Ice Cream

What does every great pizza need? Ice cream! Yep, that's what we thought. The kids finished the summer reading program at the library a month ago and one of their prizes was a coupon for a free ice cream cone at the ice cream place in town, the BEST ice cream ever! So, we had our usual homemade pizza Friday and then loaded up the stroller for town. We laughed the whole time. Ida gripped her cone and savored every bite, announcing, "That's delicious!" Emerson agreed, "I like ice cream."

What is the joy of ice cream treats without people watching?

A job well done.

The kids and Tom, of course.

A Piece of "Haven"

We finally got a chance to take the kids and some of our friends from Utah to Grand Haven and enjoy Lake Michigan. It was such a fun trip; we really had the best time. It was educational too!

What we learned

1. A two hour drive is the perfect length for a road trip involving a 1, 2, and 3 year old.

2. Ida prefers peeing in the grass in her own back yard and not a random field.

3. Lake Michigan waves can be a little scary.

4. We LOVE the sand. We love, love, love it. We like to throw it, eat it, crawl in it, dig it, roll in it, kick it, pile it on our little friends, and shovel it into anything resembling a container.:)

5. Ida pees a lot.

6. Adults love the Wiggles too!

All packed up and ready to go. Did anyone forget anything? The only reason I ask is because we turned around three times before picking up the Sitteruds. Swimsuits are important, right?

The sand is so cool. Ida walked around on all fours for a majority of the time we were there. I don't know why, and every time I asked she just laughed.

Walking to the pier. Yep, that's it.......way over there. Ida, please don't do your bear crawl, please don't do your bear crawl, please don't do your bear crawl, please don't.........

We thought the kids might be a little nervous to walk on the pier and we were TOTALLY wrong. They loved it!

We stopped to take a break during our hike back from the pier. Nothing like sittin' on a hot rock.

Ida bummin' a ride back.

I love this picture!

Ida didn't mind eating the sand.

Porter bravin' the sea.

Ida "bravin'" the sea. That's about as close as she would get.

The end of a fun day. Emerson says, "Porter, you're a good friend."

.....And The Summer Lives On........

We are using every last minute of summer sun to play outside. Too bad we couldn't "bank" our summer time and bring it out this winter when we have been cooped up in the house for so long. Maybe these memories will bring a sunny day in the middle of the winter season. Or, we could always just look back at "the blogged" and reminisce while we drink some hot cocoa.

Ida's not too shabby at blowing bubbles. One day she blew and blew and blew until bubbles appeared and she hasn't forgotten the trick. She may have out bubbled daddy that afternoon.

Emerson bee

Ida butterfly

A little present arrived one sunny afternoon from our sweet auntie. The kids were ecstatic! So on went the ponchos....and then, for the first time in our little 3 and 2 year old lives, we wished SO badly that it were raining. Emerson stared out the back door trying to will a rain cloud our way. When that didn't work, we made rain with the hose. It didn't take long for the ponchos to come off....

Making a sprinkler with our hose makes us as happy as eating ice cream.

Alphabet hopscotch. We judged the winner by the chalkiest feet....tie!

The real joy of summer.

Happy Anniversary!

This post is dedicated to my sweetheart of 6 years, today. We have know each other for 11 years, and in that time, I have grown more in love with Josh each day. These are the reasons he is the man of my life.........
1. Our children adore and love him to death. When they play together, I see the world through their eyes, and daddy makes it a fun, safe, simple place.
2. He makes me smile. After so many years, my heart still sings a quiet song when I see him.
3. He makes me laugh. He is innocently funny and witty.
4. He works hard for our family and NEVER complains about it.
5. He sacrifices all he knows to make sure his family is happy and safe.
6. He makes me feel like a beautiful, good wife. He enjoys what I do for our family and loves my talents and faults.
7. He is a good person and makes others feel important when they are around him.
I love you Daddy, and Happy Anniversary!

Diaper Free Zone!

Our house is now officially a diaper free zone! Way to go, Ida! Josh and I would have joined the underwear picture, but we figured you guys weren't interested!

Beach Babes

What is every little boy's dream? Probably, to see a dinosaur. O.k., so we didn't do that, but we took a mini "vacation" to Lake Lansing. Emerson had been asking Josh and I if we could go on vacation, so one day we said, "yes." Off we drove to the beach and the kids couldn't have been more excited about their "vacation!" Please don't tell them it was only a 15 minute drive! We played in the water, played in the sand, had a picnic, tried to catch some fish, relaxed, laughed, and explored. It was the first time that the kids had been to the beach and according to Emerson, "The beach is a wonderful place to live." I think that sums up the whole trip! Off we go!

Feelin' it out.

Ida wasn't too sure about the water so she splashed, and splashed, and splashed in her little chair.

Lunch time!

Right after we took this pictures, Emerson tipped right over in his chair......."Oh, bother." Maybe next time we should pay more attention to how uneven his chair is sitting on the ground. According to this picture, it was a bit obvious.

Time to go.

The Recycled Dresses

I found a really cute dress pattern on the Internet of how to make a little girl's dress out of an old button-down shirt. It is so much fun and I am completely addicted to making them. I realized after I cut the dresses out that I didn't take a "before and after" shot. So, I guess you have to use your imaginations and think of what the shirts looked like before I made them into Ida size dresses.

After I made these dresses for a while, my brain started thinking of how I could make dresses out of old t-shirts too, and this is what happened! I just love recycling!

Good thing I have a model just the right size!

Another one!