heading to the lake

Madison loves to get all dressed up! She always asks me to take a picture of her...

Sorry that it has been awhile since the last post. I took the kids over to the Detroit area for their cousin Ava's 3rd birthday party. We stayed a few days and played with the cousins. We had really rainy weather but did venture to the indoor waterpark two times. Friday the weather cleared and I met a great friend at my inlaw's pool. My kids love to swim.

After doing laundry and repacking bags we are off for a week at a cabin right on Lake Michigan near Silver Lake sand dunes. We are so excited. Of course we have so much to take that Brett even had to go out today and buy a cargo carrier for the Suburban. I plan on several photo shoots on our private beach.

Sisterly LOVE

Madison and Caitlin are getting to be quite the little buddies. It is my dream that they will always be "BEST FRIENDS". I often find them playing princess and fashion show. They are just so cute. Madison also loves to paint nails. Caitlin is always up for a manicure. I am training her right :)

They look gorgeous. Did you notice that each hand is a different color?

Now time for a pedicure. I do hide the nail polish so that it isn't painted all over the carpet and floor.

Even a little blush to top it off.

Blake's 7th Birthday

Caitlin's face says it all!

Wow, we had so much fun for Blake's birthday. On his actual day, he woke up to decorations and presents from his sisters. They were so excited to give Blake his dinosaur legos. Brett searched and bought him some really cool dinoattack legos from ebay. Grandma and Papa arrived and we all went out to Red Robin for dinner, his birthday song and ice cream. The Warner cousins and Oma arrived a little later that evening. We had fireworks and the kids caught fire flies, went on a night hike and ended up sleeping in the tent in the basement. (only a few ended up sleeping there all night. A loose mouse scared a few off!)

We celebrated Blake's birthday at the Nature Center the day after his "real" birthday. It was a reptile round up party. We had several neighbors and school friends there. All the kids got to touch a snake and I took the 23 kids on a hike. It was busy, but tons of fun. Blake really felt special on his day. Oma made him a coral snake cupcake cake. It was adorable.

The morning of his birthday, he came into my bedroom and whispered in my ear that he thinks he had grown - PRICELESS!!!!

Papa, Brett and Blake also ran up to the store and got fishing poles. Blake wants to fish 100% of the time now.

Good Ol' Summer Fun

It was a beautiful day for the pool yesterday! We had a playdate at a friends house. Blake was quite the little fisherman and has been talking non stop about fishing. He stood out on the dock with his friend and fished the afternoon away. He caught several fish, but thankfully his buddy would unhook them and set them free. Blake said that he did bait his hook a few times. I guess Brett needs to take Blake fly fishing some time.

The girls and I hung out at the pool. Caitlin is pretty comfortable around water and just does her own thing. It is sooooo nice to FINALLY be free around a pool. I didn't have to hold a child in the water all day. It was so nice to be able to talk with adults. I love that the kids are more independant these days. Maybe we do need a pool in the backyard!!!!!

After such a busy day yesterday, it was so nice to just hang out around our house today. The kids played "Dog Whisperer". Blake was the trainer and had the girls his dogs. He tried to give them dog food, but they quickly found out the hard way that it doesn't taste very good and Madison thought Cheez its would work better. As soon as we did bust out the crackers our dog, Zoe, was happy to join in the fun. We also spent some time outside riding bikes, weeding (the kids love using my cutting utensils), swinging, and dinosaur tag. Yes, there were several arguements along the way as well. Blake is a little obsessive about dinosaurs and wants us to play a certain way. I was also able to clean, clean, and do laundry. We have a busy weekend ahead with Blake's birthday celebrations.

The kids are all cleaned up and in PJ's watching a movie with Brett. AWWWWW - time alone!!!!!!!

Chuck E. Cheese

They love this ride. I have actually done it several times with Caitlin on my lap.

Blake's favorite is the driving games. He is sooooo serious.

Caitlin is just so cute. That little smile melts my heart.

Our kids love Chuck E. Cheese! They are always trying to get us to take them there. I always try to go at the off times because I can't handle the craziness of that place sometimes. Grandma Jan was here and we were off to eat pizza and play games. Blake goes and plays as many driving games as possible until he runs out of tokens. Madison does a combo of the rides and has just learned about the older games. Caitlin is just happy riding Clifford! It was a great time.

True Love - 12 year Anniversary

Brett and I are celebrating our 12 year Anniversary today!!!!! We are going out tonight for dinner, shopping and a movie. It is a little funny that this is a night out for us now. 12 years ago it seemed like we did that several times a week. Kids do change you...

Brett also took the day off just to hang around the house with us today. We have been so busy that it is great to be in jammies with coffee in hand just watching TV.

So much has changed all for the better in the last 12 years. Can you believe how young we were? We are so blessed with our three beautiful and healthy kids.

Fourth of July

Did I mention that Brett loves fireworks? He took a quick trip south of the border to get some great fireworks. We hosted our 2nd annual neighborhood firework display. The kids loved it and we had a great time visiting with all of our wonderful neighbors. Brett and his dad lit up the sky!!!

Caitlin and Madison did sparklers for the first time!!!!

The kids were up early and already playing with the guinea pig, bearded dragon and several stuffed animal horses when I got out of bed at 7:00 AM.

The day started with YUMMY star shaped donuts!!! They were delicious.