We have a new driver and it’s both wonderful and nerve-wracking!
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Paul and Luke did well in their wrestling season.
Paul with a WLuke gets a W
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We watched lots of basketball. Clark had a fun season and played really well. Our local high school is going to state.
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I visited three different schools to celebrate reading:
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We’ve only had a little snow this winter but enjoyed it!
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Wrigley is still living his best life.
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Ted and I snuck out for date night in between the family madness.
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Those are a few of the “fun winter highlights.”
However, we’ve had some challenges this winter too. My mother-in-law lost her brother, another wonderful family member is going through chemotherapy, we had a big water leak in our house and I’ve been living with a ‘half kitchen,’ and we had to cancel a trip we’d been looking forward to for months – those are “not-so-fun highlights.” Life has both highs and lows and I choose to focus on the good and know that I have so much to be grateful for!
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Thanks for reading! I hope you had a good winter and an even BETTER spring!
On Sunday we introduced “The Great Lake Rescue” to our community by hosting an Ice Cream Book Launch party. The event took place at our local park. Our invitations were sent to array of friends, classmates, and the esteemed illustrator.
Here’s what happened:
3:00
Ice Cream Sundaes, Root Beer Floats and Popsicles
Meet the Author and Illustrator
Opportunity to Purchase and Obtain Autographed Copies of the Book
Children’s Drawing Contest with Exciting Giveaways
Coloring Station, featuring custom sheets crafted by the illustrator
4:00
Meet the Four Main Characters – the Egly boys
Live Book Reading
Q and A with the Author and Main Characters
4:40
Giveaways Announced and Prizes Given
4:45
Final Opportunity to Purchase and Obtain Autographed Copies of the Book
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Even with the rain, over 100 people came! The boys, the book, and I felt incredibly loved. One thing that really stands out to me about Minnesotans is how they don’t let the weather bother them. Rain, heat, or freezing cold, they still go out and enjoy life without hesitation.
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I forgot to ask someone to take photos of the event so I didn’t get pictures of everything and everyone, including the illustrator, Alyssa Whetstone. However, here are a few that others snapped and sent to me:
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The Fox FamilyThe Jean FamilyLive readingGeorge and Evie – the best ice cream scoopers!Paul and Jordan- with one of the Giveaways!
Here are some of my favorite summer moments and products.
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My Morning Routine
Ted put two new Adirondack chairs together, and they were my favorite summertime morning spot. I sat out there almost every morning to read, pray, soak in the morning sun, drink coffee, and play with the dog. Slowly, one-by-one, the kids would join me out here to read, talk or cuddle.
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Re-reading Romans
Maybe because I was on the porch and the sunshine was in my face, maybe because this book applies 100% to what’s happening in our world right now – but re-reading the book of Romans THRILLED me this summer. This book is filled with hope, inspiration, and clarity. I snapped the picture above of Romans 15:13 from The Passion Translation.
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Ryan Trahan’s Youtube adventure
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This summer, my boys were jumping on YouTube everyday to watch a YouTuber named Ryan Trahan travel across America with just ONE penny. I sat to watch with them one day and saw why they were so entertained by this (twenty-something) “kid.” Ryan’s adventure was so fun and we were all impressed with how he made enough money each day to keep moving forward. While crossing America, he also raised over a million dollars for Feeding America. If you are a parent looking for an entertaining YouTube video to watch with your kids, I recommend this one.
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Feelin’ Fourteen!
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Who knew roller skating could make you feel like a kid again?
A friend invited us to go roller skating with her and her son. I went for my kids, but didn’t know I’d have more fun than anyone else in the building.
Well, Luke says that he and I BOTH had the BEST time, and I’m glad we got to experience that together. There are not many things that a 40+ year old WOMAN, and an 8-Year-old BOY find the same level of enjoyment in – but we found something this summer on the roller rink. Luke and I skated until they turned the music off and asked us to leave.
I’m absolutely loving this 40-day devotional by Levi Lusko. The author shares so many fascinating historical and science-based stories, and connects those to powerful truths from the Bible. I think you’ll love this book too! Great for ages 15 and up.
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Bike Rides with my Boys
George, Luke and I all got new (to us) bikes and we’ve been on lots of bike rides this summer. Once again, this has me feeling like a kid again. Like roller skating, it is a GREAT workout! If you don’t have a bike, I recommend you look for one on Facebook marketplace and get riding.
