Fun filled weekend (warning - long!)

Heading up north for Memorial Day weekend with the rest of the lower Michiganders has been a tradition for both of us since we were kids. We're now continuing that tradition with our own family as we headed up to my parents' cottage for the holiday weekend.

We got a jump start on the weekend by taking off early on Friday. The car was packed and we were on the road before 10 - a record for us. We were all eager to get up north to enjoy the weekend, including JJ, who felt the need to be right up close with us.


(This habit was cut short after this picture!)

Since it's a 2 1/2 hr. ride up, we stopped at McDonalds for lunch on the way, where Hannah had her first Happy Meal!


One very nice thing about going up north is that there is no shortage of babysitters. We took full advantage of Grandma and Grandpa time and had a little date night - dinner and a movie. Jason loves the theater in Houghton Lake, an old log building, very retro and well maintained. He couldn't wait to get there to see Night at the Museum.

The building wasn't the only retro thing about it. They only accepted cash or checks. Somehow I actually had enough cash to get us in. However, we had to buy our snacks by writing a check! Pathetic? Yes!

Another unique feature in this theater are their "love seats". The seats are all original (or pretty close), and every few rows they have a double wide seat on the ends. The legend is that those seats are meant for two. We thought it would be romantic to try it out, and it did start out fun. However, by the end of the movie we agreed that it was similar to sleeping in a twin bed. A little too close for comfort!



The rest of the weekend was filled with lots of activity. Such is life with a toddler! We spent lots of time keeping Hannah busy:

...going for walks

...trying out the new picnic table Uncle Todd bought for cousin Kara

...swinging in the hammock with Grandpa

...and picking up pinecones with Grandma.

Hannah also made her first visit to the beach, and she loved it! I'm sure we'll be getting dirty a lot this summer.

Playing in the sand.

Mama and Hannah at the beach.

After playing in the sand, we moved to the boat to get a little shade. That is where Hannah discovered the new game of attempting to toss anything and everything over the side to see it splash in the chilly water below. Guess what she's looking at here.

Yes, that's her sandal floating in the water below.

Thankfully Daddy braved the cold water and saved the day!

We even managed to get a decent family picture!

(notice with Jason's boat in the backround).

It just wouldn't be a summer weekend without Jason's pride and joy.

The captain!

One of the biggest highlights of the weekend was meeting Hannah's new cousin Kara. She is such a tiny, sweet baby. However, Hannah wasn't quite sure what to think of her. The first time that Grandpa held Kara, she started to cry. Hannah didn't like that (neither the crying nor Grandpa holding the baby), and she started to cry, too! She eventually got past it. I'm sure that they will be the best of friends as they grow up.

Hannah checking out baby Kara.

Aunt Courtney and baby Kara are doing great!

Uncle Todd is a pro at carrying Kara in her carrier.

I think our little rag-a-muffin had a wonderful weekend. We can't wait to get up north again. Summer, here we come!

Sure sign of summer

We took advantage of the beautiful weather last week by eating dinner out on our deck for the first time this season. We had a perfectly summer meal of hot dogs, chips, baked beans, and asparagus (can't pass up this yummy veggie!)



To top it off, we had the ball (as Hannah called it), or watermelon, for dessert. So good!

Wild Kingdom

Apparently our yard has turned into a wildlife sanctuary this spring. As we were out on our deck last week, Jason spotted a turtle at the bottom of the hill in our backyard. As he seems to be our zoo keeper, he picked it up and brought it up for us to see.

After putting him back in his home, JJ made sure to "keep him safe." Good thing he has a hard shell!

Not Me! Monday

Last week, I posted about Not Me! Monday. This Monday has snuck up on me this week. Between working some longer hours, masters classes, swimming lessons, and just life, we've been really busy... maybe even doing a few things I hate to admit...

*I did not pick a beautiful bouquet of lilacs from our neighbor's bush (they weren't even picking them themselves!)

*I did not hold my daughter tight to my chest after leaving her swimming lesson b/c I forgot a key piece of apparel to change into that would hold the girls in check!

*We did not eat pizza, hot dogs, and McDonalds for 3 out of 5 meals last week - although they must have some nutrition, right??

Come on... you know you've been there, too!

Not Me! Monday

This is a new experiment for me. One of my favorite bloggers takes the time on Mondays to write about what she simply did not do in the previous week. In her words, "Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!"

*I did not let Hannah go to bed without brushing her teeth 3 out of 7 nights last week. No dirty mouths in this house!

