't affected (with not so fond memories of bailing out the sump-pump for hours on end).  Once home we quickly unloaded the "stuff" and made it inside before the clouds let loose their fury! Once showered and the laundry (literally) pitched down the basement stairs (of which it stayed until Friday morning) we all decided that the OCEAN was by far better than Gun Lake.  The OCEAN isn't dirty, the sand is clean and we hardly had any in our suits; however Gun Lake is dirty, you bring an entire sandbox home  in your swimsuits, and it smells of fish! so now after a vacation to the ocean my family is HOOKED and already planning our next vist! LOVE IT!

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We can't seem to get our "vacation" out of our heads! We had such a great time and it had been quite some years since we had taken one, 12 to be exact, so we are still talking about the amazing time we had.  I previously shared about our time at Dave and Casey's and the beach so now its time to share our time with our ARMY family at Fort Benning.  We arrived at Brad and Amanda's on July 4th!  We had anticipated going to fireworks later that evening but the kids were enjoying each other so much that none of us had the heart to pull them away from their play.  We never mentioned the fireworks, they never mentioned the fireworks and it was quite all right with all of us!  Just being with our kids, on an ARMY base, was good enough.  Late Monday morning we all went to the National Infantry Museum (if you ever have the chance to visit Fort Benning/Columbus area, make sure you go here ).  Sobering! no other words for it!

After the museum we were given a tour of the base, two vehicles, two tour guides and ended the back at our kids home for pizza.  After lunch we all donned our suits and headed over to one of the many pools on base.  Of course it was HOT and the pool was refreshing and the kids LOVED it (they never tire of water and swimming).  We went back to Brad's, the kids chilled watching a movie and we visited more! Dinner then outside for 'smores.  The kids had a blast with each other and all too soon it was bedtime and packing-up to leave the next morning.  I'm with Victoria. . . .I hate goodbyes! they get harder and more painful each time we go through them, and poor little Wilson struggles with them too, even Walker shed some tears.  Honestly you never realize just how much you miss someone until you see them!  What a gift it was to spend this time with our children, a vacation full of life-long memories!

a Jacqueline-ism. . .

The other day, while riding in the van we told the kids we were heading out to Colorado in a few weeks for a wedding.  Jacqueline quickly responded (with all enthusiasm and smiles), "geez. . . .this is the best summer of our entire lives. . . .North Carolina. . . . .Georgia. . . . . Colorado. . . .we're going all over the country on vacation!"  I have to agree with her, it is pretty stinkin' sweet! I said, "since we'll be visiting most of our children that live out of state we need to head out to Dan and Elizabeth's, in North Dakota, for Labor Day Weekend!"  of which she heartily agreed! I mentioned it to Den. . . .I'm working on him. . . . .I sure hope he agrees! and then, "yes it will be the best summer of our entire lives. . . . because we got to spend it with all of our children!"

vacation. . . .

 Dave, Casey, Colson, Jacqueline and Victoria

at Sunset Beach

It been years since our family has had a "REAL" vacation.  Usually when we go somewhere everyone else is on vacation but me.  You know what I'm talking about, right? if your a camping family you know exactly what I'm talking about!! well this time it was a vacation for me too! Oh I still had to prepare meals and such but my sweet daughter-in-law Casey worked along side of me.  What a gift that girl is! not just because she works but because she's like an extra set of arms that knows exactly what to do and when to do it, without prompting.  Dave and Casey treated us all to a vacation at the ocean.  We stayed in a resort; outdoor/indoor pool/hot tubs, workout room; plus were only 5 minutes from the shore!  It was FABULOUS and RELAXING!  Of course it wouldn't be a "Lutz" vacation without mishaps! thankfully we are learning to not let them stress us out and to roll with the punches!

the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning

Victoria and Walker

ready. . .set.. . .lets roll!

Drill Sargent Lutz 

Walker, Victoria, Colson and Wilson

4 little army dudes!

America. . .land of the free. . .BECAUSE of the "BRAVE"

One never realizes how blessed we are to live in a free country nor do we realize just how much our Military men and women sacrifice for us to remain this way.  Monday evening our son, Daniel, called his dad and gave us some very heartbreaking news.  One of their close friends son had died in Afghanistan earlier that morning.  He was with the family minutes after the Chaplain delivered the painful news.  We immediately prayed for the Cooper family as well as Daniel and Elizabeth that God would grant grace to both of them as they walk through this darkened valley.   Here we all were, on a military installation in the south, enjoying time with our soldier son and his family and another family miles away was grieving the loss of their firstborn son; a young man who would have turned 20 next week; home in August; married in October.  Time and time again I've heard of men and women who have sacrificed their lives, near and far, saying prayers for the family as they deal with the loss but never really feeling the "pain" of their loss until Monday night.  Daniel (a youth pastor in a small town in ND) and his wife will be watching the Coopers four remaining children as they fly to Delaware to bring their son's body home.  The Cooper family; Dave, Heather, Dawson (16), Twila (13), Gabby (5) and Carlie (3), would covet your prayers as they face and deal with the loss of their son and brother, Keenan.

an ocean respite. . .

We have been enjoying ourselves at Sunset Beach, North Carolina!  It was a wonderful gift from our son and daughter-in-law.  Our accomodations are amazing! family time has been awesome (except we do miss our manboys who aren't able to be here with us).  Tomorrow we head back to Dave and Casey's home then we head out to our ARMY son's at Fort Benning!  I have to say that this little surprise vacation has been just what Den and I have needed.  The stress of life has, at times, pulled us almost under, almost suffocating us.  What a blessing it was for Dave to call and invite us down and I'm sure we totally surprised them when we said "yes".

Happy 4th of July and remember to thank a service man or woman for their sacrifice in keeping our country safe and free........