Visiting with Friends from NJ

Last night we had a great time with some friends from New Jersey! They were staying just a half hour away from our house visiting some of their family before they took their son to college in Grand Rapids so we invited them over to dinner. We had such a great visit with them! We had a yummy dinner (I think Linda got a kick out of being able to pick whatever she wanted me to cook for her! :), took some fun family photos, and then were honored to have our own little private concert by their son, Ryan, in our livingroom! He is such a talented musician.

Here are a few pictures from the night...

Ryan playing some amazing songs for us that he wrote himself.




Kyle showing us some fun (and complicated) yo yo tricks!




Thanks so much for spending the evening with us Daryl, Linda, Kyle, and Ryan!!!! And thanks again for the olive oil! What a neat surprise!!! We opened it tonight for dinner and it was oh so good!

Weekend at the Lakes

Last weekend we went to my sister's lake house in northern Indiana. What a fun time we had!

It rained a lot on Saturday so we took a little road trip to Shipshewana, IN. Here are my favorite pictures from the Amish town.

Looks like the horse is fueling up!




We passed many horse and buggies along the way.


On the way back to the lake house, this crop duster flew directly over our car. It was so cool. Something we'll probably only experience once in our lifetime. It was so close to our car that it really got our adrenaline going!


On Sunday, the sun came out and the temperature was warmer so Carson and I went tubing!




Uncle Keith even let Carson drive the boat!


Kadence and Grandma


Carson and Grandpa


Ryan's big catch


Carson could have fished all day long!


Having fun with Aunt Susan

Kadence is 3 Months Old!

Time is flying by and Kadence is growing like a weed! We were able to take some cute pictures in Uncle Alan's photo studio this past weekend.

Enjoy!

Closer to Family Once Again...

In mid-July we moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. We had started house-hunting when Kadence was only 3 weeks old and moved when she was only 2 1/2 months. Both kids were quite the troopers and with lots of help from our families...we did it! We are all settled into our house and loving it in Ann Arbor!!!

It is so nice being closer to our families again.

Carson is helping Grandma snap peas in these pictures. He really enjoyed it and was so serious about helping out.






We've also been able to go camping with my parents and even see my niece's dance rehearsal. She's such a good little dancer!


Here we are spending the weekend at my sister's lake house. Carson has so much fun playing with his cousins.


Carson and Johnna (they are only 1 day apart in age)


Tubing with Daddy.


Just this past weekend we went to Chicago to celebrate Alan's birthday (Ryan's brother). Here are some pictures of Ethan and Carson having a blast together.




Shooting a rocket with Uncle Alan.

Best Friend from Kindergarten

Not many people can say they are still in touch and remain good friends with their best friend from kindergarten... Luckily, I can say I am. Ashley and I have always been the best of friends. From playing with our Cabbage Patch Dolls as little girls, to her being the maid of honor in my wedding, we have remained in touch, no matter how many times we move or how many hundreds of miles away we are.

Ashley had recently moved to Philly and I was still living in New Jersey at the time so she decided to make the drive up and stay with us for a few days. It was so fun catching up and hanging out with her.

Carson, Kadence, and I took her to High Point State Park to show her the monument at the highest point in NJ.


We also went to a drive-in to see Toy Story 3. That was so much fun and a first for all of us! It was such a beautiful night and such a neat experience.






We even got to see approximately 250 Mini Coopers that night. They just happened to be having a rally the same night we went to see a movie. It was quite a sight!

Superman Goes to the Bronx...Zoo

I am so behind in blogging that it's not even funny. I am going to try to get caught up a little bit. It's been a crazy busy summer and I would love to share it with you guys.

Back in June, we went to the Bronx Zoo. What an awesome zoo it was. It might even rank as my #1 favorite so far!!!

Here's Carson sitting in a fake bird's nest:


He wanted to wear his Superman cape that I made for him. We got so many cute comments and funny looks from all sorts of people! :)








The gorillas were my favorite exhibit.


Even Superman needs a break every now and then!


It was a fun day had by all...