I’d love to hear what you loved about summer. Would you leave a comment and tell me a highlight or two? (Click on the little ‘text’ box by the title to leave a comment.)
Ted drove us to indiana – he worked while we got to spend time with my relatives. Our kids favorite place to be is with their cousins. Together they fish, swim, jet ski, wake surf, tube, play ball, play games, ride bikes, laugh, sing, tell stories, eat, visit shipshewana, golf, go to dinner/lunch by boat, and spend time with grandparents. They’ve made some of their most cherished childhood memories side-by-side and I’m so grateful.
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Here’s what happened:
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The boys went wake surfing…
ClarkGeorgeLuke
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And fishing…
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Tubing…
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And boating…
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They played lots of games…
The kids played lots of games
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And ate yummy food …
The Chief has GOOD ice creamRise-n-Roll sells the world’s best donuts
They went golfing…
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And relaxed…
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They spent time with grandparents and great grandparents…
We celebrated Mom’s birthdayMy dad’s sailboat – we tried to take it out but the wind wouldn’t cooperate
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They obliged their moms and grandma by re-creating photos …
2020-20222015 – 2017
And made the best memories together!
I’m thankful for our family who opens their homes and shares their toys and food with our large crew!
We are so proud of George and how hard he worked to become a soccer referee.
He watched about 8 hours of ref instruction online,
went to a four-hour class,
a two-hour training, and
took an intense referee test, and …
Earned his official “Ref” status!
He was super nervous about reffing his first game – but Ted went to observe and said he did awesome. He’s reffed a bunch a games in June, and becoming better and more confident with each one.
George even got to ref one of Paul’s soccer games, which was super fun for all of us.
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Paul finished his spring soccer season in June. He played with a great group of boys and their team was UNDEFEATED all season.
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Luke and Clark are in baseball. It’s been fun spending summer nights at the baseball field watching them play. Clark made the All-Star baseball team and crushed it! He hit the ball every time he was up to bat, had several RBI’s, pitched, and started the game playing third base (which was his dad’s position).
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Field Trips Fridays
Field Trip 1: The Minnesota History Center
I joined the Minnesota Historical Society so that our family could visit a few unique places in our state. Our first stop was the Minnesota History center in St. Paul. It was a fantastic museum with hands-on exhibits to teach kids (and adults) about Minnesota’s History. George loved the WW2 airplane experience. Clark liked making sundaes at the soda shop. Paul and Luke loved the tornado experience. I enjoyed exploring this new place with my boys.
Here’s a peek into our visit:
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Field Trip #2 – Fort Snelling
Our next field trip (with our Minnesota History passes) was to Fort Snelling. This place had been on my list for awhile, and I’m so glad we finally made it happen. It was beautiful and so interesting to get to experience what an army base would have looked and felt like 200 years ago.
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Field trip #3 – Tactical Urban Combat
The family that battles together, stays together.
Our family was gifted passes to Tactical Urban Combat in exchange for a blog post. We had a so much fun choosing a nerf gun and battling it out with another group. Clark helped us win ‘capture the flag.’
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We celebrated Father’s Day for one FINE dad!
I’m thankful that our boys are following in the footsteps of someone so kind, wise, strong, faithful and full of integrity.
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An Egly Boy Sleeps away
In June we sent the first #eglyboy to Lake Geneva Campground with a bunch of other kids from our church. He loved it!
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Wrigley Love
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A Walk Down Memory Lane
Baby LukeBaby PaulThis sums up the personalities of Clark and George when they were toddlers. George was so easy-going and Clark was a spit-fire!
We had a little backyard birthday for him and some of his friends.
He asked for a “Hibachi” birthday dinner. Here’s a peek into our first family hibachi experience:
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Signs of Spring
Minnesota had the LONGEST winter, but warmer days are finally here. Spring is BURSTING all around us. It THRILLS me and smells OH.SO.GOOD!
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Listen to this cardinal sing:
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Field Trips are BACK!
State Supreme Court
Minnesota House of Representatives
After more than two years, field trips are back!
I was thrilled when Paul asked if I would chaperone his fourth grade trip to the Minnesota State Capital. This place had been on our bucket list for four years.
The capitol was designed by an architect named Cass Gilbert, and built in 1905 for $4.5 million.
