Today

Very few groceries in the house meant french toast for dinner.  Darrin got an omelet.

Suitcases packed for camping.

Playtime at the park for Milo's birthday.  Thankful for really wonderful friends (both for me and my kids!)

My 8 (closing in on 9) month old CallaMae who ate an entire ice cream cone completely by herself.  The ice cream was flat to the cone but nonetheless, there was nothing left of that cone but the stain on her shirt. 

A boy who sometimes seems so much older than 7.

Freckles on noses admired.  

Cuddling with the girls while watching Good Luck Charlie.  Love Teddy's new haircut.  Wondering how the cut would look on me.  I'm not a teen so not sure it would look remotely close.  

Sad sisters who had to go to bed before Brother and Dad got home from football camp.  A detour to the hospital due to a player breaking his arm before the season even starts.  

Peeking at all my sleeping children.  Amazing.

Reminiscing on the good times with our van as tomorrow we pass it along to someone else and get a new (used) one of our own.

Being thankful for Darrin.  I love the way he genuinely cares for others.  

Being mad at myself for never remembering my camera these days.  

Looking back...

I was looking through some photos tonight and came across a few that Jenny took this past spring of our preschool bunch.  Oh my goodness what a crew!!  I love these kiddos!  We were blowing bubbles with homemade solution and the cut off end of a water bottle.  CallaMae wasn't in the mood for pictures that day.

Summer Memories

Oh my goodness, we've done so many neat things this summer but I've been terrible about taking my camera along.  So for the sake of preserving the memories, I'm going to list some of the things we've been up to.

A mobile lemonade stand decorated for the 4th of July.  The kids pulled the wagon with a 5 gallon cooler in it around the neighborhood and made out pretty well.

A visit to the Nottawa Stone School (an old fashioned school house).

The Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary at the library.  The kids held all sorts of cool critters and CallaMae sat on a tortoise.

Seeing a litter of border collie mix puppies.

Horse Camp with Isabel for my big kids.

Two vacation bible schools.

Taking rides around the farm on the cart pulled my the miniature horse.

A trip to Nottawa ice cream store.

A program put on by the Kalamazoo Nature Center.  It was very interesting.  The speaker was a huge wealth of knowledge.  We learned about soil, critters that live underground, fossils, etc.

A birthday party for Taylie.

A day trip to Hidden Ridge Campground to visit Jason, Jenny, and the girls and then to visit Aunt Wendi, Zoe, and Ty.

Lots of swimming and tubing.

Catching fireflies.

Catfishing until super late.

I will update the list as I think of more things.

And of course things like the 4th of July Celebrations, and other things that I did in fact remember to bring a camera to.  I will get caught up eventually.

Take me out to the ballgame.

There is no game I'd rather watch than a game my child is playing in.  What fun we had this ball season.  Bennett was in coach pitch and quickly got out of his uniform before I was able to snap a picture.  Stinker! He was number 5.  He was on Smolarz Dentistry's team and his coach was Matt Cossairt.  Annabelle was in t-ball and was on a team with Macey and Kelsey.  Her team was sponsored by Crop Production Services of Mendon and was coached by BJ Mallen.  

The kids first wedding.

Darrin's cousin Kelly got married at the end of June.  It was the kids first wedding and they had a blast.  They got the party started and were the first ones out on the dance floor.  We're grateful to Kelly and Ernie for inviting families.  It was a neat experience for them!

 This girl cooperated so well!  She ate dinner when we ate then slept the rest of the time in her car seat.  

 Annabelle caught the bouquet.

Fashion is Her Kryptonite...

Annabelle had her dance recital the second Saturday of June.  She was in hip-hop this year and danced to the song Fashion is My Kryptonite.  It's such a joy to watch her dance because you can see on her face how much she loves it.  Here's our girl the day of her reciatal.  She loved her costume this year.  It suits her well :)!