Heavenly Day

My day today consisted of sitting by the pool, soaking up the heat and sunshine while reading Twilight. I loved it. Now to start the second one. :) My baby was awesome today, and I did exactly what I had planned on doing all week. I loved every minute of it. It was a much needed day where I had no plans to do anything major. The best birthday/anniversary present ever. My sisters bought me a birthday cake, and thought they were cute by putting trick candles on it. I caught on right away, and refused to waste time by blowing them out twenty times. But it was nice of them to think of a cake. It was also my 5th wedding anniversary today. I know what your thinking. " you got married on your birthday!?" And yes, I did. I don't regret it. It just makes the day extra special. :) That five years goes by so fast. I wish I had my husband by my side to help celebrate it, but he is at the other end of the state. I love him just as much now, if not more than five years ago. He makes my every day better just by being there.

Later this evening I went to a friends on the other side of town where she had made fresh blueberry pie. It was delicious! Thanks Mary! It was great to see you and your little family if only for a little while. :0)

Then last but not least I went to Katie's bachelorette party tonight. She is getting married tomorrow. I wish her and her new husband to be many years of happiness! There will be many bumps along the way, but they just bring you closer. It's awesome to find that special someone to spend the rest of your life with that makes you complete. Congrats Katie! I wish you lots of love. luck. and happiness for the rest of your lives. You deserve it.

15 hours and 2 tires later

Loretta, Alanna, and I and the two babies, Logan and Karmyn came down state today. And we made such "good time" that it only took us fifteen hours coming from Alanna's house. We made it to where I live just fine, but on the way out, Alanna ran over the curb and popped her tire. After some nice stranger came and put the donut on her car, we went to Walmart to get the tire changed. After waiting 45 minutes while they changed her tire, we went to pick up her car to find out she needed one more as her back tire was bald to the threads inside. So we waited another hour for them to fix that tire. Finally by three thirty ( we left Alanna's at six a.m.) we were on the road. The babies were pretty good until about 23 miles from our final destination when they decided that they'd HAD ENOUGH! We had to find the nearest exit and stop for them to get out of their car seats. After twenty minutes we noticed we were at a crusty looking truck stop gas station and got a bit uncomfortable and decided we'd tough out the rest of the trip. We pulled into Glen and Lisa's at nine o'clock p.m. 15 hours after we left. It should have only taken about 8 hours, 9 tops. Needless to say.... there were a few crabby travelers by the time we got here.

On a positive note, tomorrow is supposed to be nice, and my only plans are to sit by the pool in my swim suit and relax. It is my birthday and my 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow so that to me is the best gift! No kids bugging on me, ( hopefully my baby will co-operate) just me and my book I started reading on the way down here. I am beginning the Twilight series. I'm about half way through the first book Twilight, and I'm hooked! I can't wait to sit down and finish the rest. I am sure I'll be scrounging for the second one by the time the weekend is over. I'm pumped. I haven't read a really good book in a while, and I'm really liking this one. I'll let you know what I really think once I finish the series.

26 books

We went to the library yesterday bout hal an hour before close to pick up some new reading material. Aaron found four new books by John Sandford and I got three for myself by Beverly Lewis. For the kids we got 19 books ranging from Amelia Bedelia to Clifford to Aurthur and a few kids song CDs too. They love stories so it's fun to get new books to read as I get kind of tired of the ones we have at home. Now we are set til August 7th when they're due.

Back to Work

I haven't taken any pictures of all three of these guys together in a while, so I did this morning. Travis's smile makes me laugh. It's a total cheesy smile. Looking at all three of them in this picture I think Logan is looking more like Jenna as of late. He was sleeping in my bed the other night ( actually he sleeps with us almost every night. He starts out in his bed, but somehow in the middle of the night ends up with me, and I'm always too tired to stay awake while nursing him.) and I thought he was Jenna for a groggy second. So, we'll see if that changes too or if that's the direction his looks are headed in.

Such an intense cheeeese! :)

And the smile that I still love to pry out of him. He's usually pretty happy to comply when you pay attention to him. He'll tell you stories if you just give him an idea.

