The Many Faces of Jack

He just melts my heart :-)

Family Time

Since our calendar was wide open today, Jason suggested we take a drive up to Pentwater for the day. We love spending time there. It's the perfect distance to feel like you're getting away, and yet it's close enough to do it in a day with 2 kids. Town was super busy today, as we once again happened to visit during the arts and crafts fair, as we did last year as well. We had a nice time wandering among the tents of crafts before heading to the park to enjoy the picnic we'd packed.


Hannah sampling her peanut butter and jelly specially cut into the shape of a flower just for her.


My little guy is getting so big! Aside from his feedings, he pretty much slept the whole time.

I have a great husband! Jason pushed our loaded up stroller through the sand so that Hannah could play at the beach and get her feet in the water (she couldn't stop "feet, water!").

Once we picked a spot, we set-up camp. It was a great beach day, but a little hot for Jack. We took him out of carrier so he could chill in his cabana for a bit.

Hannah loved playing down by the water. I think you have to get there pretty early in the day to get a primo spot right on the beach near the water, but Jason and I did take turns with Hannah venture away from camp to get our feet wet.

Two bathing beauties (Yes, Jason has a tattoo on his back! Shocking, I know.)

A picture-perfect beach day. The water was soooo warm! Way warmer than Higgins Lake, where we spent the weekend before. Pentwater State Park really is a great park with a beautiful beach and a perfect, sandy bottomed swimming area. We'd like to get back to spend more time there again.

A self- portrait. The humidity and lake breeze really did a number on my hair!

All of the sun and sand wore Hannah right out. She crashed shortly after we started out walk back to the car.

On the way home, we swung through Silver Lake. While I nursed Jack in the car, Jason and Hannah ventured out to the beach near the lighthouse.

Pure Michigan :-)

Backyard chillin'

We finally got our pool out for the first time this summer. As expected, Hannah loved the water!

Bathing beauty


Swimming


I am just praying that she didn't pee in the pool!

Practicing her strokes

An uninvited guest, who I quickly shooed out of the pool after I took a picture (of course!). I guess dogs have to cool off, too!

Pool Party

This morning, the mentor mom from our MOPS group hosted a pool party at her house. All week, the forecast had been for partly sunny skies and low 80's, perfect for a pool party. Unfortunately, the weatherman was just a little off, and it rained all morning! No worries, though. We still got together for food and chatting. Of course, once the kids saw the pool, there was no way that we were going to get out of going in, rain or shine. The air was warm. We were going to get wet anyway, so we figured why not!


Hannah and Zoey looking at the pool in anticipation. Hannah was so excited to go to the water!


There were a total of 6 adults, 11 kids, and Beth's teenage daughter and a friend who helped watch the kids. So nice!


Hannah testing out the water with Beth's daughter Hannah.


Mentor Mom Beth, holding Alaina.


Hannah loved being in the water, but she made sure to hold onto me for dear life!

(In case you're wondering, Jack came along as well. He peacefully slept the entire time in Hannah's bedroom!)

To play or to drink?? That is the question...

Thinking about it...


Looking up to see if Mama is watching...


And going for it. Thankfully this was before the dog started drinking out of it, too!

I'm just glad that he's too little for her to teach him these things just yet!

Summer Vacation

We just got back from vacation a couple of days ago, so needless to say I've been spending the past 2 days catching up on everything. We spent almost a week up north between my parents' cottage at Higgins Lake and Jason's parents' place in Lewiston. Traveling with 2 kids and a dog definitely is not light. The kids and I went up early with my parents last Tuesday, so we really divided our stuff between our vehicle and theirs on the way up. Only when we packed up to come home on Monday did we realize how much stuff we had taken in total. There was barely room for the dog! Good thing we have a bigger car this year :-)

We spent the first part of vacation with my parents. The first day up north was COLD - 59 degrees and windy! However, Hannah didn't mind at all. She was so excited just to play in the sandbox, she didn't care what the weather was like.


She somehow got the idea to land the slide in the sandbox. She could have played for hours out there! Notice the bare feet. I could not keep shoes on her to save my life. She must have soles of leather b/c she walked around on the sand, stones, and pine needles without so much as flinching the entire time we were there.


