Precious Princesses!

These are two precious princesses that I have had the privilege of capturing!

Betsy Lynn

Tessa Claire

What Do You Do When the Snow Melts?

Shoot our bows & arrows (because if we shoot in the snow we tend to lose our arrows underneath the snow!).
Ride our 4-wheeler - notice he didn't forget his helmet!
Play baseball.
And of course - ride my bikes in my snowsuit!

Oh the fun we have!!!

The Tree

Our tree finally came down on Thursday - which is a record for me. I haven't left the tree up beyond New Years since we have been married. I wasn't really ready to take it down this year - but thought I better do it anyways. It was the longest we have ever had it up - because we put it up the weekend before Thanksgiving! Until next year...

The Newest Members of Our Family!

We have added a family of ants to our home! The boys have enjoyed watching them dig tunnels and trying to figure out what they are doing. It has been interesting to watch... their lifespan is only 2 - 4 weeks - so they won't be around for long. (and that is okay...)

Happy Birthday Eric!

The boys decorating Eric's cake - Levi poured the whole jar of sprinkles on top - it was about 2 inches deep - until I scooped most of them off with a spoon and put them back into the jar!
Happy Birthday Eric!

Thanks for being the greatest Husband and Dad that I could ever ask for! You are truly a blessing! I love you!

Birthday Get-Away

Last Sunday after church we headed to Dundee, MI to the Holiday Inn Express Splash Universe. Eric's birthday was on Monday so we thought we would celebrate.

Levi fell asleep before we even got to I-96 and this is how he slept - no blanket, no friend as usual just hands folded in his lap! It was a precious sight!

The boys at the hotel with a new friend! Swimming lessons have paid off - we have never seen that bright of a smile before when it comes to waterparks!
Even a smile at the bottom of the waterslide! These tubes were great - the front tube had a seat in it - so the kids couldn't fall out! Great invention!
When the boys were over stimulated with the waterpark we went over to the other pool where it was very quiet and peaceful. Here Levi is showing how he can swim - all by himself! (almost!)
We splurged and got bunks for the boys & they loved it!
What is a waterpark without an arcade! Of course the boys had to play some video games - driving motorcycles and race cars...

and of course the hunting game - they are shooting animals...

Then of course to top off Eric's birthday we spent several hours at Cabela's.

Successful Rabbit Hunt

Eric & Justin went rabbit hunting with two families. Together they shot 12 rabbits. Trey, Justin & Makayla.

New Years at the Cottage

Sunday - Tuesday we spent with friends at a cottage on Dyer Lake north of McBain. Usually we spend a weekend camping together during the summer but with Scott & Lia living in Africa we weren't able to do that this summer. So we decided on some winter fun while they were here for the holidays!

The whole gang!

The kids snuggled in to watch a movie - Everyone's Hero.

We spent lots of time outside and the kids (& the dads!) loved being on the 4-wheelers!

My boys doing donuts on the lake.

Justin learned how to drive a 4-wheeler all by himself this weekend!

Here he is taking me on my first ride with him driving - needless to say I did make a little noise when he was doing donuts on the ice...

Zoe', Maddie & Justin waiting for their turn behind the 4-wheeler.

Justin jumping off the snow hills.

Levi & Ella

The boys went squirrel hunting and shot 7 squirrels. Here they are on their way back from one of their successful hunts.

Ice fishing - the kids loved watching the minnows swim around in the bucket! We didn't catch any fish (it could have been all the 4-wheelers flying around one the ice...) the boys did run out numerous time to check on false flags!

Lia & I played Scrabble - it started out as an innocent something to do for the afternoon and turned into Lia trying hard to win - I won 3 times - the last time only by 2 points! Sorry Lia - we'll play again soon!

The cottage - it was great just to be together again! The weekend was a lot of fun and also a lot of relaxation - which we all needed after the busy holidays! Thanks Michelle for inviting us to your families cottage!