Fun at the Fair

We spent a day at the fair that I grew up showing cattle (and all sorts of other things) at near the end of July. (I'm still catching up on summer posts!) It was so nice reminiscing a bit and watching Morgan, Blake and my nieces enjoying their time there.

We took pictures at the cut-out by the poultry barn.

Enjoyed seeing the MSU and fireman scarecrow projects.

Blake's favorite cake...and from the looks of the ribbon it was the judges' favorite too!

The kids were able to pet all sorts of the 4-H animals.

Plus they tried their hand at milking a cow.

After grabbing some lunch, it was time to play at the splash pad!

Someone was getting a little tuckered out...

...so it was time to rest and soak up the sun.

I love the towels! :-)

Our last stop was at the petting farm where the kids were able to hold butterflies. (I think this was Morgan's favorite part of the day!)

And hold a baby bunny.

We enjoyed the cuteness of some piglets...

...and ducklings....

...and even a turtle. :-)

The fun and excitement of the day wore the kiddos out. Morgan rarely falls asleep in the car and never in the middle of the afternoon, but she did that day...twice! (We had to switch vehicles at one point.) I was even tired, but it was one of the best days of our summer and I'm looking forward to going again next year! :-)

Blake's 4th Birthday

Since it's been a month since Blake's birthday, I figured I should probably share his birthday celebrations with you before I forget completely ;-)

Due to busy schedules of our families, we were not able to get everyone together for one birthday party for Blake, so we ended up having two! So there are a few pictures from each that I'd like to share.

Party #1

Blake's birthday cake. He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and we did a little fire truck theme since he wants to be a firefighter like his Daddy when he grows up. :-)

Blake received a bunch of toys and gifts, but the ones that he just could not wait to open were the Legos his uncles got him! Not Duplos, but the real 'big boy' tiny Legos!

Just before the candles were put on to be blown out.

Wearing the hat his Daddy got him.

Rich, his dad, brothers and Blake. This party was a little early so Rich's brothers could come. One had to go off to college and the other had to return to his base the following day.

Putting the Lego boat together that Blake couldn't wait to play with :-)

Blake had struggled the whole party with being overtired...he and Morgan both crashed!

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Party #2

This birthday party we actually had on Blake's birthday. It seemed that only my sister, her husband and my parents could make it at first, but my best friend and her family were able to come at the last minute!

Blake had a big chocolate chip cookie for this party...decorated pretty much the same due to my limited decorating abilities-lol!

Blake opening gifts with all sorts of help.

Blake with his cookie.

Blowing out the candles.

Although it's hard to believe how much time has flown, I'm loving my little guy at this age. He is so fun, sweet and smart. I always love hearing the cute things he says in his cute little voice. He is the best snuggler and gives the best hugs! He plays amazingly well by himself. He can play with Legos, trains, cars, play dough, etc. for hours and you don't even know he's there, except for the little sound effects and dialogue he is making up as he's playing. Sometimes I just sit and watch him when he doesn't know it. (If he sees me watching him he stops what he's doing and comes to me.) This is definitely a stage of Blake's life that I hope I never forget! :-)

A Day at the Beach

Back in August the kids, my nieces, my mom and my brother all spent an afternoon at the beach. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time enjoying the water and soaking up the sun :-)

Morgan and Blake playing in the park by the beach while they wait for their cousins to get ready.

Blake in the water...I love how the sailboat is in the distance :-)

Morgan holding hands with her cousin in the water...melted my heart seeing how well they get along. :-)

Playing in the sand...working on a castle!

While the kids played, the adults enjoyed the view...the lighthouse and Blue Water Bridge to Canada.

The area's little cruise boat.

More sailboats

Another type of sailing...a windsurfer! This must really take some skill!

Besides all the sites, water and sand, we also enjoyed checking out all the shells and stones on the beach. The kids thought it was great, but I was even in awe of the beauty of it all! I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon :-)

Our Indoor Campout

I'm bummed to admit that we didn't make it camping this year as a family, so as Rich went camping with some fellow firefighters this weekend for the Michigan Fireman's Memorial Festival, I decided the kids and I would also do a little camping of our own.

Since it was FREEZING (literally) outside, I thought it best to do it all inside. Of course it was nothing like true camping, but the kids and I still had a ton of fun! (That's all that matters, right?!)

We made hotdogs in the microwave instead of over a fire.

Then did S'Mores in the microwave instead of over the fire....

...they're just as yummy and sticky! (Blake couldn't stop laughing when his marshmallow did this!)

We rented and watched a movie instead of sitting around the bondfire.

Great movie by the way. We added in an intermission to make some popcorn on the stove instead of over the fire. (And air mattresses are the best!)

And we finished off the campout sleeping in the living room instead of in a tent.

The kids have never slept in the living room before overnight. They were SO excited and felt super special being able to stay up with me. I was equally happy to have their company while their Daddy was away. :-)

We'll definitely be doing more indoor campouts in the future! Next time I'll take more time to plan to make it a little more like camping ;-)

Blake's First Day of Preschool

Blake started preschool on Wednesday. As the day approached, I tried not to think to much about it, but I knew it was going to be tough on me. I was in tears about it weeks ago, then after Morgan started Kindergarten last week, I knew that Wednesday was going to be particularly rough (for me).


HE did great! No tears and went with his teachers no problem after hugging his Daddy and I.

His teacher had a good 8 other parents sign in their little ones, but for some reason when she got to me she asked ME if I was going to be okay...just ME...and I thought I was doing good at that point! LOL! But walking out of the school without him for the first time was tough. Unfortunately, with the new security at the school, we were unable to go into the class and take pictures of his first day....

...so I took a picture of his bus coming up the road to make up for it-LOL! I had to hold back tears waiting for it. All I kept thinking was how lonely it was waiting...I had Blake with me last year to wait for Morgan to come home...

Of course all of it was no big deal for my little guy. He came home and told me all about his first day. We had a special lunch of french toast followed by a dessert of chocolate zucchini cake that I made especially for Blake for his first day of school.

A little while later we had to go pick up Morgan from school. Listening to a preschooler and kindergartener discuss school and seeing each other in the hallway was PRICELESS! Had to have been one of the cutest conversations I've heard from them :-)

We then had an after school snack of pencils!!!
They're made from a cheese stick with a Bugle and piece of raisin on the top and a cut out piece of bologna on the bottom.

It was the kids first experience with Bugles, so I had to show them had to make them into fingernails...

...they thought that was pretty neat! :-)
I'm still emotional over them both being in school. I'm keeping quite busy while they're away right now to keep my mind off it as much as possible. And Rich says NO to having another baby, so I'm thinking chocolate...LOTS of chocolate...will be a good way to ease the pain instead. ;-)

Morgan's First Day of Kindergarten

My baby girl started her first day of kindergarten today. She has been really excited about school and counting down the days.

She is going to the same school building she went to last year and knew her teacher already, so I think that made the transition a bit easier.

Though, I think a little worry started to set in once we got into the classroom by the look on her face.

She found her seat quickly though and seemed to settle right in. I hugged her good-bye and just about lost it.

Thankfully there were a lot of parents around and I didn't want them to see how pathetic I was-LOL! Plus Rich told me to hold it together...he went into work late so he could take her to school too. I've been a bit of a mess since leaving the school, though, and hoping it gets easier for me after the first day! Now if I can keep my eyes dry long enough that they aren't red when I go to pick her up this afternoon.... :-)