shaving cream fight

Today, Emily was invited across the street for a shaving cream fight with her friends. 

You could say she had a bit of fun.

A rinse in the slip and slide.

Ahhhhh...summer!

this is why i love this state

I love Michigan. I do, I do, I do. I know that some people don't understand this - when they think Michigan, they automatically think - SNOW, COLD, WINDCHILL. And, yes, it's true, we do have those things. But we also have some outstanding weather in the spring, summer and fall. Even some beautiful days in the midst of all that winter cold.

To go along with all that wonderful weather, we have lots and lots of ways you can enjoy it. For example, the other night we went out to Erma's - our most favorite frozen custard stand - and enjoyed a most beautiful August evening. Warm, gentle breezes, sunshine, not a bit of humidity to be found. D.E.L.I.G.H.T.F.U.L. They also have this great field - the "kids" love to run around after finishing their dessert.

And yesterday we went to Stoney Creek Park. 

We got to play - yes, PLAY - with Monarch butterflies. Emily was as happy as can be.

Go for a walk on a beautiful nature trail.

And check out Stoney Creek. Which, by the way, had a few mosquitoes flying nearby.....Michigan isn't all roses and wonderfulness, it does have some drawbacks....I think I got at least ten bites while taking this picture.

And we found my new favorite beach. Coincidentally, this is now Emily and Paige's most favorite beach as well. They have a roped off area so that the swimmers don't get in the way of the paddleboats/canoes/kayaks. It's pretty shallow all the way out, so Emily feels pretty confident without her swim-vest. I had to practically drag her out of there.

And this one too. She wanted to run, flip, splash, laugh and play all day long. She was very successful in scaring me by running out towards the deeper water. Of course, I didn't wear my swim suit, so chasing her in water that was past my knees was not on my list of things I wanted to do. So, after a very long game of chase, I pulled her back to the beach to play with all things sand. 


And she was OK with that too.

Definitely wearing my swimsuit next time.

Michigan Adventure - the mini-vacation that wasn't

Last Sunday we took a little mini-trip to the west coast of Michigan. Our objective was to go to Michigan Adventure - a amusement/water park, go to the beach, sand dunes, and go tubing. Well, the weather was not our friend. On our way there, we had to make a last minute change of plans and go to the amusement park that day instead of on Monday - the next day. The weather was forecasted to have a 60 percent chance of rain on Monday, and only a 30 percent chance on Sunday. So we took a gamble and went on Sunday.

It was pretty humid when we got there. But the sun was out, and the clouds were at a minimum, so that was good. HOWEVER, within seconds of entering the park, I got stung by a bee. In my neck. And. It. Hurt. BAD. But, I got over it, not wanting to bring a black cloud on our trip.

While everyone was on the roller coaster - Zach's Zoomer - Paige and I went on the car ride. She LOVED it. She got to "drive" the car. We were not allowed to take pictures while on the ride, so I had to sneak this one in:

Here they are on the roller coaster - which, Emily did not like. My girl is not like her Mama. Not a thrill seeker at all.

So while our friends went on the Corkscrew coaster, Emily played the part of a nice big sister, and went on all the kiddie rides with Paige. 

They went on another car ride.

They went on the motorcycle ride - a Paige favorite.

The boat ride. The poor ride operator - they have to listen to the kids clanging on that bell all day long. I would have a headache.

Then we all met up again, and did the bumper cars. Of course, who did the driving? Luckily, Emily was OK with that.

Emily decided to try being a thrill seeker, and went on the Pirate Ship ride - hated that. Which, by the way, is not my favorite either. She did the log flume ride - which she liked, until she had to go down the hill. And then, we talked her into going on the Mad Mouse ride. She was a little grumpy about it - see below picture. BUT, she LIKED it. Which is quite surprising, because I thought it was a bit scary myself. She was even willing to do it again.

Oh, and there was the frog hopper. Very funny.

After all of that, we went back to the car, tailgated for lunch, got in our swimsuits, and headed to the waterpark. I have no pictures of this - because, HELLO it was a WATERpark. A camera would not be a good idea. But I can tell you, we did the lazy river - Emily and Paige LOVED that, the wave pool - another hit with the girls, and the playzone - another hit. W would have done some water slides, but the lines were INSANE. 

Then, the CLOUDS came. And so did the winds. So, we quickly changed back into our street clothes, and did some more rides.

Eric, Bob and the girls did the Carousel and the Ferris Wheel, while Ginger, Noah and I did the suspended roller coaster. The weather continued rolling in.
We decided to stand in line again for the Mad Mouse, and almost got to ride it. They closed it right when we got to the front of the line. Apparently, lightning was in the area. Oh well. We decided to high tail it out of there, before it started to pour.

The rest of the trip went like this: checked into hotel, quickly settled and went out to dinner, had mediocre food and horrible service, went back to hotel and went to bed, woke up to rain, lots of rain, check the radar and saw nothing but storms coming in, decided to go swimming at the hotel indoor pool and wait out the storm, swimming was not all the great because the pool was over-chlorinated, decided to go see G-Force at a local theater - Paige and I stayed back at the hotel, returned from movie with a sick Emily and a overheated minivan - not ours, our traveling companions, ate lunch, Eric and Bob got to auto parts store, Emily throws-up, room gets re-cleaned, Ginger and I beg hotel to let us check out today without paying for the whole night - they do, for a $20 late checkout fee, race up to the room to pack EVERYTHING in 20 minutes, leave the hotel, drive home, see blue skies and NO RAIN, wish we had just stuck with our original plan of going to the park on Monday, get home, collapse in bed at 9pm. 

Oh well. We had fun. We have a story. And we all SURVIVED. Life is good.