*I did not eat a whole box of chocolate chip Teddy Grahams, mostly while listening in on a conference call. No way!

*I did not use grocery shopping as an excuse to get a night out of the house by myself while Jason babysat Hannah. We just really needed groceries.

*I did not send Hannah to the babysitter with the same lunch every day last week. How boring would that be!

I'm sure there's way more, but that's enough for tonight. Ahhh.... that felt good!

Naptime at the zoo

Since we were finally home for a weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and headed to the zoo after church today. We've been working with Hannah on learning animals, so we thought she'd have fun actually seeing them in person. She was mildly interested, but I'm sure some of her lack of excitement was due to the fact that most of the animals were taking their afternoon naps. Turns out that they like to soak up the sun and nap in the afternoon just like we do!


Hannah liked the wallabies jumping in the grass.


If you look close, the wallaby standing has a joey popping out of her belly. Yesterday was the first day that they had been back at the zoo, so they were a little people-shy. I guess once they warm up, they hop right out to you to be petted. We're looking forward to that the next time we go!


Hannah and Daddy checking out Brown Bear, who was napping in the shade.


The only animal awake in the petting area was this goat. Hannah wasn't too sure about him.


The lion exhibit is fairly new at the zoo, so we were excited to check it out. The lady lion was hanging out in the shade right up next to the window, so we got a great view. Mr. Lion was napping in the sun up on some rocks, so we'll have to see him better next time.


The tiger in the exhibit behind us was actually on the move, pacing from window to window checking us all out. Hannah really liked him.


A few of the monkies were about the only animals that seemed to be wide awake.


Our sad attempt at a family picture.

Although a lot of the animals were snoozing, we still had a wonderful time. We're really looking forward to making more trips this summer. I'm sure Hannah will love it more and more every time we go.

Timeless

As I was going through Hannah's closet this morning to pick out an outfit for church, I came upon this dress. I've been waiting for her to finally fit into it and for the weather to be warm enough. Today was the day - it fit perfectly!

This isn't just a cute dress (although, it sooo is!), but it's extra special b/c it was my mom's dress that she wore as a baby. I can't say for sure whether or not I actually wore it, but for it being my mom's age old (I won't give it away here), I think it's held up extremely well. Plus, the style is super cute. I just love it and am so glad that Hannah finally got to wear it!

(I snapped a bunch of pictures, and these were the best. It's hard getting a good one these days!)

She wasn't too happy that I took her cup away, but I still thought it was cute!

A new pet?

Jason found this cute little guy in our bushes yesterday afternoon. I couldn't believe how calm he was.



After petting him for a few minutes, Jason put him back in his home in the bushes. He and his bunny friends have already made quite a feast of them. We may not think he's so cute if that keeps up!

14 months old

This is such a fun age. I'm loving every minute of it. She's becoming quite an independent girl with a big personality. Here are a few of the things she's up to these days:

• Her crawling days are over. She's on two feet all the time these days. Every day she gets more and more steady and is even speeding up. I'm getting quite a work out chasing after her.
• Speaking of chase, that is one of her favorite new games.
• She's saying a few more distinguishable words - JJ, ball, and papa (Grandpa, perhaps??).
• I swear she's going through a growth spurt. She suddenly seems much taller to me. We'll find out for sure next month, but she can now see out our front window without having to stretch as much.
• She's working on feeding herself with a spoon. She hasn't quite mastered scooping up the food on the spoon but is very good at taking the spoon from us and getting it into her mouth.
• She lets us know when she wants to be picked up by walking up to us with her arms up in the air.
• She can show you where her feet are when asked.
• She loves to play with her ball and is very good at pushing it back and forth with us.
• She gives wonderful hugs!
• Her favorite activies include unloading the diaper bag or Momma's purse, dropping JJ's toys through the spindles down the stairs, and cleaning out the kitchen and bathroom drawers.
• She loves to talk on the phone. She puts my phone up to her ear and says hi (ah). Unfortunately, she only likes to talk when it's flipped close, so conversations with actual people are pretty short.
• I think her molars are on the way. She's been drooling like crazy! Hopefully they pop through soon.

I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures lately, so I made up for it this afternoon. This pretty much captures a typical day at our house these days:

Turning into more of a little girl every day.


Loves to play with her shapes.



Keeping an eye on the neighborhood.



Our little tumbler.


JJ's pretty funny.

Just a little girl but such a huge blessing...