Jacob's Birthday

July 6th is Jacob's birthday.  We celebrated by doing the things he enjoys most - water and sand.  I took the kids to the beach and this time I took my camera!  They had a great time.  We followed up the trip to the beach with heading to a restaurant for dinner.  

What a disaster.  The first restaurant had a LONG wait, so we headed to a local place that people bragged on.  We waited forever to get our drink orders taken.  She asked for our orders only to be told that we did not have menus.  She brought us menus and then 10 minutes later when we still didn't have our drinks and hadn't placed an order, we decided we would go somewhere else.  So, off to Pizza Hut we went.  It was fast and yummy!  

After dinner, we went to the beach and walked out to the lighthouse and enjoyed playing in the sand at dusk.  This was definitely a memory making evening!  By the time we got home, Jacob was so tired he didn't even want to eat his birthday cake.  He decided to wait until the next morning!

Building a water tunnel with a holding area

Ok, how far out will Brycen follow him?

The answer?  Not very far.  He liked running up and down the beach more than he liked being in the water.

Katie singing to the waves

Lizzie loved the waves smashing into her.

Jacob in his element - water!

Testing out the contraption Lizzie and Katie built

Look closely and you will see Lizzie under the water chasing Brycen.  They were playing sharks.

Some Lighthouse pictures

 

 As we walked on the pier, we found some small dead fish.  In this picture, Brycen is adamantly telling Mom that they are too little and he needs to throw them back in!  We said they were yucky and he just said, once again, "They are too little!  Throw them back!"

Playing in the sand at dusk.  Much fun!

Beautiful sunset

 Sand in our clothes?  Of course!  Katie was loving it. 

 Kelsey loved running up and down the beach

Then she would run and jump on Lizzie's lap.  

 Lizzie, Zach and Jacob checking out the scenery.

 Katie and Lizzie

 Not sure what she is saying, but she is definitely telling Lizzie something!

 Sand Angels!!!

 Zach looks out over the lake and contemplates his next fishing expedition.

Highlights of the Day:

Early morning fish expeditions

BEACH!

Waves

Sand

Pizza Hut

Leaving Rico's

Walk on the pier

Light house

Playing in the sand at dusk

Watching the cousins playing and getting along

Showers to get the sand out of every crack and crevice

Lizzie's Birthday

July 5th is Lizzie's birthday.  We celebrated by going to the beach.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this beach trip.  Mom took all the pictures that day.  We all went to the beach together and had a nice time.  All the kids loved the water and the waves.  

After a long day at the beach, we decided to eat at the campsite and enjoy a laid back evening.  Well, we ate at the camp and some of us were laying back!  

While laughing at my nephew as he explained the difference between a plant and a flower to Jim, mom and I leaned back.  We leaned back a little too far and the table came right over on us.  Yep, we flipped the table over.  I still can't think about it without laughing.  I was covered in cottage cheese and my mom was wearing the entire jar of pickle juice.  

Here is a picture of the aftermath.  Soon after this picture was taken, my nephew turned around and said, "Well,  we are done eating now!"  

 Mom was still laughing after we finally got up!

We eventually made it inside to celebrate Lizzie's birthday

 Lizzie and Katie during our walk

The campground and surrounding area is beautiful.  We enjoyed walking around.  Usually it was back and forth between campers with the kids!

 I am not sure what this look is for, but Katie didn't like something I said.

Highlights of day two:

Early morning fishing

Beach

Sand Castles

Cool Rocks

Flipped over Picnic Table

Lizzie's Birthday

Learning a 3 year olds definition of a plant versus a flower!

July 4th, 2012

We traveled to Manistee, Michigan over the 4th of July to camp with my mom, Jim, nieces and nephew.  We arrived on Wednesday.  After being in the car for 5 and 1/2 hours, and kids were excited to see their cousins, Mamaw and Papaw.

I will just say right now that by camping I mean:  In an RV with air conditioning, TV, full kitchen, etc! I am, by no means, a roughing it type of camper!

The kids headed to the boat launch to skip rocks and play.

 This is the best shot I could get of all six of them!  

 Love to wrestle!

Zach gets his first Big Red of the trip from Papaw.

 Katie and Brycen spent the night with us on Wednesday.   They were so excited.  We had a pretty nasty storm and lost electricity.  Jacob wasn't quite asleep and was sure it was hailing and came to our room.  I finally got him settled and dozed off.   Katie is terrified of thunder and as the storm rolled out and she was still asleep, I thought we were in the clear.  However, I was soon awakened by a piercing scream of "I want my Mamaw!"  So, I stuck her in the van (I thought that might be less traumatic than walking through the rain and lightening) and drove to mom's campsite.  Just as I opened the door to run her in, there was one last huge bolt of lightening and clap of thunder.  Katie's scream could be heard for miles, I am sure!  Poor girl!!

The girls in their "tent."

Filthy after 20 minutes = a good time.

After wrestling and running around, both Sadie and Jacob were ready for bed.

Zach helped Brycen settle down and fall asleep.

Mom and the kids (minus Zach).  I am pretty sure Zach had gone on a walk to avoid the chaos at this point!

Highlights of day one:

Arriving safely

Big Red

Seeing everyone

Wrestling

Big storm

Sleepovers with cousins

Skipping Rocks

The beautiful scenery

Living Room

 What started out as a crawl space. . .

slowly turned into this.

As you look at this, the living room is along the back wall.

 Painting the living room

Lizzie strutting her stuff.

 It is slowly coming together!

Today, I started lining the ledge with cube bookcases that will hold books, games, and "stuff."  I am still amazed that it all started as a crawlspace!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

This year for Mother's Day, I did something I have always wanted to do. . . I planted a garden.  Since I have absolutely NO idea what I am doing, I have declared that if I yield one cucumber and one pepper this year, I will consider it a good year.  So far, so good.  Zach has been very good about watering the garden.  It really is a fun thing to do as a family!

Woo hoo!!  This year is already a success - I have baby cucumbers!!!

Lizzie looks for more cucumbers as Jacob waters.  

My little garden!  

 Pumpkin plants!

Randomness

Lizzie lost her other front tooth this summer.  

Poor Sox is tired of being chased by Sadie!