{Aunt Ingi's last day}

So, after a very fast couple days, Ingrid left last Sunday morning. So, we took a couple last photos.....





And she got in the car and left.



Even though it was a quick visit, we were so very happy she came, and will be counting the days until she returns!

{park with Aunt Ingi}

On Aunt Ingi's first day we took her to our most favorite park - George George. She was there, really. She was just not in front of the camera much. And I wasn't behind it, like I usually am. Eric was.

He took some really cool pictures.







There's Aunt Ingi!







After the park we went to the Fruit/Vegetable stand to get some Michigan corn and tomatoes. It was a beautiful day. I am so glad the weather cooperated for Ingrid's visit!

{where to start}

I was going to do this past weekend in chronological order, but since it's my blog, and there are no rules, I am going to start with Saturday at the Farm instead of Friday at the park. Okay?

So, on Saturday, we went to the farm. Oh, and did I mention that Ingrid was visiting from Florida? I didn't? Well, she was.

We had some of the BEST weather we have had all summer. Seriously. It's like the Michigan Welcome Gods decided that they wanted Ingrid to experience the best of Michigan with eighty degrees and no humidity. Beautiful day.

So we were greeted - as always - by these monkeys. Affectionately known as Hayley and Clara. Who, incidentally, should NOT be climbing in that tree. I will save this picture for BLACKMAIL.



Then, we played on the swings.







There are those monkeys again. This time, they were out standing in their field. Get it? I know, don't quit my day job.....and in case you were wondering, those are soy beans.


Then we brought out the old tractor. It's not really working, but it's great for photos. And hey, what says FARM more than a tractor, right?








I am not going to lie. I cheated on this picture. Paige's face was not very good on the original, so I added her face from the previous picture. Photoshop is SO COOL!




All the cool people were there - including my Grandpa John in his ULTRA-cool hat. Which he ordered from a catalog.


The sand pile is always a big draw.




Tractor again.


LOOK! There's Aunt Ingi!


So, it was quite the sports party. First there was kickball. Then there was soccer - more on that in a minute. And then there was the traditional bat ball. Play of the Game: Adam hit a towering fly ball - which Sue so valiantly caught.....in the pond. Was it showboating? I don't know. Was it an amazing catch? Definitely YES. Was it smelly? Well, that depends on how close you were standing to her....but, sadly, YES. And can I just say...props to the daughters for retrieving their Mom from the mucky mess.


And, in case you were wondering, the hat was spared. Sue flung it off just before she went in. SUCH GRACE.


And this guy....let's just say, showboating, competitiveness.....it tends to rear it's ugly head every year. But this year, it not only resulted in a fall into to the stinky pond muck, it also resulted in an injury to Matt's ankle. He was trying to get around me during the soccer game, and he did, but in an attempt to show off, he kicked the ball into the goal and fell back on his ankle. Oops.

See kids? Showboating is just plain wrong. Now go off and play.


Hayley tried to help us out by wearing her lucky hat. Lucky for us, she got a hot head and had to take it off.


Eric's at bat -


Sue, being the consummate bat ball player that she is, waited until AFTER the game to shower. Was this a ploy to win the game? You decide....I didn't tag her out a couple times because the stench was a bit much for me.


Clara's at bat -


After the game - we had more food - because that's what you do at the farm. Paige is sporting the dirty farm foot.


Another "ride" on the tractor.....


And the sun set on yet another adventure at the farm.


Actually, the party didn't end there. There were s'mores, fireworks and flashlight tag....but my camera was safely tucked away in the car for all that.

{506}

post number 506:

Just some random photos from this week.

Watering flowers outside. I have a perfectly good watering can, but we much prefer using the Tigers cup.




I made Paige her pink cake yesterday. She was SO EXCITED. We even sang "Happy Birthday" again and did candles.





And a couple from Paige's 3 year old photo shoot.





She's grown up quite a bit, don't you think?