This is Paige watching our yearly family slide shows on my computer while the rest of the clan were at the movies. She was as happy as a clam.
Which reminds me.....exactly how happy is a clam?

slurpies and the farm

The heat has finally arrived in Michigan. Which is just fine with me. I need to warm up. I need to store as much of it as I can to get me through the long, cold winter. But we do need to stay somewhat cool, and hydrated. Solution: Slurpies from Target. Or 7-11. Whatever is nearest. Target has this new flavor - lemonberry - total YUM. I got one for Emily, and one for Paige and I to share.

Last Saturday, we had our annual gathering at my Aunt Joan's farm. I look forward to this every summer. So do my kids. I barely see Emily the whole day. There are kids everywhere. Even a little one the same age as Paige. My Aunt also has a little beach at the top of her pond, and Emily is pretty much camped out there.
We played batball, of course, ate fried chicken, played a new game called Children of the Corn, had s'mores, played basketball, and all sorts of other things. We didn't want to leave. But we had to - we were leaving for Muskegon at 7am the next morning, and we hadn't yet packed.

I don't have any pictures of this year's batball game, because I was playing, and it's a bit hard to take pictures while batting and fielding. I can tell you that the boys kicked our butts this year. But I am going with the story that we allowed them to win because we don't want to damage their egos. :)

The Children of the Corn game was this: Matt went into the corn field with a megaphone and a pole that had an orange handkerchief tied to the top. The kids went in teams of two, into the corn field, and looked for him. The winners received a prize - gold dollar coins.

Of course, Matt being Matt, didn't yell out like he was supposed to, didn't stay in the corn field like he was supposed to, basically cheated in typical Matt fashion. Even Eric gave it a try. Of course, he attempted to play by the rules....By the end, they were all covered in corn pollen, and VERY itchy.

They had a BLAST.


Next year, we are staying for fireworks and flashlight tag. I promise.

(and NO, Paige was not drinking that soda)

this girl....

My Paige is now a full fledged two year old. She is talking up a storm, getting picky about food, throwing tantrums and really learning her spot in this family. AND, she is one of the cutest things ever. So cute, in fact, that even though she can be quite the handful at times, I find myself often wishing I could freeze these moments in our lives, and just live in them a little while longer.

But I can't, so I take lots of pictures, write things down, and try to remember to take time to enjoy all the little things - about BOTH my daughters. Because while Paige is being so dang adorable, Emily is becoming quite the little lady. She has opinions about EVERYTHING, desperately wants to be more and more grown up, and is pulling further away from me everyday. Although, I have noticed lately, she has been coming back to me a little bit more than she used to. The big world out there can be a little intimidating....it's nice to know, Mommy's arms are always open.

Since the language thing is the latest development milestone with Paige, I thought I would share a few Paigey gems:

wook at dis/dat: look at this/that

tawberry: strawberry

bangade: band aid

beeding: bleeding

(band aids and bleeding are very BIG right now - she is constantly telling me she has boo boos. I remember this phase with Emily. We just about bought out the Band Aid aisle at Target)

I wike it: I like it

sower: flower

sit sots: flip flops

ahnee: Emily

bazebawl game: baseball game

hawk: fork

momosikle: motorcycle (Paige is OBSESSED with motorcycles. Please let this be a phase)

bra kee: broccoli

dow cheese: grilled cheese
a bebe: what she says EVERYTIME she sees a baby, toddler or kid

whatcha doin' Mommy: her phrase of the week

I dough no: I don't know - another new phrase this week

wherze Dadee: where's daddy?
and my FAVORITE: I do it Mommy!!

There are LOTS more, but that's just the highlights.

kinda sorta back

So, I am back. Did you miss me? I am sorry for leaving you all for so long, but I was getting a bit burned out, had nothing that exciting to say, and thought that maybe if I took a break, I would come back a more refreshed blogger. You be the judge.

I have to tell you, right next to me, I have BOTH cordless phones. One belongs here in my office, one belongs in the kitchen...yet here it is, right next to the other one, on my desk. This ever happen to you?

I digress....some photos from the past twelve days:

Max wearing Paige's tiara. What a sport. Emily put it on him. I think he looks pretty.

Paige is attempting to learn to drink from a sippy cup with a straw. Not completely working out.

Water balloon relay race. They would rather just throw them at each other - but for all the time I spent filling them up, I wanted to see them last more than two seconds.

Fountain at George George Park. Again, you CAN'T go in it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep my kids OUT?

Squirting Fountains at our outdoor mall. Part of the park hopping day last week.

Paige sitting on her favorite vegetable.

Paige enjoying her push up pop. A bit sour?

Weekly trip to the fruit market. We go on Fridays because of all the free samples....

Free Sample - chargrilled chicken with caesar salad and garlic toast. YUM!!!

We had a monsoonal amount of rain this past week. About 30 minutes after this picture was taken, my daughter was DRENCHED from head to toe from playing in the puddles. What fun!

Paige and Elmo. She was shocked that Elmo was spewing forth water.

Paige LOVES the Little Tikes car.

The girls eating ice cream. Paige started hers from the bottom. Emily had just as much ice cream on her face as Paige. They may be 4.5 years apart...but sometimes, it feel like less.

Emily's new skill of the month - roller skating. We have graduated from knee, elbow and wrist pads, and helmet - to nothing. My klutzy girl - and she's doing GREAT.

And finally - my most favorite layout from the past month. I think it's my favorite, because, i LOVE this picture of Emily.

So, I am BACK. Forgiven? My blogging mojo is still not quite up to par - but I am working on it.

FYI

Just wanted to let you know that I will be taking a blogging break for the next few weeks. Nothing major going on, just lots of stuff that needs to get done around here - and the ol' blog will have to take a backseat for awhile.

Try not to miss me too much.....