We had a great time exploring this beautiful building and learning about our state’s government. Paul didn’t want the day to end.
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Encountering a new season of parenthood
After all these years, we finally have a child old enough to babysit so we can sneak off and have dinner by ourselves.
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We Escaped to Florida
My amazing in-laws came to town so that I could tag-a-long on Ted’s work trip to Orlando in April. The sunshine, palm trees, and warm weather were good for my soul.
Wrigley’s been getting lots of exercise running with the neighborhood dogs:
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His two favorite things are cuddling with his family and playing catch with his favorite ball.
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Crawling up to give Ted a hug.
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It was a cold rainy day in Minnesota – this is what everyone wishes they were doing today.
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A Quick and Easy Salsa Recipe
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Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane
6 year old George holding baby Luke (Luke is now TWO YEARS older than George was when we took this picture)!
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Ted and his boys
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Luke attending his first “field trip” to BlackBerry Farm.
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This picture is our first outing with all four boys. We went to Chick-fil-A (shocking, right?). I love how Clark grabbed the centerpiece from the table because he thought the flower would be ‘pretty in the picture.’
Thanks for reading! What have you been up to? Leave me a comment!
It’s been awhile since I’ve given you a peek into our week. I’ve been busy living life and have not taken the time to write about. So, I’ll try to quickly catch you up on our Minnesota life.
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January
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My Mom was in Minnesota!
I was so excited to welcome my mom back to Minnesota. It had been 2.5 years since her last visit. January in Minnesota is not the best time to visit, but we made the most of it.
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Volcan Snow Park
Neither of us love the cold, but we got bundled up to check out the Vulcan Snow Park in St. Paul. The sculptures were works of art and the maze was super cool!
The picture of Clark and Mom was taken in front the bank where locals put a stop to the Jesse James Gang.
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Sisterhood Ladies Night
Another highlight of Mom’s visit was the ‘Sisterhood’ ladies night at my church, with guest speaker Susie Larson.
My mom has loved Susie for YEARS. She listens to her podcasts, reads her books, and sends usher books. When I found out that Susie was speaking at our church on the week my mom was coming to town, I was THRILLED and felt like it wasn’t just a ‘coincidence,’ but a way for God to show us His love. Susie Larson is an amazing communicator, and mom LOVED getting to finally meet her.
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When I moved to Minnesota, I attended this ladies night called “Sisterhood” all by myself. I came alone, sat alone, and went home alone. It was a good night, but not my favorite way to attend a ‘ladies night.’ Fast forward three years, and I can’t tell you how happy my heart was to come with a bunch of sweet neighbors and friends (plus mom). We came together (in three cars), sat together, and went back to our neighborhood together and it meant SO much to me.
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Before mom left, I snapped this picture. This will be the last picture where George is smaller than Grandma.
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Thanks for coming to visit us Mom!
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February
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My mother-in-law in Minnesota
In February, my mother-in-law came for a visit.
Mill City Museum
We took Nana to the Mill City Museum. This was once the home of the General Mills flour plant.
Did you know flour can be as explosive as gun powder?
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A flour explosion destroyed most of the building. What remains is now the “Mill City Museum.” The General Mills factory has relocated to another town.
Nana and Paul
Nana and Clark
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George ‘reenacting’ a pose from our visit almost 3 years ago.
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George with my mom 2.5 years ago, and with Nana in February:
We found a beautiful old window at the museum and stopped to take some pictures.
Nana
George and Clark
The boys and Nana were being goofy. I loved how this elderly woman on the side was watching them.
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It did warm up enough one day for us to take a winter walk.
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Thanks for coming to visit us Nana!
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March
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Bye-bye-Basketball
We finished the basketball season with a weekend in Iowa. Clark’s team got invited to a regional tournament, and it was a great way to end the basketball season.
I’m thankful for these sweet basketball moms
One mom put these on every door
Clark and a few of his teammates
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Wrigley’s World
I can’t give an update without a peek at Wrigley. He is such a good dog. We are crazy about him!
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Wrigley likes to cuddle with his toys
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Just the right size
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My neighbor sent this picture. Wrigley walked over to see if her dogs could play. He was peeking in the window as if to say, “Come out and play with me!”
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The boys had Wrigley try on their hats:
George’s hat
Clark’s hat
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Paul and Wrigley
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Luke and Wrigley
Thanks for reading! Hope you are having a great week. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve been up to!
