Nate's Birthday Celebration

This time it was Nate's turn for a celebration. We all headed over to grandma and Papas house to wish Nate a happy birthday before the Campau family headed to the Tigers game. We got there early enough to swim, have a yummy lunch and enjoy cake and ice cream before they had to head to the game. Jackson and Aubrin had a great time swimming in the pool with the family. Jackson has become a bit of a fish and taking more risks. He was jumping off the diving board, trying to do tricks and swimming under water! Aubrin still takes a while to ease into the water, but once she did, she had a great time. She either swims with her life jacket on or with a tube (often both).

Annie and Jackson were eager to get into Papa's garden and pick some onions, cucumbers and lettuce. They were both pretty proud to be able to bring some goodies home with them.

Our Leland Trip

This past weekend the kids and I hoped in the car and headed to Leland to visit with Gabrielle and Nevada. Todd had a golf trip planned with the guys in the neighborhood up north as well. It didn't work for us to drive together because of timing, but we both made the best out of our 5 hour car rides. Jackson and Aubrin both did great in the car. Of course they never had to go to the bathroom at the same time, so we had a few extra stops along the way. We arrived at the cottage in the early afternoon and headed straight to the beach. Jackson and Aubrin were excited to start building sandcastles and swimming in the lake. After a beautiful afternoon of fun in the sun we headed in for dinner and an evening boat ride.



John and Doris, Nevada's parents, took us out on their boat. All the kids had a chance to drive and be captain. After the boat ride we made smores. As the kids were eating their smores I could see how tired they were. So we brushed teeth and the babes headed to bed. It was nice to have an evening of staying up late and talking to Nevada. I can't remember the last time we were able to catch up like that without any interruptions.
The next morning Gabe, Jackson and Aubrin were all up early and ready to start our day. We walked into town to get coffee and headed to a near by park. Nevada has been telling me about Leland since college, so it was finally nice to get the chance to see the sights that I have heard so much about. After the park we headed back to the beach. Nevada's parents left for an over night wedding, so it was just us for the day. We went to a beach that was a bit quieter and the waves were not as big. Aubrin seemed to ease into the water easier with it being more calm.
In the evening we headed to the old fishing village in town for dinner. We ate on the water and had a perfect table with a great view for the kids. After dinner we walked around the marina. Jackson had so many questions about all of the boats. Gabe had a lot of the answers, which was quite impressive for being a little guy.
After dinner we headed down to the lake. Jackson wanted to look for rocks and was on the hunt for Petoskey Stones. We found a few, but we ended up with about 100 rocks coming home with us.



On Saturday morning we walked to get coffee again and headed to an art show in town. The kids had a great time being silly, looking at the crafts and having some yummy treats. After that we decided it was time to head back home. Again, the kids were champs in the car. I can't wait to go back again!

Happy 4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July, but I must say it has been an exhausting couple of days. All of our festivities started on Friday evening when we had a few neighbors over for the kids to play and to have dinner. We were having such a great time that we lost track of time. By the time we got Jackson and Aubrin in bed it was 10:30. On Saturday evening we headed down to our neighbors for a neighborhood BBQ and fireworks. Todd and I LOVE the friends we have made in our neighborhood. They are so fun and always want to have good time, whether it be chatting in the front yard as someone walks by, or a planned party that we all get together for. Jackson and Aubrin had so much fun playing with all of the kids. They rode bikes, played in the pool and just acted silly. During the BBQ we had a little rain, but it passed quickly and we continued to have a good time. When it was almost dark the kids did sparklers or sprinklers as Jackson would call them. Aubrin didn't care for them to much. Although she liked watching the other kids do them. Once it got dark we had a great fireworks show. It was late after the fireworks, so we were happy that our neighbors had their golf cart with them and was able to drive the kids and I home. Todd followed with the wagon and all of our stuff. Once again, the kids didn't get into bed until 11:00~UGH!On Sunday we got up and headed to the Porter's lake in Fenton. Of course Jackson and Aubrin love the Porter girls and Jessica, Hannah and Sarah are great with our kids. When we got there, Jackson and Todd headed out on the boat. Jackson was really excited to go tubing. Aubrin and I stayed behind to visit with Danielle and the other ladies. Jackson was all smiles as he drove by on the tube with Todd. Later in the day I also went out on the boat so I could snap a few pictures of Jackson on the tube. After tubing we headed to a swimming area. Jackson and Aubrin both did great. They had no fear as they both jumped off the boat to swim. It was great watching them take risks and having a great time. Again, we got home late and the kids didn't get into bed until after 10:00.

