MIA

Well, yet again, the family blog as been abandoned!  Fall gets so busy!  School, fall sports, busiest photography season and of course just the day to day activities that keep me from posting.  But I always miss it!  So to try something different, I'm going to start a photography challenge tomorrow, Nov. 1st.  I'm not guaranteeing that I will get the photo posted each day, but hope to at least take the photo and then post as time allows!  Anyone want to join me??  

Give1Save1

I am a reader of many blogs.  Most of my favorites I have stumbled upon through another blog.  One I found recently blew my mind and I am just loving being a part of what is going on there!  So I wanted to tell you about it (I shared it on facebook a couple weeks ago, but want to make sure the word is getting out about it!)  This sweet lady named Beth and her husband are just starting the process of adopting a girl (and maybe two) from Ethiopia.  Adopting is (very) expensive and she was trying to think of creative ways to help with the needed funds, and she thought I know alot of people who know alot of people...if all those people just gave a dollar...that would add up quickly!  And so she started give1save1.com.  Here's what gets me every time.  She's not just raising money for their family's adoption.  Each Monday she has a featured family and asks readers to give just a dollar to help these families out.   She raised $900 for her own family, but she has raised thousands for other families!  I think that just rocks!  So I really want to bless the efforts of Beth and spread the word about give1save1!  So please check out the blog at www.give1save1.com and go to their page on facebook and like them.  You will then get updates every time she post about a new family.  It is super easy to give your dollar (or more) via paypal.  It only takes a minute and really...a dollar a week friends...we can all probably find that in the floor board of our cars each week!  Join me in this will you?  I gave mine!  Did you give yours??

Summer's over... :) I mean :(

(oops!  I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and never published it!  Guess I got distracted by the glories of quiet afternoons...)


I had such mixed emotions about school starting again this week! One second I was disappointed that there wasn't anymore time to spend with the big kids during the day and wishing we had done more. The next second, they were bickering and being obnoxious and not listening and I was counting down the minutes until August 24th! The few days before school did start were really precious days. We did really fun (and free) things together.

The first day of school was only a half day and Brian also happened to get off work early. He volunteered (after the kids basically told him he had to) to stay home with Nathan while he napped and the rest of us headed to a museum in our sweet little town. I forget every time between visits to this museum just how fun it is! It was even better because it was a free admission day!

Goofy kids!

This is a really cool scale that tells you what animal weighs about what you do.

This was the first time Emily had been to the museum and she was precious to watch!  She we fascinated!

Here's a quick slideshow of some of the animals they have on display.  (the reptiles are alive)



Down stairs they have an awesome play center for the kids which also houses Hercules the turtle.  The kids loved watching him and touching his shell.  Emily was a bit timid at first, and stayed close to Andrew.




And when Andrew wasn't around, she clung to the hem of mommy's shorts :)


I love being able to spend time like this with my kids.  It is so fun to watch the wheels of their minds turning as they learn and see new things.
More of our summer adventure's to come!

The power he's learning he possesses....

"Nathan, please do not pull mommy's flowers off of the plants."

"But mom! It's so much fun!"

"I can't believe you aren't going to let me do this."

"I dare you to say no to me while I'm making this face."

A great weekend getaway

I'm having trouble sleeping tonight so I got back up and decided to post about our getaway this past weekend. Hopefully my lack of sleep won't bite me in the tail end tomorrow, well I guess I mean today.

You might remember my pictures (on facebook) from our weekend at my cousin's cottage in Michigan. We had SO much fun and I think it was one of the best times we have had as "just us" away from home ever! Andrew and Kelli have been asking ever since when we could go back and we decided it would be fun to go back with just the two of them! So we dropped Nathan and Emily off with Grandma and Papa and made the 4 hour trek to the cottage. It was so special to have that time with the older kids. There are so many times that we can't do what they want to do because it would interrupt nap time or the little ones aren't able to participate or it's too expensive for all of us to do it...It was just really good to have the opportunity to just be with them without the distractions that are a part of life with 4 kids! =)

The pictures are the best way to tell you how fun the weekend was!

The boys love to ride dirtbikes and the girls like to occasionally join in the fun! Kelli's bike wasn't running well so she got to ride along with Brian. Riding dirtbikes totally pushes me out of my comfort zone, but it's worth it on occasion to share in something that Brian and Andrew enjoy so much!

Kelli getting a refresher from daddy before we realized the bike wasn't running right

I think she probably had more fun this way anyway

I don't have a whole lot of pictures of Andrew because as soon as he gets the go ahead he is off!

Could she be any cuter???

Besides being cute, she's also getting so good with the camera! Check out this actions shot she caught (and check out Mom's proud expression that she was catching it!)

I have to admit there is something about it that makes you feel a bit hardcore :)

And then I'm reminded that I'm riding a bike that's just a bit bigger than my 9 year old son and I'm so sore because I've been gripping the handle bars so tight as I'm driving like maybe 5 miles an hour around an almost completely flat route around the property....and I can't help but laugh at myself...

The cottage is only about 5 minutes from Lake Michigan and both kids were anxious to get to the beach. It was a super warm day and it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

The water was FREEZING!! Like painful freezing. Like your legs were blotchy and red after getting out freezing. Didn't phase the kids a bit! :)

I wish I knew who these kids were, cause I love this picture! =)

Brian had been showing Andrew how to pick a good rock for skipping and when Kelli and I went for a walk down the beach she collected a bunch to try herself. She saved out the best ones for daddy.

It was a fun yet relaxing, much needed little weekend escape. There is no way however, that Emily is going to let us go again without her!

Playdates

I think I like play dates as much, if not more than my kids do! I love hanging out with other moms while our kids play! This week I brought my camera along on one of these play dates because I wanted to test out a theory I had about one of my lenses. I haven't gotten to that yet, because I couldn't wait to get my hands on these pics of our kids! This week we hung out with my friend Jess and her kids. Her oldest is the same age as Andrew, but is quickly becoming one of Kelli's favorite people to hang out with. Her middle child is the same age as Kelli, but plays wonderfully with Andrew. And her youngest is a bit older than Emily but has a similar personality and the two of them flit from activity to activity! Happy to have some photos to document our time together! It's always a blessing to spend time with you, Jess!

A community bowl of cantaloupe

Isn't that the sweetest smile?!