Oh happy (memorial) day

While we were gone, one of my most giant sadnesses was our kids not getting to grow up going to the lake every few weekends in the summer.  Therefore, it's one of the biggest highlights of being back, and Memorial Day was the kickoff of our summer of happiness at the lake.

We loaded the whole team up and hit the road.

 And landed amongst a gaggle of cousins and aunts and uncles and spiders. We kept the cuddling to things with only two legs.

 We got to eat at some of our local favorites.

 And play at our local beach.

 And there was plenty of fraternizing with the locals as well. (I love how Grandma and Mark are hugging and Reese is clinging on, too.)

 Beach bum.

 Have I ever mentioned the impossibility of decent pictures? I won't talk about it again.

 I'll just show you.

 Late night Monopoly. (I'm a huge supporter of this because a)I hate Monopoly and b)I love going to bed. It's a win/win for me.)

 Lemonade at Grandma's...

 More of the gaggle.

 Family meals.

 And the traditional Monday hot dog roast.

We are in love with Glen Lake and so thankful to be back to enjoy it. Yay summeR!!!!!

May Days

Dear iPhone, Thanks for having a decent camera so I can have some documentation of this period in our lives. 

Dear Children, sorry that all we have from this period in your lives are crappy iPhone pictures. It could be worse. There are none of me that even exist. You're welcome.

Dear May, Thank you for your lovely days that made my heart swell even more about being back in Michigan.

The highlight of our month was Grandma and Grandpa visiting...

 Grandpa started intense measuring doing the groundwork for a new gift in our backyard. The girls played in the dirt. Both were entertaining.

 Love this of my cute parents chatting with Hutch. They are always concerned that he is cold. (and that everyone else is cold for that matter. And they always are cold. This is why they live in Florida where it's virtually impossible to be cold.)

 We got a new toy that has been loads of fun.

 You'd think she had 4 kids or something with how well she handles the brood.

can't

 get

 enough

 I love when the girls are coordinating and we get beautiful family photos.
 At least our grass was still green back then.
The current brown would have been a much less desirable background for this prize winner.

 All dressed up with nowhere to go. But pretty cute in the meantime!

Word to your Mother.

Way back a long time ago, it was Mother's Day. It was a lovely day. 

All 4 of my children took a picture with me. 3 of them even smiled. One broke her glasses. But that doesn't have anything to do with Mother's Day.

 But I was not the only mother in town on Mother's Day... my nephew Q did some stealth climbing on the bannister of our deck and snapped a photo of these little beauties--

 We are now on our second round of robin hatchery-as my own cute mama said: "that mama bird must know your house is a great place for babies!" :)

 Pardon my obnoxiousness here-but another picture from a different publication of my same family. I guess the camera man was loving them that day!

 Aunt Lindy and my pretties at church on m.d. (it's so much fun going to the same church as my sis!!)

 Let's just get right to the point here. Nothing could be better on ANY day of the year than the first bite out of a new bag of Ruffles. One of many reasons Melinda and I are such kindred spirits.

 And just because he's reaaal dear to this mama's heart...a picture of my littlest love.

All I ever wanted to do was be a mom-so very, very, very grateful to get to do it!!! 

So you think you can dance...

Ava took ballet this Spring at an awesome place called Hearts in Step. It was a Christian dance school and every week they learned a bible verse along with their sweet moves. :)

This is Ava and her friend Gabi on their first day in January...

And this is the day of the big recital! Ava was excited for MONTHS for the "peach dance"...(I guess she got wind that their costumes were peach? I don't know.) 

I, on the other hand, was quite concerned. Our last encounter with public performance, albeit it 2 years ago, was ugly. 

 This was the dress rehearsal, but to my pleasant surprise, Ava was all over it.

 Or at least standing on the stage and not screaming.

 But on the day of-she really did fabulous! She even made sure to keep others in line by "shh-shing" another girl. She was serious about this dance business.

 Her adoring fans.

 Hutchkin was a total doll through the TWO HOUR recital. So was everyone else that came. Thanks for loving our girl enough to sit through two hours!

 Ava and Daddy.

So thankful for a place that taught our kiddos to be more like Christ and to honor him in their dance. And thankful for two years of maturity on our sweet girl so we could watch her. :)

If it's the last thing I do....

I will get caught up on this blog and my reader.

I don't really get that phrase though. Like, if I was dying it would be the last thing I would do before I died so it was done? Or I will do it even if it kills me? Hopefully this won't be the last thing I do, because I have a lot of kids. Here I go.

Little.

 Big.

 Bigger.

 Biggest.

Thanks to my super talented friend Mandy for making these awesome shirts!

Viva la vida

The little mamas are really into holding Hutch. 

 I don't even want to know what's going through this crazy girls head in this picture. Also: I should dust my headboard.

 One day a few weeks ago I went to the mailbox. I retrieved this from it. That's my husband and daughter on the flyer from the local pool/gym complex place. We visited one day last summer and they must have had a camera out! We had no clue they would be on it so it was quite baffling to just find it in the mail. I've always want to be married to a swimsuit model. (just kidding. i think i just threw up a little in my mouth :))

 an oldie. but a sweetie.

 They have figured out that sitting quietly and happily at bedtime gets them off my radar. Smart girls. Also, they were those pajamas because every night they slide down the stairs multiple times and discovered their stomachs don't get burned.

 Friends!

 His first tie...

 This is the ceremonial last picture of Mark mowing before he remembered he hates mowing. :) At least the girls got a tractor ride out of it!