On Monday we played around the house in the morning and then went to Ron and Lisa's for more beach fun and dinner after Aubrin was up from her nap. Jackson and Todd played on the jet skies, while Aubrin played on the beach and in the water. After water play we headed backup to the house for dinner. The boys played baseball and Aubrin and Shelby rode bikes while dinner was cooking.
After dinner we visited a bit more and then headed home for fireworks that we bought. We went across the street to do them with Dave, Jamie, Lexie and Morgan. It seemed silly to do them when it was still a little light out, but Jackson and Aubrin were more than exhausted from all of our 4th of July fun over the past couple of days. Todd did a great job lighting the fireworks off and the kids thought they were great. We were happy to finally get the babes in bed by 9:45!
It was a great couple of days of celebrations spent with friends, but I think we are all looking forward to getting back to a typical day and an earlier bed time!

Detroit Zoo Trip

Today we took our first summer trip to the Detroit Zoo. We got there right when it opened hoping that it would still be cool enough for the animals to be out. When we walked in the lady told us they would be feeding penguins in about 30 minutes. So we checked out a couple animals and then headed to the penguin house. It was neat for the kids to see the penguins being feed, but we thought it was very interesting that they feed the penguins one at a time and write down how much each one eats...it seems to be a very long process. After that we continued to walk around the zoo, luckily seeing most of the animals being very active. Jackson and Aubrin had a ball looking at all of the animals. They were both a bit bummed that the lions were not there because they are having a new habitat built, but we will be back to see them in the next couple of weeks.

We found a nice shady area for lunch as we were also joined by a peacock. Jackson and Aubrin were both a bit bothered by this. As they ate they both had one very close eye on it.

After lunch we walked around a bit more and then headed home just as it was starting to get really busy and really hot.

Happy Birthday Annie!

Today we had plans to go to Annie's 6th birthday party. The kids decided that we should make our own wrapping paper for Annie's gift so we painted it. Jackson and Aubrin had a great time. Although my poor kitchen floor needed a bit of love after they were done, they paper turned out very cute.

It was a beautiful afternoon for Annie's party. Annie is such a girly girl. She always has her nails painted, cute ribbons in her hair, accessories on and a purse in hand. So I wasn't surprised at all when we walked into the house and she had a very sparkly birthday crown on. Annie was handing out welcome notes to all of the guests that she had worked so hard on writing. (Of course the kindergarten teacher in me was loving that she spent so much time writing these cute little notes!)

The kids had a great time playing soccer, bouncing in the bounce house and of course watching Annie open her presents. It was a great afternoon spent celebrating Annie.

The end of the season

Jackson's t-ball season came to an end today. I wasn't able to go to the game, but Todd and Aubrin went to cheer him on. Todd and I have been so proud of Jackson during his season. He took directions from Coach Mike great, got along well with the other kids and went to each game wanting to play and always doing his best. Today they played a round robin. They played four games, but each game was only one inning. After the game, each player got a trophy. Jackson was so excited to get his first trophy! After the game Coach Mike and his family had a gathering back at their house for all of the families. Jackson is a bit sad that the season is over. He really liked going to the games and playing on a team. I have to admit I am a little sad the games are over too. I loved watching Jackson play and get excited when it was his turn to bat. We are already looking forward to next year!

Wemonwade Stand

Jackson and Aubrin have recently gone into business~The lemonade business. Our neighbors Lexie and Morgan often sell golf balls to golfers as they go by in their carts. Jackson said that he would like to try and sell lemonade. So we went to the store, bought lemonade, made a little sign to attach to the table and they were in business. Jackson and Aubrin were so funny. When a golfer would go by they would say, "Hello, would you like to buy some lemonade?" I was amazed at how many people stopped and actually bought it. A few stopped and said no thanks, but still gave them a dollar or two. I mean who could pass up two adorable kids that say "Would you like to buy some wemonwade?" After two hours the kids counted their money from their $0.50 a cup "wemonwade" stand and made $18.00. I think they could be in business!