"Ready, Set, Grow!"

Sadly, today was the last day of Kellan and Ethan's gardening class. For the past six weeks Tuesday morning has brought them wonder and delight. We'd walk down to the Emily Frank Cultural Barn to listen to a story, water our "caterpiller" full of vegetables the kids grew, and go on a treasure hunt for a flower that matched the color of the day. Sometimes, if we found our flowers early, I'd take the kids to the Koi pond to say "Hi!" to the fish. I'm definitely going to miss this special bonding time with these two.

By the end of the course we were able to build up our "caterpiller" of dirt to grow seeds. We planted radishes, beans, and wildflowers. Every class day the kids got to water their seeds all by themselves! Today Kellan was able to bring home 4 radishes she grew! I was so proud... They also strolled the property and picked flower pedals and leaves that they liked to make a pressed collage to take home with them, a reminder of the beauty the Earth creates. I can't wait to scrap Kellan's art :)

"F is for Fantastic Family Fun"

Yesterday was a blast, plain and simple. There aren't too many days that time goes by so fast that I'm not ready to stop having fun.

Kellan and I took G.G. down to Aunt Emily's so she could meet Baby Maddy for the first time. A few hours after arriving Aunt Amy came over with Kellan's two cousins, Mena and Jacob, to spend the afternoon all together. While the kids played outside and ran circles around the couch inside, I got the chance to get some scrapbooking done with Amy and my niece Alicia. Boy did it feel good to get some scrapbooking accomplished! I think the thrill of participating in one of my favorite activities is partly to blame for the fast flying continuum.

For dinner Aunt Emily made homemade pizzas and cheesy bread. MMMMMMmmm is all you'll hear from me as I daydream of stuffing more in my face. All I need, right? Anyway, after dinner we celebrated Aunt Amy's birthday (which is today, Happy Birthday Amy!) with cupcakes and Muddy Buddies.

Muddy Buddies

9 cups Rice Chex
1 cup semi sweet morsels
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Put cereal into large bowl and set aside. Heat up butter, PB, and chocolate in double boiler pot. Melt. Add in vanilla. Pour sauce over cereal and mix well. In 2 gallon bag add powdered sugar and cereal mix. Shake. Pour onto wax paper to cool. Refrigerate

P.S. I finally got to hold that baby.

P.P.S. :)

Kellan got her first bee sting yesterday. I just HAD to take pictures. I'm evil, I know....

"Paws off, kid!"

Yesterday was the first time that little Kellan and I were able to meet new baby Maddy. I'd love to say I was able to spend long, quiet periods of time holding her, bonding with her, and smooching her up, but truth is I could never just hold that little baby ALONE. My kid, the baby snatcher, took her every chance I got. Maddy's sweet baby body would just touch my skin and my big ol' bruiser would already be climbing my leg, squealing with jealousy.

My daughter LOVES baby dolls. She has a handful of baby dolls here at home, along with all the essentials needed to care for her little plastic children (a crib, high chair, swing, car seat, etc.) Then she has her baby, Baby. Hands off this bundle of joy. Trust me, big heads up.

So I have about 70 photos of my child holding my new niece. I have about 3 of me with her in the one minute that Jessica had to capture the moment. (Notice "Kellan the Hover Craft" right up next to me)

It's high time for baby number two...

"It's A Girl!!"

Emily had her baby early this afternoon and.... it's a girl!!

Welcome to the world, precious little Madelaine Ruth. No more info has been given to me other than this so far. I'll make sure to add many pictures to this post when I see her next week.

I can't wait until my doodlebug wakes up from her nap so I can tell her all about it! I want to smooch her cheeks right up :)

UPDATE: 7 pounds 5 ounces, 19 inches, 12:37 p.m.

I love my doodlebug.

"Born on the Fourth of July!!!"

Actually Kellan was born no where near the 4th of July, but who made a song about a Christmas baby celebrating this fine holiday? No one.

For the fourth this year, we made our annual trip up to Bellaire (obvious to you all by now) to spend a week with Steve's family. Unfortunately, many family members could not make it this year, so we had kind of a small crowd. Oh well. Kellan is jam packed with awesomeness, so there was enough to go around to make up for the difference....

I think Kellan's favorite highlight was hanging out at the bar. The sand bar that is! And of course, all the food we ate was a big hit....

Fast girls drive fast boats!


Breakin' boy hearts at the sand bar!

Daddy love :) (as Kellan kisses the screen just now saying "Daaaaa-deeeee....")

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

"I caught you a large bass"

While vacationing in sunny Bellaire, Michigan, I took another shot at fishing. I have been whining for over a year now that I wanted to catch a fish, gut it, and then eat it with a smile. Even though Intermediate Lake isn't the best place for yummy prize winning fish, I figured it was a good place to practice. The award for first fish caught that morning did not go to me, however, I did get the prize for most caught. I got 3. THREE! This is the girl that couldn't catch one with a fishing net the size of all metro Detroit.

This is my first fish ever, Tiny. He may look small to you, but to me he's huge. As they all say "size doesn't matter". In this case, Tiny's size really didn't matter. Even though he looked really small on the outside, his love for my little wormy was huge. It's okay, I loved him anyway. I have a whole new appreciation for the "nibblers". They like me.

Following Tiny came Sasquatch (the first enormous bass above) and Nemo. All and all it was a successful fishing voyage. I caught the fish I had been wanting to catch with my Tator Tot, my man, and my Old Yeller pup by my side. Life was good. The smell of worm guts was not.

P.S. Steve didn't catch any fish. Leave it to the pro's son.