We have an Ingi coming tonight! So excited to see her. Have a great weekend!

{i ain't gonna lie...}

my girlies are the cutest....









well, at least according to me.

Just enjoying the lazy days of summer around here. We did go shopping for school supplies today - but only because if we wait, we won't be getting the twenty-five cent packs of crayons and twenty cent packs of glue.

Emily has been busy with her friends, and Paige has just been, well, busy.

I think my favorite moment of the week so far was when Emily and her buddy decided to paint their faces and bodies with sidewalk chalk that had been soaking in water...I have no pictures because I had to get her in the bathtub as soon as possible before the chalk dried and was on her face permanently. What on earth possessed them to do this? Oh, yes - five weeks left of summer brain.

{mini-break}

The day after Paige's birthday, we headed over to Michigan's west coast for a 3-day vacation. It was FULL of FUN. And I do mean full. We did not have one moment that wasn't filled with something to do.



Day One: Pere Marquette Beach. Water so clear and surprisingly warm. And the sand bars....I had forgotten all about those. So cool. Not missing the ocean and it's sticky salt spray AT ALL.

The water was quite calm when we arrived, but by the time we were about to leave, it did get quite wavy.





I don't know why, because we have never had this problem before, but Paige was SO not into the water or sand. She kept getting upset because her feet were getting all sandy. I finally had to get her a bucket of water to have by her chair so she could wash off her feet every time she wanted to sit. After a few hours, she forgot all about the yucky feeling she was having and had fun.


Day Two: Little Sable Lighthouse, Silver Lake Sand Dunes, Mac Woods Sand Buggy ride and Tubing down a little river thingy that emptied out into Lake Michigan.

First up, the lighthouse. Paige BARELY made the height requirement. Both girls were troopers, making it up all those stairs (132, I think). Going up was A LOT easier than going down. Gorgeous view.





Then, the sand dunes. All I can say is WOW. They were awe inspiring. We had the most beautiful weather. I thought it was going to be treacherous walking in all that sand....but it was quite the opposite. The sand was packed down in most parts. We walked up the dunes, we ran down the dunes. Emily did fall on her face on the way down the BIG dune...but she brushed herself off and did it again. Paige loved it as well.







Then, and we are still on day two people, we did our sand buggy ride. Oh, that was so much FUN. Our driver's name was Weezie. Need I say more? If you are ever in that area, it is a MUST.



Then, we drove about 15 minutes down the road to get our tubes for the lazy river...as you can see, Paige was WAY excited. She woke up about a minute before I set her in her tube. Yeah, she was not a happy camper for the first 15 minutes. Can't say I blame her.


The little gas station that rents the tubes was out of them, but we were not out of luck...we passed a store on the way there that sold water stuff. And they just happened to have the EXACT number of tubes that we needed.

This is the only picture I have. Taking pictures in the middle of the river without a waterproof camera is probably not a good idea.

The float lasted about 45 minutes and was fairly relaxing. There were a few parts where we had to rescue each other from tree branches sticking out of the water, or big rocks. We also met a group of people floating down with a couple extra rafts for their beer cooler and their empties. They were having a GOOD time.



It was so much fun, that this is what Emily looked like on the ride back to the hotel.


Day Three: Michigan's Adventure. An amusement/water park. We spent the first two hours doing all the dry rides. Emily even rode the small roller coaster. You can't really see her in the picture, but she's there, right next to Eric.


Unfortunately, this is what Paige did for a good portion of the day. She's got a few more years before she's big enough to go on a lot of the rides. She seems to be very interested in going on roller coasters, which is good...I need someone to ride with me!


And fortunately for Paige, her sister is not the thrill seeking kind, and is more than happy to ride the less thrilling rides with her little sister.


And that, my friends is all. We were going to go to Meijer Gardens on the way home, but there were some big storms in the area and we decided not to chance it. It was a good thing too, the rain on the ride home was really heavy.

We probably need a vacation from our vacation.