Just a few more...

...pictures (OK, maybe more than a few).


Almost every day we were home Uncle Zac and little Zac (who doesn't nap anymore) could be found curled up in some sort of uncomfortable position for a little afternoon nap. We couldn't separate the two. I found out that little Zac would wake up early and sneak into Zac and Sarah's room to cuddle up with them in the mornings...which would explain why OUR mornings were a little more quiet. One night at dinner little Zac says: "Mom, my uncle's cool". That about sums it up. He still talks about them daily!


Some more pictures from the camp out...

Thomas' first driving lesson...I guess he figured he could get us home a little quicker!

We had some fun at Dave and Buster's (without the kids). The boys tried their hands at the football...we didn't score too many tokens at that one (Uncle Rico still had fun though right?!).

Between Zac hitting the jackpot, some "rigged" horse races (we would wait until it was just us playing so we were guaranteed all the tokens!) and Sarah's left hook, it was a blast to get out and be "the kids" for a little while!

Thanks guys for letting us wear you out! Can't wait to see you in December!

Those two love birds...

...were so fun to have around! Zac and Sarah stayed with us on their way to Montreal. We were thrilled to see them! They were quite the troopers, it was a crazy busy between the camp out, Thomas' birthday, Elise getting ready for school and just everyday life but we were able to squeeze in some fun. We hit the Detroit Zoo one afternoon, Lake Saint Clair and Dave and Buster's.

We've put our zoo pass to pretty good use this year, but the kids never seem to get sick of it.

Thomas, between cutting molars and just being 2! was about as warm and fuzzy during there visit and this guy...
So, we were thrilled when he finally gave in...and took a little breather!
We ended the day with are newest tradition...a little train ride!

A few firsts...

August 22 was our Ward Campout (and Thomas' birthday), as well as the day Zac and Sarah arrived at our house. We didn't give them much time to settle in! They pulled up at about 1:30am and we had them camping that night at this place...
It was a beautiful setting for our very first time camping...and VERY humid! That didn't stop us from having fun.
Zac was so excited to help set up camp.

Thomas woke up pretty grumpy the next morning(shocked?). Thanks to a friend with a pop tart the fit didn't last too long.

The men did an awesome job on breakfast! We decided that since the food turned out so good this year that maybe next year we'll kick it up a knotch...maybe crepes, or eggs benedict??

We spent the rest of the morning with the kids playing in the creek and getting pretty filthy! My boys are pretty skilled when it comes to playing in dirt... but nothing like our friends little girl! Those dirty fingers sure make that marshmallow look clean!

All in all it was a fun event. We were so glad that Zac and Sarah could join us (even though there is a lack of pictures...maybe on another post)

A Little Salsa Anyone?

I realize that this is not in chronological order and I have no pictures to go with this ( not to mention, a million other posts waiting to get done!). However, this was so fun I had to put a little blurb up here.
Last night, we (along with a few other couples) had SALSA Dancing lessons. This was a birthday surprise for a friend from her husband. Just the THOUGHT of Dancing in front of professionals (and friends!) made my heart pound, but we danced up a sweat and had a BLAST!
When Josh and I were dating, he begged me to take swing dance lessons with him... I of course was too worried that he would see my lack of rhythm/coordination and leave me on the dance floor. So, last night was my chance to step out of my comfort zone and have a little fun. I have no idea what I looked like while dancing (I had to watch the instructors to make sure I was on track), if there were cameras anywhere I'm sure we would be rolling on the floor laughing! All I can say is, we definitely need to do this again sometime!
Thanks again guys for the AWESOME evening! Because of you I was dreaming of Salsa all night.

A little Vacation...

from blogging it seems. We have been CRAZY busy here between company (which we were THRILLED to have), Elise starting school, and just everyday life.

So, I promise I will get back on the ball and try to catch up as soon as I catch my breath!

Duck, Duck, Goose Egg!

Apparently this game is a favorite in our house. I'll apologize in advance for all the pictures. However, since all 3 of our kids have now reached this right of passage I felt the need to show both the egg and the culprit.
Last fall, Thomas had his first "real" egg...

...when he met up with these!

Zac was playing innocently while holding a revolving sprinkler (while it was on). Unfortunately, when it sprayed him in the face he was standing a little too close to....

...THIS!

