Ice Cream with Pop

Father's Day celebrations wouldn't have been complete without some time spent with Chris dad, aka "Pop" to the girls. 

We went up for a visit and it was quickly decided to head into Sand Lake for some ice cream (it was a HOT day!).  We all enjoyed out frozen treats and did a good job of eating them before they melted on our hands and laps.
 
Afterward, we let the girls run off their sugar buzzes on the playground.  Dani also made friends with a large family having a Father's Day grill out.  She just kept running over to say "Hi!"

Chris pushing Dani on the swings.  She had fun going as high as he'd let her, while Michaela freaked out and started crying from just being put in the swing.  Dani is definitely our fearless little dare devil!

The playground structure in Sand Lake has 7 different slides on it, and Michaela made sure they all worked!

Posts are for hugging.  When you hug a post you should also make sure to smile pretty for mom.  :)

It was a challenge for Dani to get herself over this little wall around the playground, but she didn't give up and eventually managed without falling! (you can see the family she befriended in the background)

Gymnastics classes have made Michaela much more confident in her climbing abilities.

Dani and Chris blowing each other kisses.  Daddy loves his little girls!

Grilling with Papa

This past Saturday we packed up the kids and made a trek out to Coopersville to get together with my Dad (aka Papa) to celebrate Father's Day.  He wanted to use his new smoker grill, so my sisters and I all brought a dish to pass and showed up for dinner.

With temperatures in the 80's I knew the girls would end up getting wet with the hose/sprinkler so I packed swim diapers (for Dani), a swimsuit (for Michaela), an extra change of clothes for each girl and their PJs.

Papa manning the grill.  3 different flavored pork loins, country style ribs and grilled veggies. YUM!

To keep the kids cool my sister Jodi turned on the hose for them.  Surprisingly Dani was the biggest fan of the freezing cold water.  She ended up with 2 outfits soaked and blue lips before we made her change into PJs to go home in.

Each time she'd take a pass through the water she'd run over to share some with Royce's toes.  I'm not sure what he thought about that, but Dani sure had fun!

Michaela and Dylan both had great faces to share with Aunt Jamie when took a turn with the camera.

"Oh! Dylan, what's this?  You want to share your salad with me?"

Dani likes ranch dressing and... anything vegetable covered in ranch dressing.

See how blue her lips are?!? Good thing Daddy noticed and wrapped her up in a nice fluffy beach towel. :)

Memorial Day at the Cottage

Because of Chris' foot pain and impending surgery we didn't make it up to my grandparents' cottage on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend with the rest of the family.  We did however, make the drive on Monday when it was set to be in the 90's.  My grandparents were there when we arrived and my Aunt Lisa & Uncle Andy came up with their kids as well, a pretty quiet day at the cottage compared to what it would have been like the day before.

Picnic tables leaning against the wall?  Oh no, these are Dani sized jungle gyms!

Michaela proudly showing off her new swim assist vest from Opa Cove (review coming soon on SIMPLE!)

My cousins Kristyn and Nicole took Michaela turtling.  Kristyn took Michaela with her in a kayak and they actually came back with a few turtles without dumping in the muck.  Then the girls took her out to the raft on the paddle board as well.  Basically, they made Michaela's day with all these 'firsts' since she has gotten big enough to enjoy these things.

Uncle Andy because he specifically called back to me at the dock to take his picture in the kayak...

Great Grandma got out the old play kitchen toys for the girls.  Dani had a lot of fun playing tea party.  The only person she'd serve tea to though was Uncle Andy!

Checking out the dock with Daddy. :)

Gardening is hard work

A couple weeks back we went up to Chris' Dad's place to help plant the garden.  Here's some fun from our day of planting (well, Chris and Michaela's day of planting, Dani and I showed up a couple hours after them).

Chris planting heirloom tomato plants.

Michaela snitching red-vines from Pop's truck and supervising.

That is the face of "I don't like sitting in this dirt." We're working on toughening her up. ;)

 Michaela planting potatoes with Pop. She was so very excited to be helping!