Jack got his traditional baby bath in the sink. He seemed to enjoy it.

We all enjoyed Grandma Cramer's extra yummy, super sweet strawberry shortcake. We made sure to save some for Jason, as he joined us on Wednesday night after he got out of work.

The lake was so calm on Thursday and Friday, before the crowd arrived for the weekend. Thursday was a perfect day - sunny, warm but not too hot, light breeze. The fresh air must have gotten to me b/c I suggested going out for a ride in Jason's boat! My parents babysat the kids during naptime while the two of us took a cruise around the north end of the lake. We even turned off the motor and drifted near the island for awhile, enjoying the sun and uninterrupted conversation. Shortly thereafter, my cousin Matt took me out waterskiing! Normally, I slolem ski. In fact, I don't remember the last time that I skiied on 2, but after 4 pretty impressive wipeouts trying to get up on 1, I finally gave up and got up on 2. I'm writing it off as being 5 weeks post-partum and just glad that I got up at all, especially considering I haven't done it in a few years. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead on Thursday, so I didn't get any pictures :-( However, I do have witnesses!

My parents went home on Friday morning. Sadly, my sister-in-law's great-aunt, who was more like a grandma, passed away earlier in the week, so they went home to help out with my niece. (I am so bummed that I didn't get any pictures of the kids with them, especially considering how much time they spent chasing after them (or at least one of them anyway!). I will have to make up for it next time we go up north.) Friday was another gorgeous day, and we took full advantage. We hit the beach early and stayed till naptime when it started to get hot. Worked out perfectly.

Jason taking advantage of the beach time to do some reading for his next class.

Jack camped out in his cabana.

Hannah LOVED the water! She had water shoes to wear, but again, she refused. Notice all of the little stones. She never even winced.

Of course, she was super excited to play in the sand.

Jason trying to coax Hannah to go swimming. I think he might have had more fun with the alligator blow-up than she did.

Saturday morning, we made our way to stay with Jason's parents in Lewiston. It used to be Jason's grandparents' place, and his parents got it after they passed away. Jason's grandpa LOVED going up there, and even knicknamed it his palace. It was kind of neat taking Jack to the place that his namesake loved so much. Space was a little tight, but we found that tucking Jack behind the chair worked pretty well for some peace and quiet.

Our own version of Where's Waldo! Yes, they have matching outfits :-)

We went out for pizza that night. I don't know what it was, but Jack kept spitting up on Jason's dad. Eventually, he learned to use a burp cloth!

Watching for humming birds at the humming bird feeder.

Sunday was super hot and muggy. By the afternoon, we were all ready to get out and cool off, so we went into town to watch the hometown 4th of July parade (yes, this was actually cooler than being inside). In keeping with the theme of the day, the kids were appropriately dressed in red, white, and blue.

Jack slept through the whole thing.

Jason and Grandma Davis made sure to teach Hannah how to collect candy. By the time the parade was over, they had quite the loot.

I actually really liked this parade, as all of the entries were simple and homemade. My favorite was this gazebo being hauled on a flatbed trailer by a semi. If you look closely, the sign on it says "Lewiston's Unsung Heroes. We are all over 90 (and proud of it)!" Something to aspire to one day :-)

Of course, the perfect ending to a sticky, hot afternoon was getting ice cream! Hannah got to eat her very own ice cream cone all by herself (normally we share with her). It was a big hit. Even though it was 4th of July, we skipped out on taking the kids to the fireworks. They were both pretty tired from the days' activities and the heat, so Jason's parents watched them while he and I got to go out on our 2nd date of the week (my parents babysat one night while we were with them as well!). We ended up going to Garland Resort, just down the street from his parents, where they were shooting off fireworks. Before the display started, we roamed the halls of the resort and stumbled upon a corridor with huge windows, a leather couch, and a perfect view of where the fireworks would be launched. We had the best seat in the house to watch the show - minimal noise, mosquito free, comfortable, and air conditioned!

We arrived home on Monday after a long 4 hours of driving. The kids both did really, really well. We stopped at my parents' cottage to pick JJ up on the way home, so that did help break the trip up a bit. It's always nice to get home and get back to a routine, but it was really nice having all of the extra sets of hands to help with the kids. We should go on vacation more often!