And last but not least, yesterday was my first day back to work since before Logan was born. I was really nervous, excited and sad all at the same time. Nervous about leaving Logan with Aaron and the other two kids. Not cause he isn't perfectly capable, but because sometimes Logan can be a little stinker about taking a bottle. But he did just fine. :) I was a little bit sad because I do love just being a stay at home mom with my kids, but right now we need for me to work. Someday I can just stay home, just not quite yet. And I'm ok with that. Finally, I was excited because I do love my job. I think I am pretty good at it. Although, it's not hard to be a cashier. :) It felt good and everyone I worked with seemed pretty genuinely glad to see me back at work. That made it easier. But boy, my feet and legs and back were really sore by the time my shift was over at ten o'clock. I worked 8.5 hours yesterday. But it felt good to know that we are going to be a little bit better off financially because of it. That alone made it easy to go back.

Klondike Bar

I just have one question for all of my readers out there:

What would YOU do for a Klondike Bar???

For the record my husband did rub his mother in laws feet like the guy in the commercial does.

Fast Forward

It seems as if once summer finally gets here, someone hits the fast forward button for your life. It is already halfway through July! My Logan will be 3 months old next week! How did that happen? Seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital and he was brand new.
There is so much going on this month that I'm sure that the rest of the month is going to just fly by. Tonight we had a surprise baby shower for Heidi. It was alot of fun, and she got a good start on what they need for their baby to be. She is due in six weeks! That time sure flew fast too!

My sister Lia is down here for the rest of the week to help me with the kids and to just hang out and have fun. She is pretty fired up after hearing the report Levi gave when he got home. :)

Tomorrow night we are going to the lower harbor park for a going away party for Jennie and Ricky as they are leaving in a month. I am going to miss the dickens out of that girl. A girl couldn't ask for a better friend. She's become so much more like a sister to me since we moved down here. I have a feeling I'm gonna bawl when it actually comes to saying goodbye. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited for them. They are going to love Alaska, it'll be such a lifetime experience. Their community will be lucky to have them both teaching in their schools. I'm just thankful for technology these days. Keeping in touch won't be so hard, it'll just be figuring out the time difference. Kiana, AK is four hours behind us. I know she reads this every day, so I'll just stop and say love ya Jen! Your the best.

Wednesday we are going to the children's museum again, Saturday there is a wedding down here, Sunday I am going up north to bring Lia back home, will probably stay til Tuesday. I might babysit Teija for Alanna if she needs me too. Then Thursday I am going downstate for Katie's wedding with my sisters. Next Friday is my birthday and my 5th wedding anniversary. Then the last week of the month I'll be at my mom's babysitting for her while she and my dad go on a bike trip around lake Huron. Then it'll be August, I'll be back to work and before we know it Aars will be back to school. Life sure flies. Can I hit the pause button?

Loving the Beach

My little dreamer.

watching the boat come up to the ore dock

Look Travis! A crab pincher! He was showing her a shell. We were pretending we were at the ocean and collected shells to bring home. Levi collected a whole pocket full. Travis came home with rocks and shells in his shirt pocket.

this one turned out even cuter than I had thought it would

Levi's Last Night

Travis right after he took a digger.

We went down to Presque I. last night with the three kids and left Aaron home with Logan. We were hoping to catch an ore boat at the coal docks before Levi goes home today. And we did! We watched one come in from off of the big lake. Levi sees them way out on the horizon all the time out by my mom's, but never has seen one up close in real life. They are huge. :) While waiting, I played around with the camera snapping pictures of the kids. I think I'll attempt to do my own to frame for their next milestone. My camera takes good pictures.... we'll see I guess. :)

Levi came to stay with us for five days. We have done lots, but his favorite thing so far was the Children's Museum. I liked our walk on the beach last night. He is going home some time this afternoon.

He has really actually been a big help around here entertaining my other two kids. Kind of gives me an insight to how it gets easier after three kids. Jenna will be big enough to play with the younger two. I'm gonna miss his company when he is gone. Annie and Lia are begging to come down for a week too so I am sure I'll be glad for their company as well.

Even Jenna was willing to strike a few poses for the camera. I think next time I will make sure they have clean faces and clean clothes for a real photo shoot.