And, last but not least, our most recent transaction was last night. Daddy had come home from being on-call and was having a little play wrestle match with the kids. An accidental kick from one of her brothers and an attempt to catch her by Dad...Elise landed face first....

...on the fireplace stoop!

There you have it, we've been EGGED! The swelling has gone down on Elises head but we didn't realize until last night while she was sleeping that her nose was hit in the process too. Her forehead is swollen and leads straight down to the bottom of her nose. I'm hoping she doesn't end up with black eyes...2 weeks before starting kindergarten. I can only imagine the questions!

ZOO PALS...

Friday morning we met with a few friends at the Detroit Zoo for a little change of scenery. The weather was perfect, kids were in a good mood...I was a little stressed out (shocked?).

I tend to get a little stressed when I have my kids in a huge public place...mainly because my boys are not the slightest bit shy...or concerned if they have no idea where I am. Either way, the kids were thrilled to be out and about with friends.

Zac had his "buddies" Fin and Kivi, (ages 7 and 9?) that he followed around happily. When he couldn't find them he would join another family at their table and have a chat with whom ever would listen (Usually another Mom looking around to see who this kid belongs to?) I'm used to that look every time we play in public. Thomas hung out in strollers and wandered around close by. Elise was more than happy to have her friends Aili and Sofia with her and the three stuck together most of the day.

We decided to take the train back to the entrance. We've never done this before and thought it be a nice little treat for the kids. There was a day camp group waiting when we got to the station, so we knew it would be tight if we could all fit. After a little convincing the worker said the last half of us could squeeze in and to go ahead and get on the train. Well, the guy on the other side wouldn't open the gates for us and next thing we knew the train took off with our friends and left us (and the other worker) behind! They apologized and gave us free tickets.

It was the end of the day, Thomas had broken his glasses and we were a little grumpy and tired. BUT once we finally got on the train...




It was all squeals and giggles! What a fun way to end the day!

TWO EYES OR FOUR...

It doesn't seem to matter how many for this little ball of energy...however, he's definitely more accurate with four.



A couple months ago we noticed Thomas was acting strange about certain things. He had stopped going down stairs by himself and we caught him squinting a little. We had already been through all of this with Zac 18 months ago.



I took Thomas into the doctors thinking they would tell me I was paranoid! I didn't over react (this time) and he got his glasses about a month ago.
Since Zac is on his 8th set of frames in 20 months ( the 3 most recent replacements were due to Thomas) we were thinking ahead and got the more flexible (and expensive) frames...which he has already bent numerous times and broke them at the Zoo! (Thank goodness for warranty's). It didn't seem to take long for him to realize that the world looks better in focus.

How do you put into words...

just what someone meant to you? Almost 3 weeks ago I lost a dear friend, a BEST friend, an honorary sister. Ali was travelling with her parents and her 3 children to a family reunion when the accident happened. Our hearts are broken. The tears come and go and some days seem easy to get through and others are full of reminders of what we're missing.



Ali was the type of person that made you feel loved and accepted from the moment you met. I remember sitting at Baker's Square eating pie with the other wives at graduation last year. Somehow it came out that we were both going to Michigan for our husbands residency and that we were in fact buying houses only a few blocks from each other. To top it all off we both had (or were about to have) a girl and two boys all the same ages! Life in Michigan just got a little brighter!






Our days were filled with lengthy phone calls (shocking I know!) or visits on the grassy knoll between our houses...that always ended up with us walking to one of our homes for snacks and potty breaks. On rainy days or those too hot to be outside we were at the "ghetto mall" play place or McDonalds for their free kids ice cream cones and a change of scenery. What ever we did it was usually together, or talking on the phone while getting ready or exchanging kids for those rare nights out with our husbands. It didn't matter if we were all "gussied up" or in sweats and pony tails. We could always count on each other. We would chat about everything, either stressful or exciting. The best part, is that Ali could find something to laugh about in almost every situation. She could lighten the load with a good ol' belly aching laugh.



It still seems like a bad dream that I'm waiting to wake from... I hate when reality sets in.

We all miss her so much!

Drumroll Please...

Ta-Da! We have officially jumped onto the blogging bandwagon. We have enjoyed keeping up on everyone else's blogs and finally decided that it was time (with a little nudge) to start one ourselves. If a link to your blog isn't listed here, and you're ok with us adding it, please leave us a comment or send an email so that we can add you!

We'll get our first "real" post up soon!