Our Growing Family

Not only are we anticipating the addition of a new family member in the fall, but we were so excited to be able to add a new sister-in-law/aunt to the family a few weeks ago. We love Kate (yes, now there are three Catherine/Kathryn/Katherine's in the family) and are so excited that she is now officially a Dyksterhouse! We were all so honored to be a part of such a special and beautiful day.

With a stop in Atlanta for a wedding the weekend before (sadly, we didn't have our camera there), we made our way to Charleston for a week of vacation before Jimmy and Kate's big day. It was so much fun to get to spend time at the beach with family, and

Mary Laine loved getting to play with all of her cousins. She especially grew very atta

ched to Gabby (4 months older than ML) and has been praying for her regularly since we got home :-).

We were also able to get together with my college roommate Sarah Catherine and her precious son, Sullivan. Sadly, I wasn't able to get a picture of the two kiddos together because they were both constantly in motion. We went to a water park and Mary Laine had a blast. Her favorite activity was the "big" slide. She wasn't tall enough to go down by herself, but they let her hold Gary's hand on the adjacent slide. She kept begging "again, again" after each turn. She was a little sad to leave, but could barely keep her eyes open by the end, so didn't put up too much of a fight.

Mary Laine and adorable Sullivan

We learned that Mary Laine is definitely a beach girl - we're glad that she takes after her Mom and Dad! She was a little hesitant on our last beach trip to Destin, but I think that was only due to the lack of excitement. As soon as we added the commotion of her five cousins and all of the aunts, uncles, and grandparents, she was content to stay out and play for hours. She loved it all - the beach, the ocean, the pool. We even had ML and Gabby doing some synchronized diving! (Well, we shoved the under the water at the same time, but that doesn't sound as glamorous.)

Gary and his brothers

The littlest flower girl

With Papa and Mimi

With Grammy and Poppop

After all of the festivities, Gary headed back to work, while Mary Laine and I decided to extend our vacation for a few days. We went to St. Simons with Mimi to wind down and get in our last stretch of beach time for awhile. We were out shopping one day and ran into another one of my college roommates, Sudie, and her precious son Alan.

Finally, on our way home, we stopped in Auburn to see Aunt Susanne. It was great to be able to spend a little time with her, and to be able to break the trip up a little bit. While we had a great time, there's no place like home and we're glad to be back!!