Lilly the Cat

At the camp last weekend, Nancy L. had 3 kittens with her. (They are free if any one wants a kitten. ) Well Jenna kind of adopted this one, and named it Lilly. This poor kitten was hauled around all weekend. Either by it's neck, or the way you would cradle a baby, to the way she is in this picture. It as Jenna's best friend. We actually were surprised that the kitten didn't put up any kind of fight with the way it was treated. Jenna even tried to bring it in the sauna with her! I was able to convince her to leave Lilly out for fifteen minutes while she washed up. If we didn't know where Jenna was, chances were she was chasing Lilly or playing with her. At one point I found her sitting in Papa and Muumu's sandbox with Lilly in one arm and scooping sand with the other. That cat was her constant companion. Now, I am not one bit a fan of cats, but if we were living in the country right now, I'd have given serious thought to taking it home and have an outdoor cat to keep mice away. It tugged on my heart strings watching her play. It was too cute. But, Jack and Nancy have kittens at their farm every year, so there will be another Lilly to consider taking home someday.

My mom on the other hand is trying to convince my dad to get Lilly. He's not so convinced they need an outside cat, but I think the kids would love it. Plus when I was staying there last weekend I saw a decent sized mouse run across their living room floor...... kind of gave me the heebie jeebies......think they need a cat?

More pictures, there wasn't enough room on the last post!

Hope everyone had a happy independence day! I know I did. I put over a hundred miles on the van traveling from the camp to the harbor but it was worth it. What a beautiful day we had.
Logan and Karmyn. Two months and one day apart. They are going to be good buddies. As Loretta says, they don't really have much of a choice. :)
She was so stinkin cute in her hat. I wanted to put all the pics I took of her on here, but just picked my favorite.
Travis at the L.L. parade.
Logan in his special fourth of July shirt at the L.L. parade before he pooped up the back. Figures, it was white.

Little Bit of Everything

We had a great weekend, actually almost more like a week as we were gone from wed. to monday. But we really did enjoy ourselves. We spent some time at my mom's, lots of time at the camp, and some time up in the Harbor. We got a picture of all of my mom and dad's grandkids. All five of them now. :)

We went to the L.L. parade on Sat. morning. It lasted about an hour long, and the kids came home with half a bread bag full of candy. Travis had it down pat. He would run towards the candy when it was tossed, and usually snagged a few pieces. If he didn't, he would just look at the big kids next to us with his big blue eyes and they would all give him a piece. So in a sense he got double of what he would've originally gotten. It was pretty funny. Some random lady walking with her church group stopped to ask if she could take Jenna's picture. I didn't mind, and Jenna was more than willing to smile for her. I still have no clue who she was.

Logan found a new buddy over the weekend as well. Harvey and Mary L'Es** were visiting over at muumu and papa's camp. Harvey held Logan for at least a half an hour before he started fussing. When he did, Harvey looked down at him and in his deep gruff voice said "Ah, Shaddup!" And Logan did! He stopped fussing right away and went back to sleep. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Aleena- this is what you have to look forward to out at the camp in two weeks! A beautiful sunset in the company of friends and family!

And what is a lake without a little boy to enjoy it?

Will the Sun PLEASE Shine?

Will someone please tell the sun I need him to shine again? I need my daily dose of vitamin D, and my kids seriously need that outlet for their energy again. They are finding other ways to release it and I don't like it! A few times today I realized my two kids were WAY to quiet. That usually isn't a good sign. Need a few examples of what has happened in the past two hours? Well, for starters, Jenna spilled hot chocolate all over my newly cleaned kitchen floor. Then somehow she got the idea that she can get her hair wet.... in the toilet. :/ I was NOT pleased. Then I sat down to nurse Logan and all of a sudden I am smelling something... they were spraying their dad's cologne into one of my cake pans, making soup. Don't get me wrong, I love the smell of his cologne, but not when it's been squirted about ten times in my living room. :( They also must have decided one of my kitchen chairs had a serious stain on it because they got ahold of my ( NEW- opened yesterday) bottle of shout and was squeezing the gel onto the chair. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I NEED that sun to come out and shine for me! Any time now would be great! Now Jenna is downstairs again, probably taking every article of clothing out of her drawers trying to figure out what dress she should wear because her other outfit got all wet..... sigh. I'm tired. I think Travis is currently pulling all the books off of the bookshelf. did I mention I am supposed to be packing to go up north this afternoon? Like in a half an hour we were hoping to leave and I haven't even began packing yet. So much for that idea.