Where did the summer go?

While trading in my flip flops for slippers today I did need to remind myself that we did have a couple warm days of summer to really enjoy the Michigan outdoors (even though the day and forcast remind me of fall!)

A few visits to the zoo with the Dattels, Grandma, Sarah, and Fritz Lucy and Reagen enjoying Aunt Lonna's pool!

Kady was really into wild raspberry picking on one of our walks!

Our pool out back

A couple of visits to Heather's pool with the Damstra boys!

Visits to Millennium park

another precious post of Lucy

This girl will sing forever.....She has started singing some more songs lately, Jesus loves me is one of my favorites, my other is a song from college that I changed the words too to fit two precious little girls--Sleep tonight pretty girl. I'll see if I can catch that one next!

Baby stone

The girls ready to go out on Main Street
Mama Stone and her hostesses

The Strauss women: Grandma Strauss, Mama Strauss, and Auntie Jenny

The girls at the shower

This weekend Kelli and I took one of our road trips to Ann Arbor. It brought back so many memories of our trips back and forth to school. It's amazing to have such a great friend that 2 hours in the car seems too short because we never run out of things to talk about! We celebrated the arrival of baby Stone in style with a shower at Chevy's. It was great to get to see so many of our college friends, and then hang out later that night! We are so excited for you Amy, we can't wait to meet junior!

35 years of Love

This year we celebrated both of our parent's 35th wedding anniversaries! Their examples of love, both their own and God's, have given us the road map to our own marriage. What a blessing! This is a (no kid) dinner we celebrated with the Koops' at Uccello's in Wayland, a meeting spot that has held many special occasions.

Hutchins Lake

Instead of a Koops' family golf outing we had a relaxing Saturday at Uncle Leon and Aunt Louise's cottage in late July. It was so good to see all of the family again, and be able to hang out and catch up. We ate good (thank you again!!!), swam, jumped, went for boat rides, sea doo rides, tubed, skied, and fed the ducks! Lucy and Reagen even took turns being "captain" of the paddle boat. We love hanging out with our families! Thanks Uncle Leon and Aunt Louise--Jim loved sharing part of his childhood memories with our kids!

This is how I found Lucy, dead asleep one night....really? How does she do it?This was the surprise I found in our bed one night as I was getting ready to sleep...notice all the details, she didn't just slip in our bed, she set up camp. Her water, "beary", beary's blanket, her blanket, pillow
So sweet

(notice that there are no sleeping pictures of Kadence...I'm scared to wake her...she's so peaceful when she is sleeping, and I never know what I'll get if I accidentally wakes up!)

This post is dedicated to my good little sleepers. I love lazy mornings, Lucy snuggling in bed with me, reading books. We wait for Kady to make some sort of peep over the monitor. This morning nothing came so we decided to get up and start getting busy. After a while I wonder if Kady is breathing, it's 9 and I haven't heard anything. 9:30, still nothing--yet I'm getting a lot done. Why when our kids sleep so much we are inherently grateful, yet I always have to wonder, what's wrong? I don't dare open her door and wake her up any earlier than she wants to get up though, she is quite the bear if she is tired. I wish I could totally enjoy these mornings. But I get over it, get more cleaned up and accomplished.....by 10:30 Kady is just starting to make some noise in her room. AHHH, she was breathing this whole time. What a happy girl, sleeps 14 1/2 hours and is still ready for her nap at one! So much like her mommy!

Lucy is definitely a different type of sleeper, like Jim. She parties in her room after we tuck her in, usually for 2 hours. Pops out of bed in the morning ready to go, always before I am. "I get up fassss mommy, why do you get up so slow?" Once she is out she is out, on the floor, in her bed, wherever it might be. Sometimes naps at this point, other times she has quiet time but really doesn't require much sleep.

Avalanche Bay

We spent last weekend up in Boyne with my family at the indoor waterpark! We celebrated 35 years of marriage of mom and dad, and also Simon's first birthday! I can't believe that it always takes us so long to spend time together now that we are all in Michigan! The kids were all troopers as were the adults (late nights and early mornings!). We had a great time swimming, riding all the rides, hanging out, buying salt water taffy in Charlevoix (ps--never let Jeremy direct you using google maps), and just spending time together!

JJ chillin in the hot tub
The lazy river really did it for Jovie Kady was perfectly happy sitting on the edge with her cup!

Story time...Grandpa was all tucked in!

Simon is ONE! and LOVED the cake
opening his gifts...good thing he has such big cousins to help him

The chef for make your own pizza night!

Party goer Lucas

Jovie and Lucy

Uncle Chris feeding the kids pop rocks!
Where did Aunt Stephanie go??

THese people are crazy!

all three girls, tired out after such a long day

Breakfast