Happy 4th of July!

We started the day with the annual Munising 5K Run/Walk (we opted for the walk this year). Will and Erin enjoyed the stroller ride even though it was very hot and humid.

   











   


         

We followed the walk with breakfast, naps (the kids got up at 6:30am because we were sleeping in the tent) and then headed off to the parade.

It was the longest parade (over 2 hours!) so we had a lot of opportunities to take pictures. Will was mesmerized by the fire trucks.  He studied everyone of them and watched them with an inquisitive look on his face. 


We were able to capture a picture of all the little cousins.



























They are mostly in birth order in this picture. I think that two of the girls are mixed up. While taking that picture, I zoomed in and actually got a picture of Will and Erin sitting next to each other without moving. YEAH!

We got a great picture of the whole family at this years 4th of July parade.

Will became a 'Mama's Boy' this trip. He would cry when I walked away and wanted me to hold him.

Erin didn't care who held her and spent lots of time in the arms of aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa.

Erin loved to sit in the kid sized chairs.

When the parade ended, we headed back to camp to enjoy the beautiful 90' day.  All of the kids had fun playing on the beach and swimming in Lake Superior (the water temperature was acutally tolerable).  Erin had fun scooting down the sand on her bottom.
Will liked to splash in the water and crawl around the beach.  Both of the kids had a blast! I love spending time up here and on this beautiful beach. It is so peaceful, fun and private.

The adults had fun hanging out in the sun, enjoying the amazing views and drinking a few cocktails. 






And time at our beach wouldn't be complete without petting goats with Uncle Matt.

Heading North!

Happy 4th of July!!! We made the 6 hour trip to Munising, Michigan (in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior) to celebrate the 4th with Mark's family.  This is a much anticipated (in a good way) trip for everyone.  We have family that travel from Milwaukee,



It's becoming more challenging to take pictures of them together.

Lansing, Ypsilanti, Ludington, Detroit and Ohio to spend the 4th together.  This year we had 35 people (25 adults and 10 kids under 7), 2 goats (cousin Jeff couldn't leave the goats home alone) and 1 dog for our celebration. Everyone had a fun time and loved hanging out. 

Will and Erin were amazing for the long car ride.  We strategically planned our trip, by feeding them lunch and leaving at nap time. They slept for 2 hours and then we stopped at the Mackinac Bridge for an hour.  The kids had fun putting their feet in Lake Huron and walking around the park next to the bridge. After an hour, we loaded up and continued for the last 2 hours of our trip.  Thankfully, I packed a bag of toys because they came in handy keeping the kids occupied in the van. 

Movin' On Up

I bet you thought I forgot about this blog! But, no need to worry because I'm baaacckkkk...
The boxes are moved, our stuff is unpacked and we have pictures hanging on the walls.  We have moved into our new house and LOVE IT!! We have so much space and room to play.  Our neighborhood has sidewalks, kids playing outside and friendly neighbors (we had friendly neighbors at our old house too).  We LOVE the big yard to play in. I love that the landscaping is complete and I don't need to spend my weekends working in the yard (or feeling guilty for not spending my weekend working in the yard.)  Mark has inherited a riding lawnmower from my grandparents and he is more than happy to mow the lawn.  We have a deck that has become a big playpen for the kids. They have a water table out there and love it! Clark loves to sit out on the deck and watch the birds.  Our house faces west which means our living room, kitchen and eating area are filled with the morning sun.
We are located 0.8 miles (I clocked it) from my school.  When Will and Erin are ready for kindergarten, they will come to school with me.  There are four other teachers at our school who have their children there and it has worked out fine.  We loved the idea and thought it was such a unique opportunity for the kids and me.  Our new neighborhood is filled with my former students. I was a bit hesitant at first about not separating work from personal life, but it hasn't been a problem.  The families are awesome and so nice.  We love our new life and are so happy everything has worked out. 

Some of these are the pictures from the real estate listing. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn out great. That's okay because these pictures will remind us of how the house looked before we bought it.

 Our very small kitchen that I don't really like and hope to change some day soon.

Our master bedroom with a walk in closet and our own bathroom!

 The kids outdoor playpen.

Will and Erin love to look out the front door and watch the cars, people and world go by.

 

 

This was our first backyard party.  It was 95' outside, but everyone had fun. It was so nice to have  backyard big enough to hold all of our friends.

 The basement is what sold the house for us.  It has two bedrooms, an office a full bathroom and a big storage room. We'll use one bedroom as a guest room and the other one as a playroom for the kids.

Happy Father's Day

 

For Father's Day my dad and Connie came to spend the day with us. We hung out, the kids swam in their pool and we all had a great time.  Last year, all my dad wanted for Father's Day was to take the kids for a walk (they had just came home from the hospital).  That didn't happen, but this year he was able to take them for a walk around our new neighborhood with sidewalks. 

Mark enjoyed his second Father's Day by just spending a low key day at home.  The kids got him some new workout clothes and a hand print flower.
Will had a snotty nose from teething that actually turned into his first ear infection and a very green goopy nose.  Erin ended up with her first ear infection too.  With a little antibiotics they felt better quickly and were back to their normal, crazy selves. 

Cheesy Family Pictures and Playing at the Park