"Dad, I'm ready to go nap now."

The Lodge

Occasionally we all take the trek to go visit Chris' dad in Sand Lake.  We set up base in the 1970's camper trailer at the top of the hill that has been dubbed "The Lodge."  It is a bit rustic at The Lodge and we go knowing the whole day will be spent outside playing in the field, the little bit or yard, or the woods.  Last year we only ended up there a couple times because it was really hard on me carrying Dani around everywhere, but now that she can walk I'm sure we will make the trek many more times this summer.

Pop got the girls a special surprise... gardening tools!!! They were excited to try out their new kid sized shovel, rake and gardening hoe.

Chris all ready to go make the trek to the woods at the edge of the field to find a good tree for our new tree swing.

If that's not cute I don't know what is. Michaela was so very excited to be able to help hold Dani's hand while we walked through the field to make sure Dani didn't fall on her face.  It always makes me smile to see how much they love each other. :)

Michaela taking a ride on The Original Tree Swing.  You can see my review for this over with SIMPLE, there's even a giveaway for one until the 19th!

And finally, proof that I was there with them all that day.  We needed a photo of us all rocking out our boots, because we don't go to the lodge and wear anything else. :)

Welcome Back Snowbirds!

After Easter my grandparents came back from Florida.  Grandma had decided that the temperatures weren't so cold as to keep her away any longer (plus there were two new great grandbabies to visit!).  After making sure we were a germ free family I took the girls out to see them.  We visited indoors for a while and then Grandma came out with us to play.  She took the girls around the yard and I'm pretty sure that given the choice neither one of my girls would have gone home that night. ;)

 

Dani checking out the tire swing for the first time with some help from Great Grandma.

I'm pretty sure Nicole was performing her cousinly duties and giving Michaela rope swinging lessons before all the adults came out. ;)

Warmer days are coming...

... I just know it.  And for proof we had a 85 degree day a couple weekends ago that we took good advantage of with some time outside playing.  Michaela was inseparable from her new Boot Scoot Bike (you can see my review/giveaway for them with SIMPLE here) and Dani had fun running, running, running!

Happy Mother's Day! 2011

Since I'm 95% sure I won't be talking to my mom today (working third shift all weekend makes that kinda difficult) I wanted to make sure she still got her "Happy Mother's Day!" message all the same.

So, because I know that you'll probably check this before I can talk with you... "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!"

Easter Sunday 2011

We started our day off with, "DAD! There's EGGS by my TV!!!" from our Michaela alarm clock at 7:15 AM.  We got about 20 more minutes of rest before we had to start our day though, because she was just sooo astounded by those mysterious eggs. :)

After finding their Easter baskets and enjoying their indoor egg hunt, we all got ready and headed off to church.

Aren't these just the cutest dresses ever?  Our friend Jen made these for Dani's birthday.  Every where we went today the girls got compliments on their adorable dresses. :)

After a delicious lunch at Twisted Rooster with Pop & Grandma Mary we came home with two more baskets of candy and treats and 2 dozen 'colored' eggs that we didn't have to dye.

Here's our dozen green and dozen brown eggs next to some white eggs that I had bought from the store with intentions of dying.  Michaela sneaked into the fridge last week & colored them with crayons instead.  Same thing, right? ;)

Small amount of quiet time (We don't need to stinkin' naps!!!) and it was time for another family get together with Grandma, Aunt Gigi, Uncle Kevin & Aunt Jodi, Dylan and Royce.

While Aunt Jodi held her, Dani scowled at EVERYONE (seriously, isn't that face is just priceless?) and Michaela got a chance to hold Royce.  She definitely loves her baby cousin, but has already forgotten how to be extra gentle with babies who look older than they actually are.

More fun, more playing and right after everyone but Grandma leaves... OUR 3rd WIND!  Yep.  Didn't even know it was possible.

All in all, a great day celebrating the ultimate gift.  Hope you all had as blessed a day as we did!