The Burlingames

Back in July we went on a camping trip to Lake Wissota State Park. Lake Wissota is near Chippewa Falls, WI. We invited our dear friends, Aaron and Leah Hintgen to join us. They even brought their daughter, Yuli and new puppy, Bear with. :-)

Here is our tent, pre-mess. Due to lack of space, we did not bring Noah’s pack n’ play. This was his first time not sleeping in a crib and the boys first time sleeping next to each other. It went surprisingly well. Better than I expected.

We had a ton of fun chatting, eating yummy food, watching the kids play together and watching Bear explore his surroundings. The kids did a great job of playing together and not causing too much of a ruckus.

The men and children preparing the fire for our dinner feast. Yum!

Chilling in chairs by the fire.

With two potty training children, Eli and Yuli, we spent a lot of time running back and forth between the bathroom. Or so it seemed… :-) They loved when people with dogs walked by our site. There was lots of yelling “puppies” throughout the day and evening. We did lots of walking around and went to the park to play…several times. Basically, Friday was our hanging out and catching up day. It took the kids a long time to settle down and fall asleep, but they finally did. Unfortunately though, they were up EARLY the next morning.

Eating breakfast on Saturday morning. As you can see, I forgot to bring any bowls. Oops!

We took a very, very long walk to the beach area. We didn’t realize how long of a walk it would be to get to the beach. All of us ended up carrying children at some point, for a long time. We’ll chalk that one up as “good exercise”! ;-)

This is what the bulk of our Saturday morning consisted of……throwing pebbles in the water and getting super soaked. :-)

Aaron, Leah and Yuli left on Saturday afternoon. We attempted to have the boys nap and they did for a bit. We heard Noah wake up, he crawled over to Eli and started chatting with him. Dave snatched up Noah before he could wake up Eli. We spent the rest of the day playing and hanging out. We did make a quick trip to Walmart for “the plug”, we forgot one for Noah and its needed “in case of emergencies”.

On Sunday morning, we woke up to rain. We played in the tent for a bit while the rain slowed down. In between showers, Dave and I scrambled to pack up while attempting to keep the boys entertained. We were home by mid-morning on Sunday. We had a great time and would love to go camping again…sometime.

…I said “I do”!!!

Introducing us as Mr. & Mrs. Burlingame!!!!

It all began in May of 2001. That’s when we first met at Arrowhead Bible Camp. Even though I thought he was HOT, I was determined to not like him or want to date him (but I did flirt endlessly with him). I wanted to go to college as a single lady to meet and date guys there. Apparently God had other plans (as He always does). By the end of the summer, Dave and I were unofficially an item. I still maintain that he did not ask me to be his girlfriend. ;-)

Seeing each other for the first time.

I felt absolutely beautiful!!!!

On October 4, 2003, Dave was in Sioux Falls visiting me for Viking Days weekend. It was a crazy busy day and Dave was with me throughout the entire day. We had a great time at the parade and football game. We were finally able to steal away for some quiet time later in the afternoon.

My bridesmaids: Kirsten, Beth, Katie and Brianna

Flower girl: Kaitlyn

We went to the Falls to hang out. After a bit, Dave gave me a card telling me how much he loved me. He signed the card “your future husband, David John”. He then proceeded to use sign language to ask me to marry him. I knew exactly what he said, but wanted to make sure he knew what he said and give him an “out” if needed. :-) Once it was established what he said, I proceeded say “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!!!”.

Our families: Brianna, Dad, Mom, Me, Dave, Kathy, Charlie, Beth, Judah, Nate

We got married on August 7, 2004. It was a glorious day!!!! I had such a wonderful time marrying my best friend. We had so much fun together and truly enjoyed our family and friends. We had lots of wonderful people involved in our day and we are so thankful to them for being a part of our wedding day.

Groomsmen: Judah, Ben, Dave, Nate and Tim

Ushers: Aaron, Dan, Jared and Aaron

Dave and I have been through so much in the last 8 years. We have been through major life events. We have moved several times before finally buying a house. We have gone through job changes, both good and bad. We gave birth to two wonderful, sweet, adorable, patience-testing little boys. We have been through many ups and downs with Eli’s health. We gone through family deaths. We made it through all of the life events because of God’s grace. He gave us the ability to lean on each other, as well as Him and to love each other through it all.

Yes, we are weird!!! That’s one reason why we love each other.

I’m so glad and thankful that God brought us together and I love my husband dearly. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone (or anything)!!

Love this man!!!!!