One Lucky Mama!

Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am?

My kids are such a gift - yes, draining and sometimes even maddening but such a blessing!

This weekend we chilled. Such a change of pace and it was so welcomed!

Saturday brought a day full of playing REALLY, REALLY hard at the water park at our dear friend, Quinn's 5th birthday and we had such fun together. Amelia spent much of the time twirling around in the kiddie pool singing "I'm a baby octopus" - we were sure that we had never seen such a cutie pie!

Sunday we had church where I got to be Ben's Sunday school teacher (we take turns). What a kick! The kids were having such a ball, what more could you ask for in a church? We had a very low key afternoon where Ben spent some time making his teacher, Mrs. Ortlieb's Christmas gift (woven pot holders - per his request!) with Gammy while the rest of us ran errands. We then pulled out our winter wool rugs and played by the fire. Amelia was busy with puzzles and Ben created his own air hockey game from a box top and pennies. Too cool!

Can't wait to see what the week brings!

Updates...

Well it has been a long time since writing and uploading pics.

Where to begin....
1) Ben was moved to the AM kindergarten class where he is surrounded by a group of boys who are at the same point in terms of learning. It was requested by the school so we didn't hesitate and he is LOVING school. Ben is reading and writing up a storm and is so happy with the challenge. I have found that my bug is happiest when challenged. I think that's a very good trait and sometimes one that this mom has to remember when I'm leaning towards a low-key day. We are happiest when conquering stuff!
2) Amelia continues to grow up so fast. She goes down the big slides on the playground, is so confident, introduces herself and announces her age. Her favorite thing to wear is her super hero shirt and hates to have her hair "done".
3) I have been contemplating how I want to fill my extra time once Amelia starts preschool next year and Ben is in school full time. I know that we absolutely made the best decision for our family with me being home full time and for that I am so thankful! It goes by so quickly. I can't believe that we are entering a point where they won't be with me 24/7. I am so thankful for all of the little moments with them that I've had since they were born and am trying to focus on how exciting it is to watch who they are becoming as well as to look forward to the possibilities of where I will go know with a little bit of extra time for me. Hmmmm.... time will tell.
4) David is loving his new career. It has been so exciting to watch him be invigorated by what he's doing and dreaming of the possibilities. He also ran a half marathon in Harbor Springs - he love that stuff! The kids both ran in the fun run on that day and came across the finish line with huge smiles. We were so proud of them being so proud of themselves.
5) Looks like we will be digging for the cabins next week - wow! We're all so excited and are hoping to head up to Cedarville for the day to watch the diggers!
6) Continuing to love life and be so thankful for where we are and where we are heading! This journey is truly amazing - we are so blessed!

Early Fall.

We have thrived during Ben's first week of school. In fact, when I mentioned that today was Friday the response from Ben was a huge groan. I was prepared to be told that he didn't want to go to school again today but instead was told that he loved school and was having so much fun that he didn't want to have to be home all weekend! Yeah!!!!

Post first day of school cookies at Jolly Cafe. Mom and Dad were hoping for all of the delicious details of the day... some of which were shared!

Here are a few other cute pictures of our transition into the fall weather.

Scavenger hunt at the college trails courtesy of our dear friend Miss Sara.
Taking time to smell the flowers.
First of many cozy nests by the fire.
Proud Lego building thanks to Uncle D and Aunt Kim!

Kindergarten.

Well today marks the day that I said I would postpone until next year. I feel guilty, disappointed, excited and hopeful. I know that after months of sleepless nights we made the best decision for him. He is thrilled! His teacher is amazing and he is in a small class setting in a wonderful school. There.... seeing it in writing does help.

Ben starts afternoon kindergarten today. He will be in school from 12-3pm and I am excited for him. We made the decision to send him to 1/2 day kindergarten because he is ready for more and yet we want him to still have the freedom to explore, go slow and be. Our thought process is that next year we can always move him to our neighborhood school (which no longer offers 1/2 day programs - what is happening to our world?!) and he could repeat kindergarten but now in a full day setting. He is so ready for kindergarten but we just want to make sure that he is ready to make the tough decisions in HS and college. He's a June birthday, not really young but maybe just enough? We want to give him the best start possible.... sigh.....

