Head Gear

No, we haven't been to the orthodontist yet...(although Ava did chip her tooth, I forgot to blog about that!) Just hats, hats, hats. The girls have been documented before enjoying hats, but it seems like it's at an all new level lately. Not only is Kaiya almost always wearing one shoe, but also a hat.

Whether it's Reese's..

Daddy's...


or her own.
And always sideways or backwards. Am I raising a young thug?
But when other hats become too boring, only a bike helmet will do. (I did NOT show a picture of what happened when we tried to remove the helmet for dinner.) Also: Ava applied that lipstick all by herself. There is no place higher than my top drawer to keep makeup, so, she's usually dolled up these days.
This picture makes me laugh every time. I'm not sure what type of karate move this is.
Dress up is fun, too. (Thanks Aunt Jess and Uncle Mel and cousins!!)
It's nice to make someone in my life smile that big. A real ego boost.
It's been a GORGEOUS week in Michigan. Last night we headed out for a boat ride in hopes that the "fresh air makes people tired" thing would be true. And because it was fun.
Cute little lipstick stained co-captain.
Hopefully for everyone's sake, this is the only post I will ever have to do about head gear. :)

Nobody else's daddy just my daddy.

When my sisters were younger they sang a song with the above title. The lyrics were: "He's my daddy, just my daddy, nobody else's daddy but my daddy."

The song has stuck around in our family. Luckily my sisters don't fight over my dad anymore. That would be weird. But my daughters do over THEIR dad...so it's come full circle. This tune just kept replaying in my head over Father's Day weekend!

It was a real treat to have him home for 3 days in a row!

We had a picnic with friends...
Took some beautiful photos after church...
Daddy and our tiniest munchkin. (after 3 girls we're in an anti-pink phase of life.)
Unfortunately I was feeling a little crummy, so Father's Day to Mark kind of meant, the father does everything. Love that man. Made an awesome lunch, let me take a nap, and then took the girls to the park. I drove. :) (but took a picture...so that counts for something!)
Ava keeping her sister safe.



We let him play a little, too. Because we all know the best dads are still big kids.
Ok my shadow ruined this...but I love them all sweaty after a fun night at the park.
Just had to throw in this paparazzi shot of my baby daddy. I think he's the coolest.
In other news: this has been going on.

1. Two bottom teeth

2.Starting like this
3. Ending like this
4. Pseudo sitting.

Next week she will probably be asking for Skittles in the checkout lane at the grocery store. Just kidding, I would never buy Skittles in the checkout lane. (for my kids)

Love you Marky! You are truly the most fabulous Dad I could have dreamed of for my kids. And to my Dad, you are the best Dad I could have ever dreamed of for me!

Out takes

Does anyone remember how they used to do that after shows? (Quality shows like Home Improvement, and things of the like.) Sometimes I feel like my life is just a big long series of out takes. Things that were supposed to go one way, but ended up going wrong/different/not how they were planned.

I'm so thankful for digital photography...but tonight I was looking through pictures and the ones I put on the blog are so very few of the ones I take. I thought-wouldn't it be funny to just do a post of pictures I would never usually post? The out takes?

I do love my kids-but in the name of truth-there are certainly more bad days, frustrations and unplanned endings than usually shows up on the blog. I'm all for being transparent-I want my girls to know that you can put baby powder in your hair, a decent outfit, and makeup at stoplights and make people think you have it together when in fact, you most certainly do not. And that even if your house is a disaster and your hair is dirty-loving Jesus is all that matters! :) That's our life right now.

This picture gives me a knot in my stomach. This was Ava's gymnastics program....except she's standing there while all the other kids do it. I was so sad for her this night-she was just not able to get herself out there on that mat! It's interesting how God teaches you through your children...but I'm certainly having to accept that Ava is not into social situations. At first I was just so frustrated-Mark and I certainly don't mind being around people..where did she come from?! But I'm learning to love her just how she is-and know that in big groups, or new groups, she is going to hang back. (and probably grunt and talk in a baby voice :) why is baby talk so cute when it's a new talker, and so vile when it's a kid who KNOWS how to talk?!?!)




More happy pictures soon. :)

M22

M22 is the main road that runs through the Leelanau Peninsula...where we spend a lot of our summers. Over the weekend our good friends along with Mark's cousins and uncle ran in the M22 challenge. A three sport race that included biking, kayaking, and running.

Obviously I did not partake. But SO proud of Mark, Megan, Christina, Greg, Viky, Uncle Dave, John, Dan, and Jeff. Way to go guys! We had an awesome weekend even though we had crummy weather-

Warning: lots of pictures. Another warning: they are all out of order because my iphoto is giving me a coronary tonight.

Dish towel skirt. She's such a trendsetter!

Took full advantage of the 14 minutes of sun.
Woo hoo!
Ava spent some time jumping off Dave's back while we were waiting for the race participants to finish.


Food. Such a special part of our get togethers. (Pioneer W. salsa, and Christina salsa. YUM.)
A heated round of Family Feud.
Baby Reese loving time with Auntie Nin!

Daddy daughter dock time.

We're working on collecting pictures of the three together. So far, we've got some AWESOME ones. (?)
We didn't let the foreboding skies keep us from a weenie roast!
Geez Meg...easy with the skewer!


Christina practicing for the big race.
Love being with daddy...
and starting reading at a young age.

Kaiya might have consumed my entire glass of Diet Coke. On the upside: it stopped her screaming and made a much more pleasant dining experience for the man behind us.
Ice cream!!!
Home made donuts!!!
Love just sitting around and hanging out...and eating...
and eating....
Great weekend!