The boys and I took advantage of a day off in winter to explore SEA LIFE at the Mall of America.
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They’d be asking to go to this aquarium since our first visit to the Mall of America in 2018, and we were excited to finally get inside and explore.
Sea Life is well organized with a “trail” that leads you through the entire aquarium.
I was surprised by how many different ‘creatures’ lived at Sea Life. I mean, it’s inside a mall, how big can this place be? Well, apparently VERY BIG! There are literally THOUSANDS of creatures. Two that I enjoyed seeing were the BLUE dart frogs and the alligators.
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They also have the only sawfish in Minnesota. Those fish are COOL! (Duke and Duchess are their names)
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Sea Life also has the only glass tunnel in Minnesota – and it was incredible. There were different types of fish, turtles and sharks swimming over and around you. We’d never experienced walking through a tunnel like that, and we all enjoyed it.
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Upon exiting the tunnel, there was a tank of starfish and sea anemones that we were allowed to touch. They were beautiful and felt so soft.
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There were also sting rays to observe and feed.
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Next we entered a room of tall tanks filled with jelly fish. They were mesmerizing. I could have watched them for hours – but I was pulled away by my boys who wanted to keep moving.
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The boys liked the exhibit with a surf board that had been bitten by a shark.
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Did you know that sharks think surfers are seals or sea turtles and that’s why they bite?
For lego lovers – there is a lego play area.
My boys said their favorite part of the day was the “Scavenger Hunt.” Upon arrival, there are books available with things you need to find throughout Sea Life. When you find them, you look for the stamper nearby and “punch” your card. When your card is full, you show it to a staff member in the gift shop to receive a sticker and a medal.
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Scavenger Hunt Guide
What kid doesn’t want a medal? They all wore theirs proudly.
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There were several shows, talks, and exhibits throughout the day.
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An interactive movie
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There are also fun ‘fin’ facts throughout the aquarium, as well as games to play.
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If you are in a hurry, you can go through the entire thing in 30 minutes. If you take your time, you can wander and spend about 90 minutes.
Sea Life is a place I’d recommend checking out. Writing this post makes me want to go back. I need to spend more time with those jelly fish. If you are local, you may want to get a season pass so that you can enjoy Sea Life throughout the year.
Thank you to Sea Life for the fun experience! They gave our family free tickets in exchange for this post. Being a blogger has benefits. 🙂
Thanks to every single person who took the effort to put up Christmas lights this year or send out cards. It definitely brought Christmas JOY to our family.
My favorite tree!And this house!
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The new Hawkeye series on Disney Plus
When Ted asked me to come watch Hawkeye with him and the boys, I brought a book to read. I’m not really in to the “Hawkeye” character, and didn’t want to watch this new show, but I did want to hang with the boys while they watched it.
Little did I know how much we would ALL enjoy it. The storyline was so engaging and the characters were endearing. We just finished the final episode on Disney. I said to Ted. ‘Let’s watch that series again’ (I never say that. It was truly THAT GOOD)!
Wrigley is the SWEETEST DOG. However, when he’s outside and not on his leash, he doesn’t always come back when you call him. If he’s not done playing, he will run AWAY from you when he sees you coming toward him.
This became a HUGE problem two times in December. Once when I had to go to work and couldn’t get him inside. Another time when he ran onto the pond and we weren’t sure if it was thick enough to hold him. Paul was a wreck thinking his dog might go through the ice and there was nothing we could do.
Enter the world’s best invention. A collar that beeps, vibrates or shocks. (We don’t use the shock)
The very first time I gave Wrigley a gentle vibrate and beep and said “COME,” he immediately came and sat next to me. I was shocked and overjoyed how well it worked then, and how will it continues to work. I only needed to use the vibrate twice, and now he obeys when he just hears the BEEP!
This device is usually $50, but they are currently 20% off. This was the best $40 I ever spent.
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YouTube videos the whole family can enjoy
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There are so many ANNOYING YouTube Channels. However, there are a handful that we can all enjoy together.
Mark Rober – a former Nasa scientist who makes entertaining videos by creating gadgets and fun experiments.
Dude Perfect – a group of guys that met at church and now make trick shot videos and a ‘game show’ called Overtime.
Fantastic 2 – I can’t NOT mention the channel my son’s created. 🙂