Last night was his open-house. He carefully picked out the shirt he was going to wear - it had a picture of a fish on it. Last week when he met his teacher, Mrs. Ortleib, they had discussions about big fish. He had never worn this shirt before but chose it so that he would have something to show her. I thought it was very, very sweet. He was quiet but his eyes were darting around the room taking it all in. We could see that he was thrilled! Loved the excitement, loved the room, loved everything about it. When I was tucking him in last night I asked him "Are you excited?", "Yes!", "Are you nervous?", "Nope.". He loves new adventures. Maybe more of that should rub off on me?

We are so proud of him.

Wrapping up and looking forward.

As I've said a million times, this was the best summer of my life (thus far)! In our home, we are feeling slightly melancholy to see things ending and so have decided to work on the list of things we want to do this fall. Our notes show things like apple cider, football games, jumping in piles of leaves, fall walks in the woods, reading and knitting by the fire, sitting on the front porch with blankets, Halloween, carving pumpkings.... and when you look at it like that, we have a ton of fun ahead of us!

But.... before we get too far ahead of ourselves. I do want to remember a few things from the summer.
1) Ben can now kayak all by himself! He does a remarkably good job!
2) The kids came so far with their swimming this year. I have two fish!
3) We had so many wonderful adventures around the islands this summer. The kids will sit on the boat for hours exploring channels, hiking islands, swimming in the cool water and picnicking.
4) The fair.... not always my favorite place but I have to say that this year it had a new shine to it. Living where we do, we are thankfully not exposed to malls, amusement parks, etc. etc. so the fair held a special flair for the kids.


On a sad note, I have lost my beloved camera. I know exactly the last time I had it.... where I was, what I was wearing, what I was carrying, but I have not been able to find it. I'm afraid it is gone. I have realized how much I enjoyed using it to capture all of the little moments of our lives that just so quickly slip by but are what make it so rich and so mine. Hopefully we will come up with another alternative soon but for now we are getting by with David's phone.....

Ahhh.... Summer.

Holy cow! We have been having such a great summer, I don't even know where to begin. All I can say is that we are truly exhausted from having SO much fun!! Our days are spent at the beach, parks, concerts, on our way to the cabins, at the cabins, recovering from the cabins..... it's been an absolute blast.
Great memories....

• Mommy and Ben having a day together with Sara and Jackson at the water park. The smiles on the boys was priceless!
• Amelia saying "run for your lives" as she's running through the sprinklers.
• Ben's obsession with fishing.
  
• The kids loving their bunk beds.
• Long kayaks. Amelia in the front of the double kayak and Ben riding in his own kayak being towed behind. We are quite the caravan on the lake!
• New found love of tea parties with our girl.
• Lemonade stands.
• Dress-up and fairy wands.
• Rooster tales from the M. Island ferries being called "ferry tales" by Ben. That is quite possibly the sweetest mistake I've ever heard.
  

Green bean monsters! Yikes.

View of the dock.

Chillin on the beach.

This much fun does occasionally require mid-afternoon coffee breaks for mom!

Ahhhh..... summer sunsets.

Ice cream time with Papa.

Tea time.

Pancake breakfast morning.

Magic fairy wands are everywhere!!

Happy Summer!!

Peeks of the past week.

The week started with a fabulous family fishing trip to a private lake that was absolutely gorgeous! As we glided out onto the lake we were greeted by a family of loons. It was amazing!

Cute little hands attached to a flower admirer. I love that the kids take time out to admire all the beauty. It makes mom and dad do the same - thank goodness, we would miss so much!

View of gorgeous lake. Wow!!

Doesn't this say it all? Those three are so happy when tromping around in the woods together.

View of the picnic blanket with cutie peanut on it.

My little fisherman.

Could the yogis be any cuter?
This has become a routine at our house. They do about 45 minutes of yoga together almost every day! I'm not exactly sure how that happened but they are SO cute doing it together and they LOVE it.

T-Ball season ended last night. Here we have a very proud player and his biggest fan.
Really, together they melt my heart.

We celebrated the end of the season with a family trip to our favorite ice cream store. Evidence would show that it was enjoyed by all!

The medal from the season. Very proud indeed!

What a great week! Now we are busy preparing and packing for a long 4th of July weekend up at the cabins..... Can't wait!